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Einstein's E = mc2 derivable from the Heisenberg brackets.


Planck and Einstein

Max Planck and Albert are two giants in modern physics. We all know what we did for us. What do they have in common? By looking at two different events, they derived the formulas applicable to all.

They were different from most of us. We are interested in how they were different from us. First of all, they used to look at the world differently. In order to tell the difference between them and us, physicists these days have developed the words "birds" and "frogs."

Einstein did not consider internal space-time symmetries of particles when he formulated his special theory of relativity. Let us go back to Newton. He formulated his gravity law for point particles first. It then took him 20 years to work about the law for solid spheres with non-zero radii, such as the sun and earth.

It was not until 1939 when Eugene Wigner formulated his little groups dictating internal space-time symmetries in the quantum world. We can summarize his work in the following table.


Hillary Clinton in Russia (2009).



Frogs and Birds look at the
Washington Monument differently.
Hillary Clinton went to Kazan as a bird, and I went there as a frog.

Frogs and Birds. How do they look at the Washington Monument?