Physics World Stories Podcast · Physics World

Alternate quantum realities: what if Heisenberg stayed at home?

·53 min·5 clips

Kevlin Henney reveals how LCD screens require quantum mechanics and GPS systems need relativity corrections to work accurately in daily life.

This episode explores the intersection of quantum physics history and creative storytelling through a fictional diary imagining Werner Heisenberg's 1925 retreat to Helgoland. Host Andrew Glester interviews software consultant and flash fiction writer Kevlin Henney about his creative process, the nature of scientific narratives, and how quantum mechanics impacts everyday technology.

As heard by us

A 1925 quantum origin story reframed through Kevlin Henney's reading and a wider conversation about attention and performance.

Physics World Stories revisits a familiar 1925 origin story, letting Kevlin Henney reframe Heisenberg's hay fever-driven trip to Helgoland and the birth of matrix mechanics from a slightly different angle.

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Why you'd press play

A sideways Heisenberg story that starts with hay fever, Helgoland, and matrix mechanics.

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