MAX VON LAUE IN POZNAN

1. MAX VON LAUE IN POZNAN Andrzej B. Wieckowski professor emeritus Institute of Physics Faculty of Physics and Astronomy University of Zielona Gora St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

2. Plan • Max von Laue (1879–1960) • Great physicist • Childhood in Poznan • Max Laue as a pupil St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

3. Max von Laue (1879–1960) St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

4. Max von Laue (1879–1960) • Max Theodor Felix Laue (since 1913 von Laue) born October 9, 1879 in Pfaffendorf (photo) in former commune of Ehrenbreitstein on the right bank of the Rhine river (today within Coblenz). • Max von Laue died April 24, 1960 in Berlin, 16 days after a car accident (he was an enthusiastic driver) and is buried in Göttingen. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

5. Great physicist St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

6. Great physicist • One of the most eminent physicists of the XXth century. • His considerations upon the interactions of X-rays with atoms, encouraged by Paul Peter Ewald (1888–1985), led him to the discovery of interference and diffraction effects of X-rays in crystals. The key experiment was performed under Laue’s instructions in April 1912 at the University of Munich, by Walter Friedrich (1883–1968), an assistant of Arnold Sommerfeld (1868–1951), and Paul Knipping (1883–1935), an assistant of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923). St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

7. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE Deutsches Museum München

8. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

9. Great physicist „Dear Mr. Laue! I sincerely congratulate you on your magnificent success. Your experiment belongs to the most beautiful achievements of physics. … …Yours A. Einstein” St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

10. Great physicist • The Laue experiment proved both the wave character of X-ray radiation, and the three-dimensional periodic structure of crystals. • For his groundbreaking discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals, Laue was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914, only two years after his historical experiment. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

11. Great physicist • top: • Max von Laue-Gymnasium in Koblenz (the school also offers Polish as the mother tongue). • bottom: • Max von Laue-Realschule Berlinie–Steglitz. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

12. Childhood in Poznan St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

13. Childhood in Poznan • So far, the Poznan period of Max von Laue’s life has been poorly documented. • Also there are no memorabilia in the private archives of the von Laue family. Oral tradition is also scarce because Max von Laue was not a loquacious person. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

14. Childhood in Poznan • Questions to be answered, e.g. when did the Laue family arrive in Posen? where did they live? how was Max doing as a schoolboy? • I took upon myself the difficult task of tracking down all the traces connected with the stay of a gymnasium schoolboy in Poznan in the end of the XIXth century. • …starting from just one or two pieces of scattered information. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

15. Childhood in Poznan • I found two interesting documents in the State Archives in Poznan. • One of them is the Registration card of the Laue family, who came to Poznan from Altona and were recorded in the city register on February 9, 1887. The address is recorded as St. Martin (today’s Swiety Marcin) 52/53, flat nr 26. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

16. Childhood in Poznan St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

17. Childhood in Poznan St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

18. Max Laue as a pupil St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

19. Max Laue as a pupil • The second document comes from the register of the pupils of the Königliches Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium zu Posen. • An entry was made on October 12, 1887 for Max Laue, admitted to form VI M (Sexta), corresponding today to the 1st grade. • The State Archives in Poznan keep further 13 school certificates for the pupil Maxa Laue from the years 1887–1991 (only one certificate is missing). St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

20. Max Laue as a pupil • The school year was divided into 2 semesters and 4 terms: • 1. Easter – Johannis (St John) • 2. Johannis (St John) – Michaelis (St Michael). • 3. Michaelis (St Michael) – Christmas • 4. New Year – Easter. • Max Laue was a restless (to the point of unruly) child, and this was reflected by the notes and remarks left by his teachers. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

21. Max Laue as a pupil • Examples of teacher’s remarks and recommendations: • „Behaviour and conduct: the pupil is reprimanded because of disobedience and behaviour before lessons.” • „Behaviour and conduct: L. must follow the orders of his teachers with greater earnestness (restless behaviour) and become better composed in his behaviour.” • His promotion certificates contain mostly „satisfactory” grades. In 1887 the pupil Max Laue was evaluated at place 14 among 33 students. In 1888 he was already at place No. 7, his grade in „Nature” was „good”, and in 1991 „very good”. St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE

22. Thank you for your attention! St. John Cantius Secondary School No. 3 – UNVEILING OF THE MEMORY PLAQUE