Physics World Stories Podcast · Physics World

Overlooked pioneers from quantum history

·52 min·4 clips

Marguerite van der Heyden reveals why women in quantum history were often on the slopes, not the peaks.

This episode of Physics World Stories explores overlooked women in the history of quantum physics, featuring contributors Margriet van der Heijden and Michelle Frank from the book "Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik." Host Andrew Glester examines why these stories have remained hidden and how they reshape the field's traditional narrative. The conversation challenges the standard account of quantum development centered on elite male circles in early 20th-century Europe. Margriet van der Heijden explains the term "Knabenphysik," coined by Herman Weyl in 1946 to describe the young, brilliant male physicists seen as central to quantum mechanics. The book aims to move beyond this concept and the "lone genius" model, instead using a mountain range metaphor where many contributors work on the slopes. Émilie du Châtelet is cited as an early 18th-century science communicator whose contributions are seldom recognized. Explicit policies historically excluded women from academic institutions and scientific societies, while anti-nepotism rules later barred women from working at the same institutions as their scholar husbands. Hertha Sponer, who published about 80 papers on spectroscopy and helped develop quantum chemistry, became invisible in historical interviews focused on her male colleague and later husband, James Franck. A surprising insight is that fewer women worked in physics in the late 1980s than in the 1910s or 1920s. Williamina Fleming discovered the Pickering series of spectral lines, crucial for validating Niels Bohr's atomic model, but the series was named after her male director. Johanna (Jo) van Leeuwen's comprehensive thesis on magnetism, which implied the need for quantum mechanics, was scooped by Bohr's earlier publication. Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu's 1949 experiment with Irving Shaknov was the first to document quantum entanglement in a lab, yet she is best known for a later parity violation experiment. The "draw a scientist" test shows a shift from only 1% of girls drawing a female scientist in the 1960s to about 30-60% today. Van der Heijden expresses concern that society is entering an era of backlash, noting that some research funding now excludes proposals containing the word "women." The network of women initially considered for the book was at least three times larger than the 16 chapters published. A significant hurdle in writing these histories is the frequent lack of a paper trail, as women's work was less often archived. The episode reveals that even in academia, people often believe raw, innate talent is required for fields like physics, a stereotype the book's broader history contests. The tone is conversational and educational, blending historical analysis with personal reflection from the researchers. The style is narrative, recovering individual and group stories to illustrate broader systemic mechanisms. Listeners interested in the history of science, gender studies, or correcting historical narratives would find this episode compelling. Those seeking only technical explanations of quantum physics might prefer to skip it.

As heard by us

A steady case for why quantum history has been told too narrowly.

This episode treats quantum physics as a story still being argued over, not a settled canon. Andrew Glester's conversation with Marguerite van der Heyden and Michelle Frank moves from Emilie de Chatelet to the quiet forces that have kept women out of the record: mentor…

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Hear quantum history retold from the people it left out.

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