Theodor Kaluza facts for kids

Theodor Franz Eduard Kaluza (born November 9, 1885 – died January 19, 1954) was a German mathematician and physicist. He is best known for the Kaluza–Klein theory. This theory suggested that our universe might have more than the usual four dimensions (three for space and one for time). Kaluza thought that if we added an extra, tiny dimension, it could help explain how different forces in nature are connected. His ideas were later used in string theory, which is a big part of modern physics.

Theodor Kaluza's Life Story

Kaluza was born in Wilhelmsthal, a village that is now part of Opole, Poland. His family was from a town called Ratibor (now Racibórz). He grew up in Königsberg, where his father was a professor of English. Theodor went to the University of Königsberg to study mathematics.

Discovering New Dimensions

Kaluza was mainly a mathematician, but he became very interested in relativity. This is the theory developed by Albert Einstein that explains how space and time are connected. In 1919, Kaluza made an amazing discovery. He found that if he used Einstein's equations for general relativity but added a fifth dimension, something special happened. The equations for electromagnetism (the force behind electricity and magnetism) appeared automatically!

Kaluza wrote to Einstein about his idea. Einstein was very impressed and encouraged him to publish his work. So, Kaluza's theory was published in 1921.

The Kaluza–Klein Theory

Kaluza's idea is now known as the Kaluza–Klein theory. It was also named after another physicist, Oskar Klein, who worked on similar ideas. For many years, Kaluza's work wasn't widely studied because scientists were focusing on quantum mechanics. However, his idea that forces could be explained by extra dimensions became very important much later. It was used when scientists developed string theory, which tries to explain everything in the universe.

Interestingly, some of these ideas were also published earlier by Gunnar Nordström in 1914. But his work also went unnoticed at the time.

Later Career

Kaluza continued to develop ideas about relativity and how atomic nuclei are structured. Even with Einstein's support, he was a private lecturer at Königsberg for a long time. In 1929, he became a professor at the University of Kiel. Then, in 1935, he became a full professor at the University of Göttingen, where he stayed until he passed away in 1954.

Theodor Kaluza's Personal Life

Kaluza was a very talented and unique person. He could speak or write 17 different languages! He was also known for being very humble. He did not agree with the ideas of the Nazi government, and it was difficult for him to get his professorship at Göttingen because of this.

People told interesting stories about him. For example, he supposedly taught himself to swim in his thirties just by reading a book about it. Then, he successfully swam the very first time he tried!

Kaluza had a son, also named Theodor Kaluza, who became a well-known mathematician too.

See also

• Yang–Mills theory
• Superstring theory