著者

Daisuke KONAGAYA

出版者

The History of Science Society of Japan

雑誌

Historia Scientiarum. Second Series: International Journal of the History of Science Society of Japan (ISSN:02854821)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.29, no.3, pp.280-299, 2020-03-31 (Released:2022-03-25)

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Werner K. Heisenberg toured the United States from March to August 1929 and Japan, together with Paul A. M. Dirac, from August to September 1929. In Japan, they gave several impressive lectures on quantum theory, mainly at Tokyo Imperial University and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Tokyo. Though it is well-known that their lectures "stimulated the minds of young Japanese physicists" at that time, this paper treats Heisenberg and Dirac's visit to Kyoto and their Kyoto lectures. The Kyoto lectures are mostly overlooked in the history of science because the event was smaller than Tokyo's, and it was likely that the Kyoto lectures were simply selected from several lectures held in Tokyo. However, young physicists, including Hideki Yukawa and Yoichi Uchida, attended the event in Kyoto, and they had the opportunity to consider each important theoretical topic covered in the lectures. This paper presents the details of their visit to Kyoto together with the itinerary of their travel in Japan; it focuses particularly on Heisenberg's Kyoto lecture and its stimulation of future generations of Japanese scientists.