Pauli effect
The Pauli effect is a term referring to the apparently mysterious anecdotal failure of technical equipment in the presence of certain people. The term was coined using the name of the Austrian theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli. The Pauli effect is not to be confused with the Pauli exclusion principle, which is a bona fide physical phenomenon.
History
Since the 20th century, the work of physics research has been divided between theorists and experimentalists (see scientific method). Only a few physicists, such as Enrico Fermi, have been successful in both roles. Lacking an aptitude or interest in experimental work, many theorists have earned a reputation for accidentally breaking experimental equipment. Pauli was exceptional in this regard: it was said that he was such a good theorist that any experiments would self-destruct simply because he was in the vicinity. For fear of the Pauli effect, the experimental physicist Otto Stern banned Pauli from his laboratory in Hamburg despite their friendship.[1]
An incident occurred in the physics laboratory at the University of Göttingen. An expensive measuring device, for no apparent reason, suddenly stopped working, although Pauli was in fact absent. James Franck, the director of the institute reported the incident to his colleague Pauli in Zürich with the humorous remark that at least this time Pauli was innocent. However, it turned out that Pauli on a railway journey to Copenhagen switched trains in Göttingen rail station about the time of failure. The incident is reported in George Gamow's book: "Thirty years that shook physics"[2] where it's also claimed the effect to be stronger as the theoretical physicist is more talented.
The Pauli effect was featured in the motion picture Babylon 5: The River of Souls where Elizabeth Lochley referred to it as the Sheridan-Garibaldi Effect. This referred to two other characters as being destructive to Babylon 5's peace and quiet.
The Pauli effect, if it were real, would be classified as a "macro-psychokinetic" phenomenon. Wolfgang Pauli was convinced that the effect named after him was real.[3] As Pauli considered parapsychology worthy of serious investigation, this would fit with his thinking; to this end, Pauli corresponded with Hans Bender and Carl Jung on the concept of Synchronicity. In 1934, Pauli saw a failure of his car during a honeymoon tour with his second wife as proof of a real Pauli effect since it occurred without an obvious external cause.[4]
In February 1950, when he was at Princeton University, the cyclotron burnt, and he asked himself if this mischief belonged to such a Pauli effect, named after him.[5]
The Pauli effect at the foundation of the C.G. Jung Institute, Zürich 1948, caused Pauli to write his article "Background-Physics", in which he tries to find complementary relationships between physics and depth psychology.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ Enz (2009), p. 152.
- ^ Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory, 1966, Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-24895-X.
- ^ Enz (2002), p. 150.
- ^ Wissenschaftlicher Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg u. a, Band 3 von Wolfgang Pauli, Karl von Meyenn, Herausgeber Karl von Meyenn, Verlag Birkhäuser, 1993, ISBN 0387549110, P. 763
- ^ Pauli, Wolfgang (1996). Wissenschaftlicher Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg, u.a. Vol. vol. 4/I. ed. Karl von Meyenn. Berlin: Springer. p. 37. ISBN 3540594426. OCLC 36847539.
{{cite book}}:|volume=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Pauli, Wolfgang; Jung, C G (2001). Atom and Archetype: the Pauli/Jung Letters, 1932-1958. ed. C.A. Meier. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 179–196. ISBN 0691012075. OCLC 45757717.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
References
- Enz, Charles P (2002). No Time to be Brief: A Scientific Biography of Wolfgang Pauli. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198564791. OCLC 48753063.
- Enz, Charles P. (2009) [1995]. "Rational and Irrational Features in Wolfgang Pauli's Life". Of Matter And Spirit: Selected Essays by Charles P. Enz. World Scientific. ISBN 9812819002.
External links
- Wolfgang Pauli and Parapsychology
- The Pauli effect at the foundation of the C.G. Jung Institute, Zürich 1948
- The Pauli effect, a sonnet by Peg Duthie published in Contemporary Rhyme