Papers by Michael Wiescher
arXiv (Cornell University), Jan 5, 2019
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
This chapter gives an overview of Vienna’s academic life and the struggles for young scientists s... more This chapter gives an overview of Vienna’s academic life and the struggles for young scientists seeking an academic career in an extremely competitive environment. During this time of revolution in physics, with the theory of relativity and new ideas on thermodynamics and spectroscopy, Haas initially tried to maintain his course of combining historic with scientific interests. Although this failed, Haas developed a first model to combine the new concept of the energy quantum with spectroscopy. His goal was to give the Planck constant h a physical meaning in the framework of the atom model.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Despite considerable differences in personality, temper, and vivacity, Haas and Huber decide to m... more Despite considerable differences in personality, temper, and vivacity, Haas and Huber decide to marry, a decision that was primarily hampered by the lack of financial resources that Haas considered necessary for a successful marriage. This chapter relies to a large extent on the exchange of personal letters during this particularly difficult year of 1924. The correspondence includes the personal and economic difficulties of a young physicist without employment, as he vacillates between big ambitions and little hope. The chapter ends with the marriage of Artur Haas and Emma Beatrice Huber.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
The second IIE lecture tour to the United States was delayed but eventually took place in 1931. H... more The second IIE lecture tour to the United States was delayed but eventually took place in 1931. Haas gave lectures on the new concept of particle waves and on questions of cosmology, an emerging topic in the scientific community. His visits covered universities all over the United States. Letters sent by Haas to his wife provide a rich and entertaining description of the academic environment of US universities at the time. With this trip, US academic institutions were very much interested in having Haas. However, the financial shortages caused by the world economic crisis did not allow for a sufficiently attractive offer and so, Haas was not convinced to abandon his actuary position, which by that time generated a considerable income.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
During these years many Austrian scientists who had emigrated returned for summer visits to Vienn... more During these years many Austrian scientists who had emigrated returned for summer visits to Vienna and while there, they visited Arthur Haas who was building a dense web of relationships toward his goal of a permanent position as a professor. Yet his personal relationship began to suffer and his wife began to travel independently. Although Haas himself always claimed limited financial resources, she had inherited a substantial fortune from her father, which helped her to finance her excursions.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Emma Beatrice Haas was left without income after Arthur’s death. Using her skills in multiple lan... more Emma Beatrice Haas was left without income after Arthur’s death. Using her skills in multiple languages, she first worked at the Notre Dame Archives and from there she transferred to the National Archives in Washington. She was recruited by the OSS and subsequently by the CIA and had a successful career in identifying Nazi criminals in hiding, during the first years after the war. She continued to serve and while closer details were not disclosed by the CIA archives, her personal letter and postcard collection reveals that she was stationed in Japan, Korea, Egypt and Algeria, all hotspots of US foreign politics and involvement before her final retirement. She died in 1985, more than forty years after the death of Arthur.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
The rise to power of the Nazi party in Germany also generated dark shadows for Austria, which tur... more The rise to power of the Nazi party in Germany also generated dark shadows for Austria, which turned to its own fascist government model while also maintaining the participation of the Jewish community. Haas saw himself as a member of the party led by Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuẞ, believing that a church-supported movement would shield Austria against Nazi terror. While increasingly worried, he turned his thoughts and scientific interests more and more to cosmology and the role of the fundamental constants in the greater picture of physics. In this, Haas followed the ideas of Arthur Eddington. During these years Haas published the first book on the topic of cosmology.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur Haas’ high school education in Brno occurred in an enlightened environment which stimulate... more Arthur Haas’ high school education in Brno occurred in an enlightened environment which stimulated a broad range of intellectual interests from antiquity to physics, and also awakened his sensibilities and competitive spirit. The latter relied on positive feedback from friends and teachers. This chapter also provides insight into pedagogical developments during the late Habsburg empire.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Haas continued to teach during the first months of the war but was eventually drafted to the Army... more Haas continued to teach during the first months of the war but was eventually drafted to the Army. His strong dislike of military affairs was a matter of record and the authorities charged him with the maintenance of the horse stables for the cavalry. His commanding officer had more appreciation for his academic titles and Haas enjoyed relatively peaceful but boring war years. He used the time to write a first textbook of modern physics. With the collapse of Germany and inner revolutionary struggles, Haas decided to return to Vienna. But, being from Brno, he saw himself identified as a Czech citizen.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
The Vienna Academy of Sciences was an important institution for Austrian scientists. While Haas w... more The Vienna Academy of Sciences was an important institution for Austrian scientists. While Haas was primarily in charge of the organization and coordination of academic activities in the natural sciences, he found enough time to follow his own interests, publishing several books on topics of modern science. He also maintained an intense letter exchange with members of the scientific community. In this way he became a well-known and highly regarded member of the German and also Anglo-Saxon science community.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
This chapter describes the origins and development of Emma Beatrice Huber. Emma spent the war as ... more This chapter describes the origins and development of Emma Beatrice Huber. Emma spent the war as a college girl and a nun in hiding, in the United States. She returned to Europe to seek a theater and design career.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
This chapter describes the first IIE sponsored lecture tour of Arthur Haas through the eastern pa... more This chapter describes the first IIE sponsored lecture tour of Arthur Haas through the eastern part of the United States in 1927. The tour was a great success, with Haas talking about nuclear energy as the energy source of the future, although he did not succeed in generating a position. Upon his return to Austria, he continued publishing and generated contacts with British and US publishing houses and, indeed, many of his books became translated bestsellers in the United States. This led to a number of invitations from US universities and Haas began planning a second lecture tour to the United States, again sponsored by the IIE.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
Haas maintained his interests in the history of science and with the help of the famous and influ... more Haas maintained his interests in the history of science and with the help of the famous and influential science historian Karl Sudhoff, he was appointed in 1914 as docent for science history and as lector of the Poggendorff Journal at the University of Leipzig. He gave several successful lectures on the topic but also gradually developed a strong interest in theoretical physics.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
This chapter provides insight around the intellectual and academic life of Austrian and German un... more This chapter provides insight around the intellectual and academic life of Austrian and German universities at the turn of the last century. Arthur Haas’ success at high school turned into struggle as he tried to become an experimental physicist. Gottingen provided him with an intellectually strong and scientifically challenging environment, which he enjoyed despite his dislike of German student culture. Failure in the progress of his PhD project took him back to Vienna to seek a PhD in theoretical physics with Ludwig Boltzmann. The suicide of Boltzmann curtailed this plan, leaving Haas to write and submit a thesis on the historical philosophical development of physics concepts.
Arthur E. Haas - The Hidden Pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, 2021
The dark years are the last years of Austrian independence in the shadow of Nazi Germany. Haas hi... more The dark years are the last years of Austrian independence in the shadow of Nazi Germany. Haas himself was under steady attack by Nazi sympathizers, in both Austria and Germany, who wanted him as a Jew to be removed from his post at the Vienna Academy. Haas responded by writing books for the public, describing the benefits of the scientific approach versus the pseudo-scientific claims made by Nazi representatives and followers. These years were further darkened by the murder of Dollfuẞ. Afraid of traveling to Germany, Haas sent his wife to negotiate with German publishers about his publishing income. In a number of rather entertaining reports, she describes the political changes that were taking place in Germany and the German publishing world. At last, Haas has the long-awaited position in America, albeit a temporary post.
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Papers by Michael Wiescher