Article ID: CBB000774843

Zero-Point Energy: The Case of the Leiden Low-Temperature Laboratory of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (2008)

unapi

In this paper we examine the reaction of the Leiden low-temperature laboratory of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes to new ideas in quantum theory. Especially the contributions of Albert Einstein (1906) and Peter Debye (1912) to the theory of specific heat, and the concept of zero-point energy formulated by Max Planck in 1911, gave a boost to solid state research to test these theories. In the case of specific heat measurements, Kamerlingh Onnes's laboratory faced stiff competition from Walter Nernst's Institute of Physical Chemistry in Berlin. In fact, Berlin got the better of it because Leiden lacked focus. After the liquefaction of helium in 1908, Kamerlingh Onnes transformed his laboratory into an international facility for low temperature research, and for this reason it was impossible to make headway with the specific heat measurements. In the case of zero-point energy, Leiden developed a magnetic research programme to test the concept. Initially the balance of evidence seemed to be tipping in favour of zero-point energy. After 1914, however, Leiden would desert the theory in fovour, of a concept from calssical physics. A curious move that illustrates Kamerlingh Onnes's discomfort with the new quantum theory.

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Authors & Contributors
Delft, Dirk van
Schröder, Wilfried
Reif-Acherman, Simón
Peter Kes
Kasten, Peter
Brown, Brandon R.
Concepts
Physics
Quantum mechanics
Cryogenics; cryonics
Laboratories
Science and society
Relativity
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
Places
Germany
Americas
Netherlands
Polar regions
France
Europe
Institutions
Universiteit Leiden
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Physik, Berlin
Harvard University
Universität Göttingen
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