Conferencia - Físicos en tiempos de guerra - Sesión 2

In this conference, Dr. José Ernesto Marquina Fábrega, a retired physicist and historian of science, delivers a detailed historical account of the development of modern physics in the early 20th century, focusing on the contributions of key scientists and the impact of war. He begins by recalling his long association with the Faculty of Sciences at UNAM, then traces the crises of classical physics: the Michelson-Morley experiment, X-rays, radioactivity, and Planck’s quantum hypothesis. He highlights Einstein’s annus mirabilis, including the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, and special relativity, and discusses the evolution of quantum mechanics through the work of Bohr, de Broglie, Heisenberg, and Schrödinger. The narrative then shifts to the effects of World War I and the rise of Nazism, which forced many Jewish scientists to emigrate, significantly benefiting the United States. He details the persecution of scientists like Planck and Heisenberg, the concept of ‘German physics,’ and the tragic fate of Planck’s family. The talk concludes with the scientific exodus and the establishment of the US as a scientific superpower, setting the stage for the Manhattan Project.