The Quantum Structure of Space and Time (293 pages)

xiv The Quantum Structure of Space and Time

belonging to other areas of science provided that these are connected with physics”.
Mr. Solvay, we are very fortunate that the same interest in fundamental science
has been transmitted to the following generations.
Paul HBger and Hkndrik Lorentz played also a central role in the foundation of
the Institutes. H6ger was professor at the UniversitB Libre de Bruxelles and a close
collaborator of Ernest Solvay. He wrote in 1912 the rules of the Institute of Physics
with the Dutch theoretical physicist Hendrik Lorentz, 1902 Nobel Laureate. Lorentz
was the first scientific chair of the Institute until his death in 1928. He “governed”
(if I can say so) the Institute with an iron hand in a velvet glove. His exceptional
vision of physics and his diplomatic skills were the keys to the lasting scientific
success of the Solvay Institutes.

*****

It is instructive to read the original rules of the Institutes that prevailed until

1949. They tell us a lot about the remarkable personalities and foresights of Ernest
      Solvay and of Hendrik Lorentz. These rules are astonishingly modern and most of
      them are still valid today.
      Ernest Solvay and Hendrik Lorentz clearly saw, for instance that science is
      international. There is no Dutch or French or German science. Science is universal
      and an activity that elevates mankind without border. This absence of compromise
      to nationalisms put the Solvay Institutes in a unique position after the First World
      War and enabled them to play a leading role in the reconciliation of French and
      German scientists.
      One can also see some distrust of Lorentz to fashion or well-established schools.
      There is an explicit paragraph in the rules that states that invitations to the Solvay
      Conference should be made on the sole basis of scientific merit and originality,
      irrespective of whether the scientists work in a well-established institution or in an
      obscure place, and with no account taken of their official recognitions.
      Another interesting rule - but this is more on the anecdotic side - is that Lorentz

designated himself, in 1912, scientific chair of the Institutes until 1930! If one recalls

that he died in 1928, this is really a life self-crowning that tells a lot about his strong

personality.

*****

There are, however, two points on which we deviate from the original rules.

One is the limit on the number of invited participants to the Solvay Conferences.

Knowing the natural tendency of humanity to inflation, this number was fixed, by

rule, to be 25. And that rule was strictly adhered to until the last Solvay Conference

chaired by Lorentz, in 1927. We are today 60. Is this a signal of weakness on the

part of the organizers? I do not think so. It is just the sign that science and

the number of scientists have exploded in the 20th century. I was told that if one

counts the total number of physicists that ever did research since the beginning of

humanity, about 90 percents are living now. I therefore think that it is as difficult

today to pick 60 physicists as it was in the early days to pick 25.