Pascual Jordan (b. October 18, 1902 in Hanover, Germany; d. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. July 31, 1980 in Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany) was a theoretical and mathematical physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A physicist is a Scientist who studies or practices Physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning Quantum mechanics is the study of mechanical systems whose dimensions are close to the Atomic scale such as Molecules Atoms Electrons In quantum field theory (QFT the forces between particles are mediated by other particles Aside from heavily influencing the mathematical form of matrix mechanics, he developed canonical anticommutation relations for fermions and Jordan algebra for observables. Matrix mechanics is a formulation of Quantum mechanics created by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan in 1925 In quantum field theory (QFT the forces between particles are mediated by other particles In Mathematics, a Jordan algebra is defined in Abstract algebra as a (usually nonassociative) Algebra over a field with multiplication satisfying
Jordan joined the Nazi party and became a brownshirt, a political affiliation which largely isolated him within the physics community. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers
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Family History
The original Pascual Jordan, ancestor to the individual that is article is about, was a Spanish nobleman and cavalry officer who served with the British during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Jordan eventually settled in Hanover which in those days was a possession of the British royal family. The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) is a Germanic royal Dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg His patrilineal descendants held to a tradition of naming their first-born sons Pascual, while their family name was eventually changed to Jordan (pronounced in the German manner, "YOUR-den").
Jordan enrolled in the Hanover Technical University in 1921 where he studied an eclectic mix of zoology, mathematics, and physics. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. As was typical for a German university student of the time, he transferred before obtaining a degree. Göttingen University, his destination in 1923, was then at the very zenith of its prowess and fame in mathematics and the physical sciences. The University of Göttingen ( German: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) is a University in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Here, Jordan became an assistant to firstly the mathematician Richard Courant and then the physicist Max Born. Richard Courant (born January 8, 1888 &ndash January 27, 1972) was a German American Mathematician.
Scientfic Work
Together with Max Born and Werner Heisenberg he was co-author of an important series of papers on quantum mechanics. Max Born (11 December 1882 &ndash 5 January 1970 was a German Physicist and Mathematician who was instrumental in the development of Quantum Werner Heisenberg (5 December 1901 in Würzburg &ndash1 February 1976 in Munich) was a German theoretical physicist best known for enunciating the Quantum mechanics is the study of mechanical systems whose dimensions are close to the Atomic scale such as Molecules Atoms Electrons He went on to pioneer early quantum field theory before largely switching his focus to cosmology before World War II. In quantum field theory (QFT the forces between particles are mediated by other particles Cosmology (from Greek grc κοσμολογία - grc κόσμος kosmos, "universe" and grc -λογία -logia) is study
The non-associative Jordan algebras are named after him. In Mathematics, a Jordan algebra is defined in Abstract algebra as a (usually nonassociative) Algebra over a field with multiplication satisfying They were defined in an attempt to create an algebra of observables for quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Today, this role is more often assumed by the von Neumann algebras. In Mathematics, a von Neumann algebra or W*-algebra is a *-algebra of bounded operators on a Hilbert space that is closed in the Meanwhile, Jordan algebras have seen application in projective geometry and number theory. Projective geometry is a non- metrical form of Geometry, notable for its principle of duality. Number theory is the branch of Pure mathematics concerned with the properties of Numbers in general and Integers in particular as well as the wider classes
Jordan is sometimes confused with the French mathematician Camille Jordan (Jordan curve theorem) and the German geodesist Wilhelm Jordan (Gauss-Jordan elimination). Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan ( January 5 1838 &ndash January 22 1922) was a French Mathematician, known both for his foundational In Topology, the Jordan curve theorem states that every non-self-intersecting loop in the plane divides the plane into an "inside" and an "outside" Geodesy (dʒiːˈɒdɪsi also called geodetics, a branch of Earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals Wilhelm Jordan ( March 1 1842 - April 17 1899) was a German Geodesist who did surveys in Germany and Africa and In Linear algebra, Gauss–Jordan elimination is a version of Gaussian elimination that puts zeros both above and below each Pivot element as it goes from
Political Life
Jordan joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party) in May 1933. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The following November he joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) - the brown shirted storm troopers. The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers He enlisted in the Luftwaffe in 1939 and worked for a while at the Peenemünde rocket center. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Peenemünde (peːnəˈmʏndə is a village in the northeast of the German (Western part of the Usedom island During the war he attempted to interest the party in various schemes for advanced weapons, but these were ignored because he was considered "politically unreliable", probably because of his past associations with Jews (in particular: Courant, Born, and Wolfgang Pauli) and "Jewish Physics" (such a stigma also followed Werner Heisenberg for some time under the Nazis) (see the article Deutsche Physik). Deutsche Physik (literally "German Physics" or Aryan Physics was a Nationalist movement in the German Physics community
It has been speculated that Jordan would have likely shared the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Max Born were it not for his membership in the Nazi party (see both J. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Bernstein and B. Schroer references).
Wolfgang Pauli declared Jordan "rehabilitated" to the authorities some time after the war, allowing Jordan to regain academic employment after a two-year period and then recover his full status as a tenured professor in 1953. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jordan went against Pauli's advice, and reentered politics after the period of denazification came to an end under the pressures of the Cold War. Denazification (Entnazifizierung was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society culture press economy judiciary and politics of any Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the He secured election to the Bundestag standing with the conservative Christian Democrats. The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. In 1957, Jordan came out in support for the arming of the Bundeswehr with tactical nuclear weapons by the Adenauer government, while the Göttinger 18 (which included Born, Heisenberg, and Pauli) authored the Göttinger Manifest in protest. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Bundeswehr ( German for "Federal Defence Force") is the name of the unified Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany A tactical nuclear weapon (or TNW) refers to a Nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer ( 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967 was a German Statesman. The Göttingen Eighteen (Göttinger Achtzehn was a group of eighteen leading nuclear researchers of the newly-founded Federal Republic of Germany who wrote a Manifesto The Göttinger Manifest was a declaration of 18 leading nuclear scientists of West Germany against arming the West German army with tactical nuclear weapons in the 1950s This and other issues were to further strain his relationships with his former friends and colleagues.
Selected Works
- The "Dreimännerarbeit"
- Jordan algebra paper with von Neumann and Wigner
References
- B. Schroer, "Pascual Jordan, his contributions to quantum mechanics and his legacy in contemporary local quantum physics", arXiv.org (arXiv)
- J. Bert Schroer (born November 10 1933 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany is a German mathematical physicist, currently a visiting Professor The arXiv ( pronounced " Archive " as if the "X" were the Greek letter Chi, χ is an Archive for electronic Bernstein, "Max Born and the Quantum Theory", American Journal of Physics, 11 (2005), 999-1008.
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