2022•Unpublished venueRequires access

Paul A. M. Dirac. Matchmaker: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

Helge Kastrup, Jeffry V. Mallow

Abstract

Paul Dirac made contributions to theoretical physics that spanned quantum mechanics, relativity, gravity, and magnetism. Among these, the most important was arguably his connecting relativity and quantum mechanics. The Schrödinger equation is only correct for speeds much less than the speed of light. An equation correct for all speeds must include the energy associated with mass: E = mc2. The Dirac equation did just that. It also turned out to naturally include spin, which was an ad hoc addition to the wave functions obtained by the Schrödinger equation. He and Schrödinger shared the 1933 Nobel Prize.

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Key concepts: Relativistic quantum mechanics, Dirac equation, Theory of relativity, Relativistic mechanics, Physics, Problem of time, Dirac sea, Dirac (video compression format)