When Quantum Mechanics Came to America

This year we celebrate 100 years since the initial formulation of quantum mechanics with the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. 1925 also marks the year the Physics Department was established at TCU.

America in the 1920s-1930s underwent dramatic change as the nation transitioned from the Roaring Twenties, characterized by a booming economy, the introduction of new and exciting technologies, music, and talking movies, to the Great Depression, marked by unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, all eventually leading up to the entry into World War II in 1941.

In this talk, I will present a picture of what the US was like as the quantum revolution took place, and how the media reacted as Bohr, Heisenberg, and Schrödinger went on tour across the nation. I will also look at this time through the lens of a few individuals: a student, a physics faculty member, a wealthy science enthusiast, and a Danish masseuse (!).

You can expect a talk with no equations (what?!) but with images, video, music and hopefully some humor.