Pascual Jordan

Ernst Pascual Jordan was a German theoretical and mathematical physicist who lived from 1902 to 1980. He made important contributions to the study of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Jordan helped develop the mathematical form of matrix mechanics and introduced ideas called Jordan algebras, which are still used in mathematics today.

During his career, Jordan joined the Nazi Party in 1933, though he did not support the Deutsche Physik movement that rejected ideas from Jewish scientists like Albert Einstein. After the Second World War, he became involved in politics and served as a member of parliament for the CDU from 1957 to 1961. His work remains important in the field of physics.

Family history and education

Pascual Jordan was born to Ernst Pasqual Jordan and Eva Fischer. Ernst Jordan was a well-known painter who taught art at Hannover Technical University. The family name was originally Jorda, from Spain, and they changed it to Jordan after settling in Hannover.

Jordan’s family had a tradition of naming the first-born son Pascual. He grew up with strong religious beliefs but later learned that science and religion could work together. At age 12, he tried to understand how the Bible and evolution fit together, and his teacher helped him see they were not in conflict.

Jordan started his studies at the Technical University of Hannover in 1921, learning zoology, mathematics, and physics. He later moved to the University of Göttingen in 1923, a top school for math and science at the time. There, he studied under famous scientists like Max Born. Jordan also had a speech difficulty and sought help for it in 1926.

Scientific work

Pascual Jordan worked with Max Born and Werner Heisenberg on important papers about quantum mechanics. He was one of the first scientists to explore quantum field theory before World War II.

Jordan created a special kind of math structure called Jordan algebras to help explain quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Though these algebras were not useful for that purpose, they later became important in many areas of mathematics, such as geometry, number theory, and optimization.

In 1966, Jordan wrote a book suggesting the Earth might have grown larger over time, based on ideas from Paul Dirac about gravity weakening through history. However, this idea was not accepted by other scientists studying the Earth.

Political activities

After Germany lost the First World War and signed the Treaty of Versailles, Pascual Jordan's political views changed greatly. He became very nationalistic and right-wing, writing strong articles supporting aggressive actions. He joined the Nazi party in 1933 and even became part of an SA unit. Though he supported the party's nationalism and opposition to communism, he still defended Einstein and other Jewish scientists, which made him seem unreliable to the Nazis.

During the war, Jordan worked as a weather analyst and tried to convince leaders about new weapon ideas, but they ignored him. After the war, he explained his actions to a scientist named Bohr. Later, he returned to politics and was elected to the Bundestag in 1957, supporting the use of certain advanced weapons, which caused disagreements with some of his former friends.

Selected works

Pascual Jordan wrote many important papers about quantum mechanics, a part of science that studies very small particles. Some of his most famous works include:

• With Max Born, a paper in 1925 about the basics of quantum mechanics.
• With Werner Heisenberg and Max Born, a paper in 1926 expanding on their earlier work.
• Several papers in 1927 where he explored new ways to understand quantum mechanics and its rules.
• A paper in 1934 with John von Neumann and Eugene Wigner about a mathematical way to generalize quantum mechanics.

These papers helped shape how scientists understand the tiny particles that make up our world.