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{{Infobox_Scientist
| name = Erwin Schrödinger
| image = Erwin_Schrödinger.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| caption = Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1887|8|12|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Erdberg]], [[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1961|1|4|1887|8|12}}
| death_place = [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]
| residence =   [[Austria]], [[Ireland]]
| nationality = {{AUT}}<br>{{IRL}}
| field = [[Physics]]
| work_institution = [[University of Wroclaw]]<br> [[University of Zurich]]<br> [[University of Berlin]]<br>
[[University of Oxford]]<br> [[University of Graz]]<br> [[Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Vienna]] 
| doctoral_advisor = [[Friedrich Hasenöhrl]]
| doctoral_students = <!--please insert-->
| known_for  = [[Schrödinger's equation]]
| prizes = [[Image:Nobel prize medal.svg|20px]] [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1933)
}}
{{quantum}}
[[Image:Schrodinger1933.jpg|thumb|right|Schrödinger in 1933, when he was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]]]]
[[Image:Erwin Schrodinger at U Vienna.JPG|thumb|162px|Bust of Schrödinger, in the courtyard arcade of the main building, [[University of Vienna]], Austria.]]
[[Image:Schroedinger-grave.jpg|thumb|162px|Erwin Schrödinger's gravesite]]
'''Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger''' ({{IPA2|ˈɛrviːn ˈʃrøːdɪŋɐ}}; [[August 12]], [[1887]] &ndash; [[January 4]], [[1961]]) was an [[Austria]]n - [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] [[physicist]] who achieved fame for his contributions to [[quantum mechanics]], especially the [[Schrödinger equation]], for which he received the [[Nobel Prize]] in 1933. In 1935, after extensive correspondence with personal friend [[Albert Einstein]], he proposed the [[Schrödinger's cat]] [[thought experiment]].

==Early years==
In 1887 Schrödinger was born in Erdberg, Vienna to Rudolf Schrödinger (cerecloth producer, botanist) and Georgine Emilia Brenda (daughter of Alexander Bauer, Professor of Chemistry, [[k.u.k.]] [[Technische Hochschule]] [[Vienna]]). His father was a Catholic and his mother was a Lutheran.  In 1898 he attended the [[Akademisches Gymnasium]]. Between 1906 and 1910 Schrödinger studied in Vienna under [[Franz S. Exner|Franz Serafin Exner]] (1849 - 1926) and [[Friedrich Hasenöhrl]] (1874 - 1915). He also conducted experimental work with [[Friedrich Kohlrausch]]. In 1911, Schrödinger became an assistant to Exner.

==Middle years==
In [[1914]] Erwin Schrödinger achieved [[Habilitation]] (''venia legendi''). Between 1914 and 1918 he participated in war work as a commissioned officer in the Austrian fortress artillery ([[Gorizia]], [[Duino]], [[Sistiana]], Prosecco, Vienna). On April 6, 1920, Schrödinger married Annemarie Bertel. The same year, he became the assistant to [[Max Wien]], in [[Jena]], and in September 1920 he attained the position of ao. Prof. (''Ausserordentlicher Professor''), roughly equivalent to Reader (UK) or associate professor (US)), in [[Stuttgart]]. In [[1921]], he became o. Prof. (''Ordentlicher Professor'', i.e. full professor), in Breslau (now [[Wrocław]], Poland).

In 1922, he attended the [[University of Zurich|University of Zürich]]. In January 1926,  Schrödinger published in the [[Annalen der Physik]] the paper "''Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem''" [''tr''. Quantisation as an [[Eigenvalue]] Problem] on wave mechanics and what is now known as the [[Schrödinger equation]]. In this paper he gave a "derivation" of the wave equation for time independent systems, and showed that it gave the correct energy eigenvalues for the [[hydrogen-like atom]].  This paper has been universally celebrated as one of the most important achievements of the twentieth century, and created a revolution in quantum mechanics, and indeed of all physics and chemistry.  A second paper was submitted just four weeks later that solved the [[quantum harmonic oscillator]], the [[rigid rotor]] and the diatomic molecule, and gives a new derivation of the Schrödinger equation.  A third paper in May showed the equivalence of his approach to that of Heisenberg and gave the treatment of the [[Stark effect]]. A fourth paper in this most remarkable series showed how to treat problems in which the system changes with time, as in [[scattering]] problems.  These papers were the central achievement of his career and were at once recognized as having great significance by the physics community.

