Name of the Speaker: Prof. Utpal Chattopadhyay (ISI Bangalore)
Title of the talk: Quantum Mechanics- Looking back after 100 years
Abstract: It has been almost 100 years since the seminal works of Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Born, Bohr, De Broglie and others when the basic pillars of Quantum Mechanics were founded. It was the second revolution, after the theories of Relativity, to hit the world of science. And perhaps no other theories have been as successful and yet as controversial as Quantum Mechanics. In this talk, we will begin by reviewing the signature physical events that characterize the Quantum World and look for key experiments and observations that have cemented the theory ever since its discovery. While some of these experiments, observations and theoretical calculations were present a hundred years ago, we will also discuss amazing experiments done since then. We will also discuss the evolution of nagging feelings and arguments against the Quantum principles and what the most recent thinking is and what new experiments are being done to resolve these uncertainties (pun intended!)..