Alexander Blum
Research Group Leader (Nov 2017-Jan 2025)
PhD
Raum V104
Alexander has a PhD in theoretical particle physics from the University of Heidelberg (research at the MPI for Nuclear Physics, 2009). In 2010 he joined the MPIWG, where he started out as a member of the Quantum History Project (until 2012). After that he was a Research Scholar at the MPIWG, coordinating, among other things, the cooperative project with the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting Foundation from 2013–14. In 2017 he was awarded leadership of an independent Max Planck Research Group. Alexander has organized several workshops at the MPIWG (and externally) bringing together physicists, historians, and philosophers to discuss the history and foundations of quantum theory. He also co-organized the large conference celebrating the centenary of general relativity (2015) and is currently a member of the international committee preparing the centenary of quantum mechanics (2025).
Alexander’s research interests lie in the history and philosophy of modern physics, with a strong emphasis on the postwar period. His books include a commented sourcebook on the earliest attempts to bring together quantum theory and general relativity (together with Dean Rickles of the University of Sydney) and a monograph on Werner Heisenberg’s attempts at constructing a final theory in the 1950s. He is currently completing a book for Cambridge University Press on the debate on whether quantum field theory is (or can be turned into) a consistent mathematical framework. He teaches both at the physics department of the FU Berlin and at the history of science department of the TU Berlin.
Projekte
Selected Publications
Blum, Alexander S. (2022). ‘Es wäre vermessen, Gott mit absoluter Sicherheit auszuschließen.’ Interview by Sasan Abdi-Herrle. Die Zeit December 23, 2022.
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Blum, Alexander S. (2022). “From Wood Chuck Holes to Worm Holes — A Look into the Notebooks of John A. Wheeler.” Annalen der Physik 534 (8, Article 2200244). https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.202200244.
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Blum, Alexander S. and Bernadette Lessel (2022). “The Interpretation Debate and Quantum Gravity.” In The Oxford Handbook of the History of Quantum Interpretations, ed. O. Freire Jr, G. Bacciagaluppi, O. Darrigol, T. Hartz, C. Joas, A. Kojevnikov,…
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Blum, Alexander S. and Martin Jähnert (2022). “The Birth of Quantum Mechanics from the Spirit of Radiation Theory.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 91: 125–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.11.004.
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Past Events
Seminar
Rethinking Perturbation Theory in the 1950s
MORESeminar
How Did the Ether Disappear?
MORESeminar
CANCELED: MPRG Final Theory Program Seminar
MORESeminar
Peter Bergmann on Observables in Hamiltonian General Relativity
MOREDiscussion
Maße jenseits menschlicher Dimensionen - Naturkonstanten und Paralleluniversen
MORESeminar
Schwarzschild Gravitational Field and Collapsed Stars
MORESeminar
Science without Law
MORESeminar
“A Very Serious Difficulty”: the Role of Gauge Invariance in Quantum Electrodynamics (1929–1954)
MORESeminar
Working outside the Mainstream during the Pre-History of Quantum Gravity
MORESeminar
On the Use and Misuse of Non-empirical Theory Assessment
MORESeminar
Emergence and Reduction in Condensed Matter Physics
MORELecture
Time Reversal and the Origins of the CPT Theorem
MORESeminar
Invariance Essentialism
MOREPresentation
Karl Popper’s Contribution to the Foundation of Quantum Mechanics
MORESeminar
On Strings and Loops: Shifting the Perspectives
MORESeminar
On Virtues and Vices of Axiomatic Quantum Theory
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