In 1927, he joined [[Max Planck]] at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Friedrich Wilhelm University]] in [[Berlin]]. In 1933, however, Schrödinger decided to leave Germany; he disliked the Nazis' [[anti-semitism]]. He became a Fellow of [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]] at the [[University of Oxford]]. Soon after he arrived, he received the [[Nobel Prize]] together with [[Paul Dirac|Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac]]. His position at Oxford did not work out; his unconventional personal life (Schrödinger lived with two women) was not met with acceptance. In 1934, Schrödinger lectured at [[Princeton University]]; he was offered a permanent position there, but did not accept it. Again, his wish to set up house with his wife and his mistress may have posed a problem. He had the prospect of a position at the [[University of Edinburgh]] but visa delays occurred, and in the end he took up a position at the [[University of Graz]] in [[Austria]] in 1936.

==Later years==
In [[1938]], after Hitler occupied Austria, Schrödinger had problems because of his flight from Germany in [[1933]] and his known opposition to [[Nazism]]. He issued a statement recanting this opposition (he later regretted doing so, and he personally apologized to [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]). However, this did not fully appease the new dispensation and the university dismissed him from his job for political unreliability. He suffered harassment and received instructions not to leave the country, but he and his wife fled to Italy. From there he went to visiting positions in [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[Ghent University|Ghent]] Universities. 

In 1940 he received an invitation to help establish an [[Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies|Institute for Advanced Studies]] in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]]. He became the Director of the School for Theoretical Physics and remained there for 17 years, during which time he became a naturalized Irish citizen. He wrote about 50 further publications on various topics, including his explorations of [[classical unified field theories|unified field theory]].  

In [[1944]], he wrote ''[[What is Life? (Schrödinger)|What is Life?]]'', which contains a discussion of [[Negentropy]] and the concept of a complex [[molecule]] with the genetic code for living [[organism]]s. According to [[James D. Watson]]'s memoir, ''DNA, The Secret of Life'', Schrödinger's book gave Watson the inspiration to research the [[gene]], which led to the discovery of the [[DNA]] double helix structure. Similarly, [[Francis Crick]], in his autobiographical book ''What Mad Pursuit'', described how he was influenced by  Schrödinger's speculations about how genetic information might be stored in molecules. Schrödinger stayed in Dublin until retiring in 1955. During this time he remained committed to his particular passion; scandalous involvements with students occurred and he fathered two children by two different Irish women. He had a life-long interest in the [[Vedanta]] philosophy of [[Hinduism]], which influenced his speculations at the close of ''What is Life?'' about the possibility that individual [[consciousness]] is only a manifestation of a unitary consciousness pervading the [[universe]].<ref>My View of the World - By Erwin Schroedinger chapter iv. What is life? the physical aspect of the living cell & Mind and matter - By Erwin Schrodinger</ref>

In 1956, he returned to Vienna (chair ''ad personam''). At an important lecture during the World Energy Conference he refused to speak on nuclear energy because of his skepticism about it and gave a philosophical lecture instead. During this period Schrödinger turned from mainstream quantum mechanics' definition of wave-particle duality and promoted the wave idea alone causing much controversy.

==Personal life==
Schrödinger decided in 1933 that he could not live in a country in which persecution of [[Jews]] had become a national policy. [[Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell|Alexander Frederick Lindemann]], the head of physics at [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]], visited [[Germany]] in the spring of 1933 to try to arrange positions in [[England]] for some young Jewish scientists from Germany. He spoke to Schrödinger about posts for one of his assistants and was surprised to discover that Schrödinger himself was interested in leaving Germany. Schrödinger asked for a colleague, [[Arthur March]], to be offered a post as his assistant.

The request for March stemmed from Schrödinger's unconventional relationships with women. His relations with his wife had never been good and he had had many lovers with his wife's knowledge. Anny had her own lover for many years, Schrödinger's friend [[Hermann Weyl]]. Schrödinger asked for March to be his assistant because, at that time, he was in love with March's wife Hilde.

Many of the scientists who had left Germany spent the summer of 1933 in [[Alto Adige]]/[[Südtirol]]. Here Hilde became pregnant with Schrödinger's child. On 4 November 1933 Schrödinger, his wife and Hilde March arrived in Oxford. Schrödinger had been elected a fellow of [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]]. Soon after they arrived in Oxford, Schrödinger heard that, for his work on [[wave mechanics]], he had been awarded the [[Nobel prize]].

