"Copenhagen," a play written by Michael Frayn, is based on a real event that occurred in 1941 when the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange, unexpected trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish mentor, Niels Bohr. They were close colleagues and had done work in the 1920s on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle, together revolutionizing atomic physics. When Heisenberg went to dinner at the Bohrs' house, the two men went for a walk to escape any possible microphones. The play "Copenhagen" examined the mysterious event by having the spirits of Niels Bohr, his wife (Margaret), and Werner Heisenberg meet again at a later time and argue further to come up with potential explanations.
Scientists and historians still don't know for certain what was said at Bohr and Heisenberg's meeting in Copenhagen, but something awful happened that destroyed their relationship for the rest of their lives. The play explored the possibilities of the event, and why it occurred. Did Heisenberg want to warn Bohr that the Germans were working on an atomic bomb? Did he want to imply that he was about to succeed and that the Allies should make peace with Hitler? Did he think that building the atomic bomb was an impossible task that no one would ever be able to accomplish anyway? Did he want to find out what the Allies were working on? Did he hope that Bohr would agree to help him persuade both sides not to work on a bomb at all? In my opinion, the potential explanations were very articulately expressed, but the final answer was not presented in the play.
I think that the play script, as well as the actors, did a very good job of blending scientific and psychological aspects of Bohr and Heisenberg's meeting. Because the terms "complementarity" and "uncertainty" were used as metaphors for the science and relationship of Bohr and Heisenberg, they applied in every aspect of the play, not only in discussions of physics and chemistry, but also as part of a theme of explanation for Heisenberg's visit.
