Theodor Franz Eduard Kaluza (; 9 November 1885 – 19 January 1954) was a German
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
and
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
known for the
Kaluza–Klein theory, involving
field equations
A classical field theory is a physical theory that predicts how one or more physical fields interact with matter through field equations, without considering effects of quantization; theories that incorporate quantum mechanics are called quantum ...
in five-dimensional space-time. His idea that fundamental forces can be unified by introducing additional dimensions re-emerged much later in
string theory
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...
.
Life
Kaluza was born to a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
family from the town of
Ratibor (present-day Racibórz in Poland) in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
's
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...
. Kaluza himself was born in Wilhelmsthal (a village that was incorporated into
Oppeln (present-day Opole) in 1899). He spent his youth in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
, where his father,
Max Kaluza, was a professor of the English language. He entered the
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...
to study mathematics and gained his doctorate with a thesis on
Tschirnhaus transformation
In mathematics, a Tschirnhaus transformation, also known as Tschirnhausen transformation, is a type of mapping on polynomials developed by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus in 1683.
Simply, it is a method for transforming a polynomial equatio ...
s. Kaluza was primarily a mathematician but began studying
relativity. In April 1919 Kaluza noticed that when he solved
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
's equations for
general relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...
using five dimensions, then
Maxwellian equations for
electromagnetism
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
emerged spontaneously.
[''Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'' (1918)](_blank)
(''Proceedings of the Prussian Academy of Sciences'' (1918)). archive.org. pp. 966–974.[''Proceedings of the Prussian Academy of Sciences'' (1918). p. 969. (cf., da num (für alle drei arten feldgleichungen) .._Ricci_tensor....html" ;"title="Ricci_tensor.html" ;"title=".. Ricci tensor">.. Ricci tensor...">Ricci_tensor.html" ;"title=".. Ricci tensor">.. Ricci tensor... so für den die maxwellschen gleichen gem fur die komponenten des verstorms ..der raumzeitliche energietensor is also im wesentlichen mir stromdichte zu randern (Tr., Since then (for all three types of field equations) [... Ricci-flat manifold...], So for the same according to Maxwell's for the components of the verstorms ..the spatio-temporal energy tensor thus essentially current density are random)).] Kaluza wrote to Einstein who, in turn, encouraged him to publish. Kaluza's theory was published in 1921 in a paper "Zum Unitätsproblem der Physik" with Einstein's support in ''Sitzungsberichte Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften'' 966–972 (1921).
Kaluza's insight is remembered as the
Kaluza–Klein theory (also named after physicist
Oskar Klein). However, the work was neglected for many years, as attention was directed towards
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
. His idea that fundamental forces can be explained by additional dimensions did not re-emerge until
string theory
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...
was developed. It is, however, also notable that many of the aspects of this body of work were already published in 1914 by
Gunnar Nordström
Gunnar Nordström (12 March 1881 – 24 December 1923) was a Finnish theoretical physicist best remembered for his theory of gravitation, which was an early competitor of general relativity. Nordström is often designated by modern writers as '' ...
, but his work also went unnoticed and was not recognized when the ideas re-emerged.
For the rest of his career Kaluza continued to produce ideas about relativity and about models of the
atomic nucleus
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron i ...
. Despite Einstein's support, Kaluza remained at a low rank (
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
) at
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
until 1929, when he was appointed as professor at the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
. In 1935, he became a full professor at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, where he remained until his death in 1954. Perhaps his finest mathematical work is the textbook ''Höhere Mathematik für die Praktiker'', which was written jointly with Georg Joos.
Personal life
Kaluza was extraordinarily versatile. He spoke or wrote 17 languages. He also had an unusually modest personality. He refused the
Nazi ideology
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, and his appointment to the Göttingen chair was possible only with difficulties and by protection of his colleague
Helmut Hasse
Helmut Hasse (; 25 August 1898 – 26 December 1979) was a German mathematician working in algebraic number theory, known for fundamental contributions to class field theory, the application of ''p''-adic numbers to local class field theory and ...
. Strange stories were told of his private life, for example, that he taught himself to swim in his thirties by reading a book and succeeded at his first attempt in the water.
Kaluza had a son (born 1910), also named , who was a notable
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
.
See also
*
Yang–Mills theory
In mathematical physics, Yang–Mills theory is a gauge theory based on a special unitary group SU(''N''), or more generally any compact, reductive Lie algebra. Yang–Mills theory seeks to describe the behavior of elementary particles using th ...
*
Superstring theory
Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modeling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings.
'Superstring theory' is a shorthand for supersymmetric string theor ...
Notes
References
Biography of Kaluzafrom the
MacTutor archive
*
Biography of Kaluza (book with 748 pages in German by Daniela Wuensch)from the Termessos publishing house
* Daniela Wünsch, "Der Erfinder der fünften Dimension",
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...
, January 21, 200
(article in German)Articles (some in English) about Kaluzaby Daniela Wuensch
External links
given by
Brian Greene
Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. Greene was a physics professor at Cornell University from 19901995, and has been a professor at Columbia University since 1 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaluza, Theodor
1885 births
1954 deaths
20th-century German mathematicians
20th-century German physicists
People from Opole
People from the Province of Silesia
University of Königsberg alumni
University of Kiel faculty
University of Göttingen faculty
Theoretical physicists