In the spring of 1934 Schrödinger was invited to lecture at [[Princeton University]] and while there he was made an offer of a permanent position. On his return to Oxford he negotiated about salary and pension conditions at Princeton but in the end he did not accept. It is thought that the fact that he wished to live at Princeton with Anny and Hilde both sharing the upbringing of his child was not found acceptable. The fact that Schrödinger openly had two wives, even if one of them was married to another man, was not well received in Oxford either. Nevertheless, his daughter Ruth Georgie Erica was born there on 30 May 1934.<ref>''Schrödinger: Life and Thought'' by Walter John Moore, Cambridge University Press 1992 ISBN 0-521-43767-9, discusses Schrödinger's unconventional relationships, including his affair with Hildegunde March, in chapters seven and eight, "Berlin" and "Exile in Oxford".</ref>

==Death and legacy==
On January 4, 1961, Schrödinger died in [[Vienna]] of [[tuberculosis]] at the age of 73. He left a widow, Anny (born Annamaria Bertel on Dec. 3, 1896, died Oct. 3, 1965), and was buried in [[Alpbach]] ([[Austria]]).

The huge [[Schrödinger (crater)|Schrödinger crater]] on the [[Far side (Moon)|far side]] of the [[Moon]] was posthumously named after him by the [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]].   The [http://www.esi.ac.at Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics] was established in Vienna in 1993. 

==Color==
One of Schrödinger's lesser-known areas of scientific contribution was his work on [[color]], [[color perception]], and [[colorimetry]] (''Farbenmetrik'').  In 1920, he published three papers in this area:

* "Theorie der Pigmente von größter Leuchtkraft," ''Annalen der Physik'', (4), 62, (1920), 603-622 

* "Grundlinien einer Theorie der Farbenmetrik im Tagessehen," ''Annalen der Physik'', (4), 63, (1920), 397-426; 427-456; 481-520 (Outline of a theory of color measurement for daylight vision)

* "Farbenmetrik," ''Zeitschrift für Physik'', 1, (1920), 459-466 (Color measurement)

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Books by Erwin Schrödinger==
*"Nature and the Greeks" and "Science and Humanism" Cambridge University Press (1996) ISBN 0521575508.
*"The interpretation of Quantum Mechanics" Ox Bow Press (1995) ISBN 1881987094.
*"Statistical Thermodynamics" Dover Publications (1989) ISBN 0486661016.
*"Collected papers" Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn (1984) ISBN 3700105738.
*"My View of the World" Ox Bow Press (1983) ISBN 0918024307.
*"Expanding Universes" Cambridge University Press (1956).
*"Space-Time Structure" Cambridge University Press (1950) ISBN 0521315204.
*"[[What is Life? (Schrödinger)|What is Life?]]" Macmillan (1946).

==See also==
*[[Entropy and life]]
*[[Schrödinger's cat]]
*[[Schrödinger method]]
*[[Schrödinger functional]]
*[[List of Austrian scientists]]
*[[List of Austrians]]

==External links==
{{commons|Erwin Schrödinger}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jbourj/money1.htm Erwin Schrödinger on an Austrian banknote.]
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Schrodinger}}
* "''[http://www.zbp.univie.ac.at/schrodinger/bio/bio1.htm biographie]''" (in German) or 
* "''[http://www.zbp.univie.ac.at/schrodinger/ebio/bio1.htm Biography from the Austrian Central Library for Physics]''" (in English) 
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9066219/Erwin-Schrodinger Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Erwin Schrodinger]
* [[Nobel Lecture]]s, [[Physics]] [[1922]]-[[1941]], "''[http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1933/schrodinger-bio.html Erwin Schrödinger Biography]''" from NobelPrize.org
* Vallabhan, C. P. Girija, "''[http://www.photonics.cusat.edu/article2.html Indian influences on Quantum Dynamics]''" [''ed.'' Schrödinger's interest in [[Vedanta]]]
* [http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/watoc Schrödinger Medal] of the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists ([[WATOC]])
* [http://holiker.narod.ru/four/schrodinger-speech.html ''The Discovery of New Productive Forms of Atomic Theory'' Nobel Banquet speech] (in German)
* [http://www.harrymaugans.com/2006/05/03/in-search-of-schrodingers-cat/ Quantum Mechanics and Schrodinger's Cat]
* [http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Schrödinger,+Erwin Annotated bibliography for Erwin Schrodinger from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
*[http://www.hinduwisdom.info/quotes21_40.htm#Q31 Schrödinger and his interest for Hinduism]

{{page foot DNA discovery}}
<br>{{Nobel Prize in Physics Laureates 1926-1950}}

{{Persondata
|NAME= Schrödinger, Erwin
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Physicist]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= {{birth date|1887|8|12|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Erdberg]], [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]
|DATE OF DEATH= {{death date|1961|1|4|mf=y}}, age 73
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrödinger, Erwin}}
[[Category:Theoretical physicists]]
[[Category:Quantum theory physicists]]
[[Category:Austrian physicists]]
[[Category:Thermodynamicists]]
[[Category:Deaths by tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Irish physicists]]
[[Category:Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:People associated with the University of Zurich]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]
[[Category:Austrian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Western mystics]]
[[Category:Erdős number 3]]

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