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1887 births1961 deaths20th-century Austrian mathematicians20th-century Austrian physicists

Erwin Schrödinger

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Portrait of Erwin Schrödinger, the Austrian physicist and philosopher, taken in 1933.

Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger was a clever scientist who loved to ask big questions about the world. He was born on August 12, 1887, in Vienna, Austria. His father was a botanist, and his mother’s father was a chemistry professor. Schrödinger grew up interested in many things, including Eastern religions and nature.

Schrödinger studied at the University of Vienna and became a famous physicist. He is best known for creating something called the Schrödinger equation. This idea helps scientists understand how tiny particles, like atoms, move and change over time. In 1935, he also talked about quantum entanglement, another important part of science.

In 1933, Schrödinger won a big award called the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in atomic theory. He worked in many places, including Oxford, Graz, and later Dublin, Ireland. While in Dublin, he wrote a book called What Is Life? This book inspired other scientists who discovered how DNA works.

One of Schrödinger’s most famous ideas is a fun thought experiment called Schrödinger’s cat. This experiment helps explain some tricky science ideas in a simple way. Schrödinger passed away on January 4, 1961, in Vienna, but his discoveries still help scientists today. His work made a big change in how we study physics and chemistry.

Images

A group photo of scientists and academics, including Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrödinger, taken in Dublin in 1942.
A bust of physicist Erwin Schrödinger located in the University of Vienna's courtyard arcade.
Portrait of physicist Erwin Schrödinger, an important scientist known for his work in quantum mechanics.

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