Updated / Friday, 16 Apr 2021 10:00 We're delighted to present an extract from Helgoland, the new book from Carlo Rovelli, the acclaimed author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness. In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, retreated to a treeless, wind-battered island in the North Sea called Helgoland. It was there that he came up with the key insight behind quantum mechanics. A century later, this theory has given us modern technology and nuclear energy but remains disconcerting, enigmatic and fiercely debated. Helgoland is the story of quantum physics and its bright young founders who were to become some of the most famous Nobel winners.