Michael Bonitz | Max Planck, Kiel, and The Beginning of The Quantum Era

November 6, 2024

On October 25th, Dr. Michael Bonitz from Kiel University in Germany visited UC Berkeley to deliver an engaging lecture on Max Planck’s pivotal contributions to the field of quantum physics. Bonitz contextualized Planck’s achievements within their historical background, showcasing his profound legacy. The lecture, which attracted an audience of 50 attendees, was co-sponsored by the Institute of European Studies, the Astronomy Department, Mathematics Department, and the Physics Department. 

Bonitz described the early academic journey of a young Max Planck, who was advised against studying by a professor who told him, “almost everything [in the field] is already discovered.” Undeterred, Planck embarked on his academic career, ultimately reshaping the field with his groundbreaking work. 

On December 14th, 1900, Planck introduced his revolutionary theory on the emission of electromagnetic radiation. Defying classical belief, he proposed that energy is not emitted in a continuous flow but rather in quanta, which are discrete energy packets tied to radiation frequency. By establishing this fundamental constant, he connected energy to particle frequency, bridging the link between wave-like and particle-like nature of electromagnetic radiation—a breakthrough in physics. 

Convincing the scientific community of his theory, however, was challenging. Wilhelm Wien, who had previously proposed an alternative model for black body radiation emission, received the Nobel Prize in 1911. While Albert Einstein later supported Planck’s theory in 1905, Planck himself was not awarded the Nobel Prize until 1918, marking the formal recognition of his work and the birth of quantum physics. Soon after, Erwin Schrödinger developed his renowned equation, further advancing the field of particle physics with a statistical approach. 

Bonitz also explored Planck’s moral complexity. While Planck remained  in Germany during World War II—a choice that raised ethical questions, especially as contemporaries like Einstein fled—his scientific legacy persisted, shaping physics and inspiring future research. 

Planck’s contributions have left such a massive impact that Bonitz proposed a museum in his honor; today, it serves as an intellectual hub for scientific, ethical, and political discourse within the quantum physics community. The museum also functions as a quantum science center, offering educational initiatives, producing child-friendly animations, supporting experimental research, and fostering new advancements.  

The session concluded with an in-depth Q&A session, spanning technical aspects of Planck’s constant and featuring animations that illustrate his discovery. Bonitz’s lecture underscored the ongoing significance of Planck’s world nearly a century later—a field far from exhausted, in stark contrast to the beliefs about Planck’s professor.