Max Planck: The Life and Legacy of the Influential German Physicist Who Pioneered Quantum Theory
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Narrated by:
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Colin Fluxman
About this listen
There are many feel-good fictitious stories surrounding history's most brilliant minds, and one of the most famous involves Max Planck, a friend and contemporary of Albert Einstein. The story is said to have unfolded some time during Planck's national lecture tour in Germany in the autumn of 1918. An unnamed chauffeur escorted Planck to and from the varying universities and learning institutions on his agenda, day after day. But rather than wander off for a snack, sit down with a good book, or doze off in his chair in the back of the auditoriums, the chauffeur leaned forward with a keen ear and diligently filled the pages of his journal with notes.
After about a week or so, however, the chauffeur began to grow restless, for the traveling professor had been tasked with delivering a lecture on a certain subject, thereby making his classes more or less identical. The following day, the curious chauffeur approached his employer and boldly suggested, “Professor, I have heard you give the same lecture on quantum mechanics so many times that I now know it by heart. It must be very boring for you, so for tonight, why don't we swap roles? I'll deliver the lecture and you sit in the audience and wear my chauffeur's cap."
Intrigued, Planck agreed. Prior to entering the next lecture, the pair, now disguised as the other, arranged themselves in their respective positions and proceeded with class as normal. In an era prior to mass media and the worldwide web, such a ploy could easily be executed if done correctly. And so, the chauffeur, as it turns out, would not disappoint, and he delivered the lecture like a certified professional. The chauffeur's presentation carried on without a hitch until one of the spectators threw him off guard with a scrupulously investigated, complex question about quantum mechanics. Most would have broken down into a shivering and sweaty pile of nerves, but the chauffeur, without missing a beat, silenced him with this response: “I'm surprised that someone from the renowned city of Munich could ask such a basic question. This being the case, I will leave my chauffeur to answer it.” With that, the “chauffeur” humored the professor with a meticulously detailed answer and a knowing glint in his eye.
The aforementioned tale has been relayed by some of the modern era's most gifted intellectuals and entrepreneurial powerhouses, including Charlie Munger, a business partner of Warren Buffet. The decades-old allegory is imparted not as an obscure episode in Planck's eventful life, but a story that showcases the difference between a pretentious, shallow understanding of a given subject (“chauffeur knowledge”) compared to an actual, in-depth comprehension of the subject, known as “Planck knowledge”.
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- By Austin on 09-22-15
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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How the Hippies Saved Physics
- Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival
- By: David Kaiser
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In the 1970s, amid severe cutbacks in physics funding, a small group of underemployed physicists in Berkeley decided to throw off the constraints of academia and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the “Fundamental Fysiks Group,” they pursued a freewheeling, speculative approach to physics. Some dabbled with LSD while conducting experiments. They studied quantum theory alongside Eastern mysticism and psychic mind reading, discussing the latest developments while lounging in hot tubs.
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Finally, I understand entanglement
- By Gary on 05-27-12
By: David Kaiser
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Tesla vs Edison
- A Captivating Guide to the War of the Currents and the Life of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Human history has seen many surprising and profound turning points. The ways that humans learned to use raw materials to create activity and resources set the stage for the most compelling and life-altering phase of the modern era, the Industrial Revolution. Born during this time on different continents but connected by similar interests, two men indelibly marked their generation and those that followed with their genius and foresight. This audiobook covers the war of currents and the individual lives of Tesla and Edison.
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Arduous
- By Hasbro on 10-22-18
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
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The Most Productive People in History: 18 Extraordinarily Prolific Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, from Archimedes to Elon Musk
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Meyer
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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They never knew how he did it. Few composers write more than one or two symphonies in their lifetimes. Beethoven spent a year on his shorter symphonies but more than six years on his 9th Symphony. The prodigy Mozart finished his last three symphonies (39, 40, and 41) in the span of a few weeks. His 25th Symphony took only two days.
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Extremely good. It can save you from burnout.
- By Peter on 02-14-21
By: Michael Rank
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The Metaphysical Club
- By: Louis Menand
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Hardly a club in the conventional sense, the organization referred to in the title of this superb literary hybrid (part history, part biography, part philosophy) consisted of four members and probably existed for less than nine months.
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The Great American Experiment
- By Victoria on 12-08-03
By: Louis Menand
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Great Scientists and Their Discoveries
- By: David Angus
- Narrated by: Benjamin Soames, Clare Corbett
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Nine remarkable men produced inventions that changed the world. The printing press, the telephone, powered flight, recording and others have made the modern world what it is. But who were the men who had these ideas and made reality of them? As David Angus shows, they were very different - quiet, boisterous, confident, withdrawn - but all had a moment of vision allied to single-minded determination to battle through numerous prototypes and produced something that really worked. This is a fascinating account for younger listeners.
By: David Angus
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Infinitesimal
- How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World
- By: Amir Alexander
- Narrated by: Ira Rosenberg
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 10, 1632, five men in flowing black robes convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a deceptively simple proposition: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and infinitely tiny parts. With the stroke of a pen the Jesuit fathers banned the doctrine of infinitesimals, announcing that it could never be taught or even mentioned. The concept was deemed dangerous and subversive, a threat to the belief that the world was an orderly place, governed by a strict and unchanging set of rules.
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An intriguing and underappreciated bit of history
- By Marino on 09-22-14
By: Amir Alexander
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The Invention of Air
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Steven Johnson recounts - in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion - the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America's Founding Fathers. The Invention of Air is a title of world-changing ideas wrapped around a compelling narrative, a story of genius and violence and friendship in the midst of sweeping historical change that provokes us to recast our understanding of the Founding Fathers.
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Good scientific history
- By Roger on 05-03-10
By: Steven Johnson
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Galileo Galilei
- A Captivating Guide to an Italian Astronomer, Physicist, and Engineer and His Impact on the History of Science
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Kevin Hung-Liang
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Galileo Galilei’s contributions to modern science were so fundamental to a variety of fields that even though he died almost 400 years ago, his name retains international acclaim. This 17th-century natural philosopher is often credited with the invention of the telescope, thanks to his many discoveries using that specific instrument, and though he was not, in fact, its inventor, the myth still persists.
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Supposed to be the Age of Common Sense
- By Dianne E Parks on 03-26-20
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The Mark of a Giant
- 7 People Who Changed the World
- By: Ted Stewart, Chris Stewart
- Narrated by: Art Allen
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout the course of history, civilization has been blessed by strong-minded men and women who have impacted our world in extraordinary ways. Their imprint upon humanity is beyond dispute. And many would contend that they were no less than the result of Divine Providence - a gift of God to the human race. The Mark of a Giant examines the lives and contributions of seven men and women who changed the world: Abraham of Ur, Pericles, the Apostle Paul, Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa.
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So Good!!
- By momof4 on 05-11-15
By: Ted Stewart, and others
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Uncertainty
- Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science
- By: David Lindley
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Werner Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" challenged centuries of scientific understanding, placed him in direct opposition to Albert Einstein, and put Niels Bohr in the middle of one of the most heated debates in scientific history. Heisenberg's theorem stated that there were physical limits to what we could know about sub-atomic particles; this "uncertainty" would have shocking implications.
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fascinating insight into the real drama of physics
- By Ryan on 09-07-10
By: David Lindley
What listeners say about Max Planck: The Life and Legacy of the Influential German Physicist Who Pioneered Quantum Theory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael B. Ryan
- 03-18-19
Very very dry,, flat, don't feel I know any more
can't say I like this book very much, don't feel I know much more about Max Planck as before. Was hoping to be more like Isaacson Einstein. what kind of a waste
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