The Nobel Stamps of 1982

The stamps have been engraved by Martin Mörck after originals by Kjell Anderson, Lennart Forsberg, Dan Jonsson and Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. They are printed by steel at the PFA and will be issued in a booklet of 5 stamps each.

 

Nobel Laureates - Nuclear Physics

The 1982 Nobel Stamps issue illustrates the theme nuclear physics and honours five Laureates for the Nobel Prize in Physics. They were rewarded for their work in developing a new atomic theory - quantum mechanics. The Laureates are: NIELS BOHR, Denmark (1922), ERWIN SCHRÖDINGER, Austria (1933), LOUIS DE BROGLIE, France (1929), PAUL DIRAC, England (1933) and WERNER HEISENBERG, Germany (1932).

Quantum mechanics was formulated 1925-1926 by Heisenberg and Schrödinger and it is the theory that replaces classic Newtonian mechanics in the world of atoms and molecules. Important preparatory work was done by Niels Bohr, who in 1913 suggested an atomic model where the electrons are supposed to move only in specific orbits around the nucleus of the atom. Schrödinger's formulation of quantum mechanics, based on the idea put forth by de Broglie in 1924, was that the electron could show wavelength properties and Bohr's electron orbit is replaced by diffuse distribution and the probability of finding the electron in different places. Heisenberg's contribution was to explain how the atoms are bound together to form molecules, and Dirac finally set up a formula for the electron, which predicted the existence of the positron, the anti-particle of the electron with the same mass but positively charged.

© 1982 SWEDEN POST STAMPS