The
International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry, located in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, were founded by the
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
industrialistAn industry is the manufacturing of a good or service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw...
Ernest SolvayErnest Gaston Joseph Solvay was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.Born at Rebecq, acute pleurisy prevented him from going to university...
in 1912, following the historic invitation-only 1911
Conseil Solvay, the first world
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
conference. The Institutes coordinate conferences, workshops, seminars, and colloquia.
Following the initial success of 1911, the
Solvay Conferences (
Conseils Solvay) have been devoted to outstanding preeminent open problems in both physics and
chemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
. The usual schedule is every three years, but there have been larger gaps.
First conference
Hendrik A. LorentzHendrik Antoon Lorentz was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect...
was chairman of the first Solvay Conference held in Brussels in the autumn of 1911. The subject was
Radiation and the Quanta. This conference looked at the problems of having two approaches, namely the
classical physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
and
quantum theoryQuantum mechanics is a set of principles describing the physical reality at the atomic level of matter and the subatomic . These descriptions include the simultaneous wave-like and particle-like behavior of both matter and radiation...
.
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
was the youngest physicist present. Other members of the
Solvay Congress included such luminaries as Marie Skłodowska-Curie and
Henri PoincaréJules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician and theoretical physicist, and a philosopher of science...
. (See image for attendee list.)
Fifth conference
Perhaps the most famous conference was the October 1927 Fifth Solvay International Conference on
ElectronAn electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has no known substructure and is believed to be a point particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1836 times less than that of the proton. The intrinsic angular momentum of the electron is a half integer...
s and PhotonIn physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic field and the basic "unit" of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
s, where the world's most notable physicists met to discuss the newly formulated quantum theory. The leading figures were Albert Einstein and
Niels BohrNiels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
. Einstein, disenchanted with
HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
's "
Uncertainty PrincipleIn quantum mechanics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that certain pairs of physical properties, like position and momentum, cannot both be known to arbitrary precision. That is, the more precisely one property is known, the less precisely the other can be known...
," remarked "God does not play dice." Bohr replied, "Einstein, stop telling God what to do." (See
Bohr-Einstein debatesThe Bohr–Einstein debates is a popular name given to a series of public disputes between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr about quantum physics. These two men, along with Max Planck were the founders of the original quantum theory. Their "debates" are remembered because of their importance to the...
.) Seventeen of the twenty-nine attendees were or became
Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
winners, including
Marie CurieMarie Skłodowska Curie was a physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing and, subsequently, French citizenship...
, who alone among them, had won Nobel Prizes in two separate scientific disciplines.
Solvay conferences on Physics
| No |
Year |
Title |
Translation |
Chair |
| 1 |
1911 |
La théorie du rayonnement et les quanta |
The theory of radiation and quanta |
Hendrik Lorentz (Leiden) |
| 2 |
1913 |
La structure de la matière |
The structure of matter |
| 3 |
1921 |
Atomes et électrons |
Atoms and electrons |
| 4 |
1924 |
Conductibilité électrique des métaux et problèmes connexes |
Electric conductivity of metals and related problems |
| 5 |
1927 |
Electrons et photons |
Electrons and photons |
| 6 |
1930 |
Le magnétisme |
Magnetism |
Paul Langevin (Paris) |
| 7 |
1933 |
Structure et propriétés des noyaux atomiques |
Structure & properties of the atomic nucleus |
| 8 |
1948 |
Les particules élémentaires |
Elementary particles |
Sir Lawrence Bragg (Cambridge) |
| 9 |
1951 |
L'état solide |
The solid state |
| 10 |
1954 |
Les électrons dans les métaux |
Electrons in metals |
| 11 |
1958 |
La structure et l'évolution de l'univers |
The structure and evolution of the universe |
| 12 |
1961 |
La théorie quantique des champs |
Quantum field theory |
| 13 |
1964 |
The Structure and Evolution of Galaxies |
J. R. Oppenheimer (Princeton) |
| 14 |
1967 |
Fundamental Problems in Elementary Particle Physics |
R. Møller (Copenhagen) |
| 15 |
1970 |
Symmetry Properties of Nuclei |
Edoardo Amaldi (Rome) |
| 16 |
1973 |
Astrophysics and Gravitation |
| 17 |
1978 |
Order and Fluctuations in Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics |
Léon van Hove (CERN) |
| 18 |
1982 |
Higher Energy Physics |
| 19 |
1987 |
Surface Science |
F.W. de Wette (Austin) |
| 20 |
1991 |
Quantum Optics |
Paul Mandel (Brussels) |
| 21 |
1998 |
Dynamical Systems and Irreversibility |
Ioannis Antoniou (Brussels) |
| 22 |
2001 |
The Physics of Communication |
| 23 |
2005 |
The Quantum Structure of Space and Time |
David Gross (Santa Barbara) |
| 24 |
2008 |
Quantum Theory of Condensed Matter |
Bertrand Halperin (Harvard) |
Solvay conferences on Chemistry
| No |
Year |
Title |
Translation |
Chair |
| 1 |
1922 |
Cinq Questions d'Actualité |
Five topical questions |
William Pope (Cambridge) |
| 2 |
1925 |
Structure et Activité Chimique |
Structure and Chemical Activity |
| 3 |
1928 |
Questions d'Actualité |
Topical Questions |
| 4 |
1931 |
Constitution et Configuration des Molécules Organiques |
Constitution and Configuration of Organic Molecules |
| 5 |
1934 |
L'Oxygène, ses réactions chimiques et biologiques |
Oxygen, and its chemical and biological reactions. |
| 6 |
1937 |
Les vitamines et les Hormones |
Vitamins and Hormones |
Fred Swarts (Ghent) |
| 7 |
1947 |
Les Isotopes |
Isotopes |
Paul Karrer (Zurich) |
| 8 |
1950 |
Le Mécanisme de l'Oxydation |
The mechanism of oxidation |
| 9 |
1953 |
Les Protéines |
Proteins |
| 10 |
1956 |
Quelques Problèmes de Chimie Minérale |
Some Problems of Inorganic Chemistry |
| 11 |
1959 |
Les Nucléoprotéines |
Nucleoproteins |
Alfred Rene Ubbelohde (London) |
| 12 |
1962 |
Transfert d'Energie dans les Gaz |
Energy transfer in gases |
| 13 |
1965 |
Reactivity of the Photoexcited Organic Molecule |
| 14 |
1969 |
Phase Transitions |
| 15 |
1970 |
Electrostatic Interactions and Structure of Water |
| 16 |
1976 |
Molecular Movements and Chemical Reactivity as conditioned by Membranes, Enzymes and other Molecules |
| 17 |
1980 |
Aspects of Chemical Evolution |
| 18 |
1983 |
Design and Synthesis of Organic Molecules Based on Molecular Recognition |
Ephraim Katchalski (RehovotRehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about 20 km south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2007 the city had a total population of 106,200. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of...
) & Vladimir Prelog (Zurich) |
| 19 |
1987 |
Surface Science |
F.W. de Wette (Austin) |
| 20 |
1995 |
Chemical Reactions and their Control on the Femtosecond Time Scale |
Pierre Gaspard (Brussels) |
| 21 |
2007 |
From Noncovalent Assemblies to Molecular Machines |
Jean-Pierre Sauvage (Strasbourg) |
External links