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Erwin Schrödinger’s Path to Wave Mechanics
In 1926, Schrödinger invoked Hamilton’s optical-mechanical analogy that related ray optics and particle mechanics: His invention of wave mechanics related to particle mechanics as wave optics related to ray optics.
Erwin Schrödinger was a Viennese physicist who loved classical languages, philosophy and German poetry. However, his keen understanding of Hamilton’s optical-mechanical analogy relating ray optics and particle mechanics as well as de Broglie’s wave assertions led to Schrödinger’s own wave equation, which would become the cornerstone of quantum theory.
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