Historical and Social Aspects of Physics
Information about the exam
Oral(in English)with written preparation.
(Dutch speaking students have the right to demand some weeks in advance that your exam is in Dutch.)
- Preperation for about 30 min (or untill someone is ready).
- 10 minutes oral exam (in the same room)
PS: Don't be surprised if there are 20 or more students taking the exam at the same time.
Questions
June 2013
'Not the exact formulation'
- For some people the quantum revolution happened in the 1920s. Explain what happened and why you can call this a revolution.
- Doing physics changed after WW2, what where the differences before and after?
June, 11th 2012
'Not the exact formulation'
- Explain the significance of Heisenbergs matrices formulation in the Quantum theory.
- After the second World War things had changed for the physicist. What were the negative reactions?
June, 10th 2011
I just write the questions down from my memory, so formulation is not exact, this is how I recall the essence of the questions.
- Many textbooks refer to 1900 as the year of the quantum revolution. Yet even in 1920, most physicists held to classical principles. What describes the advent of the 'revolution' in physics? What was the importance of classical concepts for contemporary physicists to understand quantum physics?
- Social and political aspects had a lot of influence of the development of physics. Show this with two examples.
- The Manhattan project was of huge importance for physics. Explain how this is a hallmark for post-WWII physics.
28/06/2011
- By some people the "revolution" in physics came as a surprise, for others it was the consequence of what happened before. Explain.
- Schrodinger and Heisenberg had a different formulation of QM. Explain this in the historical and social context.
- Who was Bush and what was his role in science policy?