Erwin Schrödinger

The Schrödinger equation, published by Erwin Schrödinger in 1926, is a partial differential equation that describes how the quantum state of a physical system evolves over time. It is one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics and provides the mathematical framework for understanding atomic structure, chemical bonding, and subatomic particle behavior.

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment proposed by Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to expose the apparent paradox of quantum superposition applied to macroscopic objects. It imagines a cat sealed in a box with a radioactive atom that may trigger a poison release, suggesting the cat exists in a superposition of alive and dead states until the box is opened and observed.

Erwin Schrödinger was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Paul Dirac, for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory. His wave equation, formulated in 1926, had provided a rigorous mathematical alternative to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics for describing quantum systems.

'What Is Life?' is a 1944 book based on lectures Schrödinger delivered at Trinity College Dublin, where he explored the physical and thermodynamic basis of biological processes such as heredity. The book famously proposed the concept of an 'aperiodic crystal' as the physical basis of genetic information, influencing scientists including James Watson and Francis Crick in their search for the structure of DNA.