The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (SCGP) at Stony Brook University opened its latest gallery exhibition, 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics, on October 9 with a reception and lecture by Giuseppe Mussardo, distinguished professor of theoretical physics at Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy.
Presented by the Simons Center Art and Outreach Program and curated by SCGP Art Director Lorraine Walsh, the exhibition marks a century since the birth of quantum theory, a turning point in science that reshaped our understanding of nature, energy and matter. The exhibition, which runs through January 16, coincides with UNESCO’s designation of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
Walsh said the exhibition “explores the foundations of quantum theory and its evolution, as well as continued research.” The show features the early discoveries that revolutionized physics, from Max Planck’s blackbody radiation formula to the work of Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrödinger.
“It offers a snapshot on how quantum mechanics underlies much of modern physics that has led to a revolutionary understanding of matter, and a profound impact on technology and innovation,” added Walsh.
Following the opening reception in the Simons Center lobby, guests gathered in the Della Pietra Family Auditorium for Mussardo’s lecture, God Plays Dice with the World: The Story of Quantum Mechanics. The title references his popular book of the same name and Einstein’s famous comment about chance in quantum physics.
“Today we are talking about one of the most gripping stories ever told,” he began. “It is a story of great ideas, fierce competition, and profound discoveries. The story of quantum mechanics is the great game of the 20th century.”
Over the next hour, Mussardo led the audience through a history of quantum scientific insight, beginning with Max Planck in 1900. As Mussardo recounted, Planck had been “obsessed with universal qualities” and sought a formula to describe blackbody radiation, a challenge that ultimately led him to introduce a new physical constant, h, now known as Planck’s constant. “The magic of this formula is incredible,” Mussardo said. “Never in the history of science has such a simple interpolation had such an immense consequence in physics and philosophy.”
He then traced the lineage of quantum thought through Einstein’s revolutionary papers of 1905, which introduced the concept of light quanta (now referred to as photons) and explained the photoelectric effect. Mussardo called Einstein “a magician” who “invented out of the blue a new world,” as opposed to the “ordinary geniuses” of science.
“Einstein was both a bird and a frog,” Mussardo said, quoting physicist Freeman Dyson’s analogy. “He could see incredibly far, but he also worked with his hands in the mud — solving problems of heat, motion, and matter.”
Mussardo then chronicled the rapid succession of discoveries that followed: Niels Bohr’s model of the atom, Arnold Sommerfeld’s refinements, and the young physicists who would redefine reality itself. He described Heisenberg’s feverish retreat to the island of Helgoland in 1925, where he devised the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics. “Heisenberg said, ‘At first I was deeply alarmed. I had the feeling that through the surface of atomic phenomena I was looking into a strangely beautiful interior.’ That moment marked the birth of modern quantum theory,” Mussardo said.
He continued with Erwin Schrödinger’s wave equation, and noted that Schrödinger’s work introduced a second mathematical framework, one based on waves rather than matrices, leading to a rivalry that shaped the field. “Heisenberg found Schrödinger’s theory ‘repulsive and lacking civilization,’ while Schrödinger thought Heisenberg’s algebra was frighteningly abstract,” Mussardo said. “And yet they were describing the same reality in two languages.”
That duality culminated in one of science’s most profound paradoxes: the double-slit experiment, where particles like electrons behave as both waves and particles. “If you observe which slit the particle passes through, the interference pattern disappears,” he said. “Reality changes with observation — that is the unsettling beauty of quantum mechanics.”
He concluded with the uncertainty principle, formulated by Heisenberg in 1927, which defines the limits of what can be known about a particle’s position and momentum. “This is what blurred our reality forever,” Mussardo said. “And this is why our life in quantum mechanics is so interesting.”
The audience, which included faculty, students, and visitors from across the scientific and arts communities, responded with applause and a question-and-answer session.
“Quantum mechanics is not just a chapter in science,” Mussardo said in closing. “It is a symphony, a story of human curiosity, creativity, and courage that continues to unfold.”
— Beth Squire
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