A History Wall of Quantum Physics: A journey through more than one hundred years of quantum physics history

The DPG is launching the online resource “A History Wall of Quantum Physics” as part of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology

The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society | DPG) has launched a website that offers insights into the multi-layered history of quantum physics. The website quantum-history.org uses a visual approach to the development of quantum physics and quantum mechanics in particular, whose historical development, like the theories and experiments themselves,  is complex. The website offers both English-language and German-language versions.

Interested parties can now explore quantum physics online: from terms and concepts, theories and interpretations, to instruments, experiments, and measurements. Visual elements are combined with short texts or “history snacks” that explain the physical background and historical context as concisely and easily understandable as possible.

“Instead of people, their memories and views, the focus here is on physics itself,” explains project leader Arne Schirrmacher. “The history is presented visually: through curves, formulas, drawings, notes, and diagrams that represent the key advances, but also by photos and quotes that explain the context and conflicts in the development of quantum physics.”

Physics historians and physicists interested in the history of physics have intensively studied the history of quantum theory over the last two decades. The Quantum History Project made a significant contribution between 2006 and 2012, bringing 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. This led to the establishment of a larger network of quantum historians that is still active today and has contributed to the History Wall.

“The future applications of innovations based on quantum physics are diverse, and their full range is not yet foreseeable,” says Klaus Richter, President of the German Physical Society. “In Germany, the International Quantum Year is therefore also being celebrated under the motto ‘100 years is just the beginning’.”

The “Quantum History Wall” was realized with the support of the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and is a contribution of the DPG to the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Further thanks go to the participating publishers and institutions, such as the American Physical Society, the Heisenberg Society, the Deutsches Museum, Wiley-VCH, Hirzel, Springer Nature and others for generously granting free usage rights to numerous archival materials and photographs.

The History Wall is currently also part of the special exhibition “Was zum Quant?!”, which is under the umbrella of the DPG and on display in the Forum Wissen, the Museum of Knowledge of the University of Göttingen, until October 2025.

Concept and content edited by Arne Schirrmacher

Feedback: quantum-history@dpg-mail.de