Werner Heisenberg

"Come...dry your eyes, for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg, the clay in which the forces that shape all the things leave their fingerprints most clearly." (Chapt. 9, Page 28, Panel 1)

Werner Heisenberg was a German theorist who made important discoveries dealing with quantum and nuclear physics. He was one of the main researchers for the Fission Project, which attempted to create an atomic bomb for the Germans. The nervous U.S. suspected Germany's success of creating an atomic bomb, so they raced towards the same goal by creating the Manhattan project which consequently produced the bomb that was used in Hiroshima. Moore references Heisenberg partly because his relation to atomic bombs, but also because he was know for his discovery of the uncertainty principal. The principal can be described as the idea that the variables of position and momentum cannot both be precisely measured or predicted. This is a very abstract idea that has repelled other scientists. Dr. Manhattan correlates Laurie to Heisenberg's thoughts on uncertainties on the quantum level to say that life is just as unpredictable and amazing as the variables of momentum and position. This quote exposes a turning point in the novel because the reader, along with Dr. Manhattan, gain a renewed appreciation for humanity.

~"Heisenberg / Uncertainty Principle - Werner Heisenberg and the Uncertainty Principle." The American Institute of Physics -- Physics Publications and Resources. 31 Mar. 2009 .