The University of Coimbra in Portugal is hosting the Fifth International Conference on the History of Physics (5ICHoP-2025), with the central theme of “Physics in the Early Decades of the Twentieth Century.” The conference, which began Thursday and concludes Saturday, features talks and poster sessions on topics ranging from the history of antimatter research to cosmology and astronomy, with a particular emphasis on the history of quantum physics in keeping with the United Nations’ proclamation of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. The University of Coimbra is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the home of The Physics Museum, a collection of scientific and educational physics instruments dating back to the eighteenth century.

Read the announcement and program for the conference below:

Background from the organizers

The Fifth International Conference on the History of Physics marks the fifth edition in a distinguished series of conferences, following those held at Trinity College, Cambridge (UK, 2014), Pöllau (Austria, 2016), San Sebastián (Spain, 2018), and Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland, 2022). The conference is formally overseen by an International Advisory Committee, recognized by both the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the European Physical Society (EPS).

The primary aim of the ICHoP conferences is to foster dialogue between physicists interested in the history of their discipline and professional historians of science. We believe that the intersection of these two communities—each bringing distinct perspectives and methodologies—offers mutual enrichment and valuable insights into the development of physics.

Participation from students is strongly encouraged, grounded in the conviction that studying the history of physics can inspire future generations. It not only sheds light on the lives and achievements of past scientists but also deepens understanding of conceptual challenges that remain relevant today.

The 2025 conference theme aligns with the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. This celebration marks the centenary of foundational developments in quantum mechanics, notably the matrix formulation by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan, and the wave mechanics approach by Erwin Schrödinger.

In addition to the central theme, contributions on a wide range of topics related to the history of physics are welcome, including but not limited to:

• The history of institutions, academies, and scientific societies
• The evolution of applied physics and its technological impacts
• Re-examinations of classic or underappreciated scientific papers
• Pedagogical and research traditions in physics
• Historical perspectives on gender and physics
• New historiographical methodologies in the history of physics
• The role of digital humanities in the study of physics history

The program

Invited Talks

Helge Kragh, Antimatter: Its early history, ca. 1930-1970

Michael Jewess, The old quantum theory to quantum mechanics and chemical bonding in the first half of the twentieth century

Roberto Lalli, European cooperation in nuclear fusion research from the 1950s to the 1970s: The mutual impact of plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear technology

Ana Simões, Women take the lead: A physics laboratory under the dictatorship in Portugal, 1940s-1960s

Carlos Fiolhais, A brief history of science at the University of Coimbra

Lightning Talks

Mercedes Xipell, Gonzalo Gimeno, Blurred orbits and blurred particles: Heisenberg’s 1926 helium atom

Alberto T. Perez Izquierdo, Maria de la Paz, José Ferreirós, Hermann Minkowski and his legacy in the special theory of relativity

Francesco Vissani, Majorana’s role in the early history of quantum field theory

José Dias Urbano, Precision metrology on the origin of quantum physics

Xian Wu, Doctoral theses by Chinese students in the USA and Germany from 1907 to 1925 on atomic physics and spectroscopy

Salvatore Esposito, Fermi, Majorana, and the first developments of the new quantum theory in Italy

Christopher D. J. Sinclair, ‘Electrotherapeutics’: The new physics of radiation applied in the early-20th-century clinic

Pedro Casaleiro, F. Monteiro, M. Brum, C. Gomes, R. Gafeira, The solar telescope of the University of Coimbra: An exhibition celebrating a century of solar observations with the spectroheliograph

Cormac O’Raifeartaigh, The dawning of Lemaître’s cosmology

Marco Giliberti, Luisa Lovisetti, On the non-relativistic nature of spin in quantum mechanics: A historical pedagogical perspective

José António Paixão, From x-rays to atomic physics and beyond

Sara Bassanelli, The diplomacy of standardization: Negotiating international electrical units in the interwar period

Erika Bercigli, Walking on the stars’ side: Viviani and the physicists of his time

Anxo Vidal Nogueira, The orbigraph: Kepler’s law, thing knowledge, and the Francoist regime (1911-1962)

Marisa Monteiro, An unexpected finding: The Hurmuzescu electroscope in the collection of instruments from the former Physics Laboratory of the Faculty of Sciences

Bernardo Almeida, A Fitas, M C Abreu, A Simões, Preservation of Historical Memory: A responsibility of scientific societies’ magazines: The case “Gazeta de Física”

Enric Pérez Canals, Serendipity, blunders, and distrust: The birth of quantum statistics

Ivã Gurgel, Graciella Watanabe, Crossing borders: A history of brazilian participation in CERN

Luisa Lovisetti, Instruments of progress, instruments for progress: The crossroads of science and technology in J. G. Hofmann’s work

Luca Campagnoni, Bruno Rossi’s early travels: a new look at how cosmic rays underpinned the development of interwar physics

Sarine Waltenspül, Mario Schulze, Film and fluid (dynamic) knowledge

Alessio Rocci, Franklin Lambert, The Solvay Science Project and the quantum revolution

Ricardo José Lopes Coelho, Schrödinger’s route to “Schrödinger’s equation”: Q2 and manuscripts

Posters

Gilberto G. Pereira, D. Martins, C. Fiolhais, The beginnings of experimental studies on radioactivity at the Physics Laboratory of the University of Coimbra

Maria Gabriela Meirelles, Helena C. Vasconcelos, Quantum computing in climate modeling: A new approach to weather forecasting and climate projections

Helena C. Vasconcelos, Maria Gabriela Meirelles, Rare-earth-doped planar waveguides: Key discoveries and their influence on modern optics

Giulia Pancheri, The Frascati National Laboratories: Past and future

Carlos A Cardoso, D. Martins, F. Gil, L. Rodrigues, Scientific heritage and its representation in Wikidata: The case of visual photometers

Ana Rita Melo, A. S. Sousa, F. A. Rito, X-rays in the Portuguese press: an analysis of 1945 Ayres de Sousa’s article

Fábio Monteiro, M. Brum, P. Casaleiro, The beginning of astrophysics at the University of Coimbra: Solar observations and the connection to the Observatory of Meudon

Jon Phillips
American Institute of Physics
jphillips@aip.org

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