Gregor Wentzel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 February 1898 |
| Died | 12 August 1978 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Greifswald Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
| Known for | Quantum field theory Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation |
| Awards | Max Planck Medal (1975) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich University of Leipzig University of Zurich University of Chicago |
| Doctoral advisor | Arnold Sommerfeld |
| Doctoral students | Valentine Bargmann Markus Fierz Res Jost Nicholas Kemmer Felix Villars |
Gregor Wentzel (17 February 1898 – 12 August 1978) was a German physicist known for development of quantum mechanics. Wentzel, Hendrik Kramers, and Léon Brillouin developed the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation in 1926. In his early years, he contributed to X-ray spectroscopy, but then broadened out to make contributions to quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, superconductivity and meson theory.[1][2][3][4]