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The Solvay Science Project

Spring 1911

Several months pass. At Robert Goldschmidt’s insistence, Ernest Solvay looks into the organization of the Council.

Édouard Herzen suggests that Max Planck should preside the Council, but this proposal is not taken up (apparently because of Max Planck’s refusal).

The Council (now a Conference) will ultimately be presided by Hendrik Lorentz. 

Ernest Solvay convenes the Conference on 9 June 1911. The aim of this first conference was to ‘shed light on some current questions concerning molecular and kinetic theories’ and it was held from 30 October to 3 November 1911. The Conference report is published in Paris in 1912 under the title ‘Radiation theory and quanta’ (La théorie du rayonnement et les quanta).

The quantum revolution is under way!

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Hendrik Lorentz (1853-1928)

http://bib56.ulb.ac.be/uploads/r/null/9/2/1/921a4d223dc89bd12881ce00a0c942fdcd6170bea2fda4be8a823a19a5dce7ae/Solvay_1_1691-corr.pdf

Lettre d'Ernest Solvay à Robert Goldschmidt + retranscription dactylographiée, 12 mars 1911

After studying Walther Nernst’s proposal, Ernest Solvay, concerned about the small number of French participants, suggests inviting Marcel Brillouin. 

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Lettre d'Édouard Herzen à Ernest Solvay, 13 mars 1911

At Ernest Solvay’s request, Édouard Herzen carefully studies Walther Nernst’s project and suggests that Solvay send a personal letter of invitation with the list of guests. He divides the names put forward by Walther Nernst into two categories and proposes Max Planck as president instead of Lord Rayleigh. 

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Max Planck (1858-1947)

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Lettre d'Ernest Solvay à Walther Nernst, mai 1910

Draft of the personal letter written by Édouard Herzen and annotated by Walther Nernst.

Presidency: Hendrik Lorentz (instead of Max Planck); appearance of new guests: Arnold Sommerfeld, Marie Curie, Henri Poincaré and Maurice de Broglie.

http://bib56.ulb.ac.be/uploads/r/null/b/1/b/b1bdf7d2c1e645f86922afaa657608abc0ccb6e1b09683d736e47514b81db15c/Solvay_1_1700.pdf

Lettre d'Ernest Solvay, 15 juin 1911 : Invitation à un « Conseil scientifique international pour élucider quelques questions d'actualité des théories moléculaires et cinétiques. »

Letter of invitation to the 1st Solvay Conference on Physics sent to 26 scientists: 22 of these reply in the affirmative.

http://bib56.ulb.ac.be/uploads/r/null/7/7/0/770574d5a17afca0a922819f0bc974179b5a1e0598b9b7e7acb7725d3a35ca66/Solvay_1_1696.pdf

Lettre de Walther Nernst à Robert Goldschmidt, 31 mai 1911

Walther Nernst is upset by Robert Goldschmidt’s departure for the Congo because he would prefer to remain anonymous: to him, an initiative stemming from Solvay and his entourage will be more promising than one coming from a German scientist, a physicist and chemist on top of it. Final amendments are made to the guest list (Heike Kamerlingh Onnes is added, while Wilhelm Röntgen and Hugo von Seeliger are replaced by Emil Warburg and Heinrich Rubens).