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The Solvay Science Project

The specificity of the projects supported by the International Solvay Institute for Physics

The International Solvay Institute for Physics supports experimental research tied to questions discussed during the 1911 Conference: the molecular theory, thermal radiation, X-rays and the quanta theory.

The Solvay subsidies thus contribute to the birth of quantum physics and of two major disciplines: atomic physics and solid state physics.

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Lettre d'Ernest Solvay à Hendrik Lorentz au sujet du télégramme envoyé le 18 août 1912, 22 août 1912

Ernest Solvay reiterates his agreement for a sum of 8,000 Belgian francs to be sent to the laboratory of Piotr Lebedew. 

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Lettre d'Ernest Solvay à Émile Tassel, 21 juillet 1913

Solvay agrees to transfer (exceptionally) a supplement of 7,800 Belgian francs (i.e. about 2,066,750 Belgian francs or 51,246 euros in 2017) to the ‘subsidies’ budget of the International Solvay Institute for Physics to enable it to honour seven applications deemed interesting, including the one submitted by James Franck and Gustav Hertz! 

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Premier Conseil de physique Solvay, photographie de groupe, 1911

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Neuvième Conseil de physique Solvay, photographie de groupe, 1951 (L'état solide) 

From subsidies to Nobel Prizes
The specificity of the projects supported by the International Solvay Institute for Physics