A visual history
To mark the International Quantum Year 2025, the German Physical Society is presenting an outline of the complex and multi-layered history of quantum physics in an innovative form. Instead of people, their memories and judgements, the focus is on physics itself as it has developed: in the form of instruments and measurements, concepts and notions, theories and interpretations, contexts and conflicts. As far as possible, these are presented first of all visually, as curves, formulae, terms, drawings, notes, diagrams and practices. Accompanying short – and hopefully interesting – texts or ‘history snacks’ may provide some background. Links to the original sources, documents and publications are provided if possible, along with a selection of historical scholarship, in most cases accessible to the non-specialist.
About the Project
The History Wall is a project of the activity area “The Path to the Modern Quantum World and Beyond” within the framework of the programme developed by a working group of the DPG for the Quantum Centenary. It aims to provide an attractive resource for physicists interested in the key historical developments in quantum physics. The DPG’s History of Physics Division regularly addresses the question of how to communicate knowledge of the history of physics to all members, students of natural sciences and also to an interested public, and strives for a stronger networking of physics teaching and research with the results of the history of physics.
The Quantum History Wall is presented here in its 1st edition (as of 20 March 2025) and is neither complete nor finished. Nor is it intended to be an encyclopaedia, but at best an attractive introduction to the history of quantum physics. However, it is planned to regularly expand and improve the content in order to paint a somewhat coherent picture.
Partners and supporters
The project was made possible by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation as part of it support for the DPG’s activities in the quantum year. The initial concept was developed into an interactive website by a group of historians of physics, physicists, exhibition experts and the staff of anschlaege.de.
Physics Team | Exhibition Team | Design and UX Team |
Arne Schirrmacher (Head) | Ramona Dölling (ForumWissen) | Rik Watkinson (Art Direction) |
Wiebke Schuppe (DPG) | Christine Nawa (ForumWissen) | Simon Haßler (UX Design) |
André Wobst (Webmaster) | Guido Handrick (Programming) | |
Oliver Benson | Sol Song (Coordination) | |
Christoph Lehner | ||
Friedrich Steinle | ||
Alexander Pawlak |
The concept of a ‘visual history’ required the use of many publications, archival materials and photographs that are under copyright. We would like to thank the following publishers and institutions for generously granting us usage rights free of charge:
American Physical Society | Heisenberg-Gesellschaft |
Deutsches Museum | Hirzel Verlag |
Royal Society | Wiley-VCH |
Springer Nature | Guido Beck Archive |
The Content Team
Historians of physics and physicists interested in their history have worked intensively on the history of quantum theory over the last two decades. The largest contribution to improving our knowledge of the history of quantum theory has probably been made by the Quantum History Project (http://quantum-history.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/), which brought together an international group of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society between 2006 and 2012 which also established a network of quantum historians that is still active today.
The following persons in particular have contributed to the contents of the History Wall, whose contributions are indicated with the corresponding abbreviations.
Alexander Blum, Berlin (ab) | Alexei Kojevnikov, Vancouver (ak) |
Markus Ehberger, München (me) | Christoph Lehner, Berlin (cl) |
Dieter Fick, Marburg (df) | Joseph Martin, Durham (jm) |
Johannes-Geert Hagmann, Munich (jh) | Daniela Monaldi, Toronto (dm) |
Thiago Hartz, Bahia (th) | Gernot Münster, Münster (gm) |
Klaus Hentschel, Stuttgart (kh) | Klaus Richter, Regensburg (kr) |
Dieter Hoffmann, Berlin (dh) | Arne Schirrmacher, Berlin (as) |
Christian Joas, Copenhagen (cj) | Reinhard Werner, Hanover (rw) |
David Kaiser, Boston (dk) | Adrian Wüthrich, Berlin (aw) |
Ricardo Karam, Copenhagen (rk) |
Content Editor: Arne Schirrmacher
Feedback: quantum-history@dpg-mail.de
Design concept
<Coming soon>
Conceptual backgroud for science communication
The History Wall of Quantum Physics should be self-explanatory and require no instructions. Successful science communication is characterised by the fact that one does not notice its underlying concepts, but enjoys the insights. The following brief explanations are therefore only included for those who are specifically interested.
<Coming soon>