Wolfgang Mückenheim

Wolfgang Mückenheim

Wolfgang Mückenheim (born 14 March 1949) is a German physicist and university lecturer who contributes to the theory of vacuum polarization and extended probabilities.

Life

Wolfgang Mückenheim was born in Zorge, district of Göttingen, Germany. He studied physics with astronomy and mathematics at the University of Göttingen. After graduating with a work on atomic decay he doctorated with a dissertation on elastic photon-scattering by Uranium, a work in the field of vacuum polarization. As a result, he could demonstrate for the first time Delbrück scattering below the pair production threshold.

In 1981, he joined a laser production company and developed the first commercial tunable excimer laser. After few years he became head of research and development.

In 1990, he returned to a more academic life and lectured at the Technische Universität Clausthal about theory of electromagnetic fields. In the same year he was appointed professor at the Technische Hochschule Augsburg, where he lectured about mathematics, history of mathematics, and physics. For two terms, from 2003 to 2007, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of General Sciences.

In 2014, he became emeritus and continues to lecture about history of the concept of infinity and the history of mathematics. Wolfgang lives in Zorge/Harz and in Bobingen, near Augsburg.

Research and Teaching

In the 1980s, Mückenheim published about the foundations of quantum mechanics. He obtained a formal solution of the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox in case of spin-1/2 particles. This was facilitated by his theory of extended probabilities, admitting negative probabilities, using related ideas of Paul Dirac, Maurice Bartlett and Richard Feynman. In his Review of extended probabilities, all of his research on this topic has been summarized.

Since 2000, Mückenheim has been working about the concept of infinity generally and especially in mathematics. He claims to have found contradictions within modern set theory. He published his results in monographies, conferences, and on the Internet. In addition, he gives regular lectures on the history of the concept of infinity and the history of mathematics.

His textbook Die Geschichte des Unendlichen, a scriptum of his lectures, appeared in 7th edition by Maro-Verlag, Augsburg. His text book Mathematik für die ersten Semester was published in three editions by the Oldenbourg Verlag, the fourth edition appeared by the De Gruyter-Verlag. His book Transfinity - a source book is available in the internet and as printed version by the Eliva publishing company.

Selected Bibliography

• A resolution of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox.
• An extended-probability response to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument.
• Some arguments against the existence of de Broglie waves.
• A review of extended propbabilities.
• Mathematik für die ersten Semester. 4th edition. De Gruyter, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-037733-0.https
• Die Geschichte des Unendlichen. 7th edition, Maro-Verlag, Augsburg 2011 ISBN 978-3-87512-156-8.
• Die Mathematik des Unendlichen. Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2006 ISBN 978-3-8322-5587-9
• Transfinity – A Source Book. Eliva Press, Chișinău 2024 ISBN 978-99993-1-774-0.

Sources

• Wolfgang Mückenheim at German Wikipedia
• Website of Wolfgang Mückenheim
• Wolfgang Mückenheim Curriculum vitae
• Wolfgang Mückenheim at google.scholar