Archives of the International Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry (1910-1962)

The archives bring to light the scientific internationalism organized at the beginning of the 20th century and the perpetuation of a tradition of international cooperation. The Solvay Conferences, a privileged meeting place for leading members of the scientific community, marked an era when the foundations of classical science were being challenged by the advent of quantum physics, the birth of the theory of relativity and the emergence of a new chemistry based on the exploration of the structure of the atom and chemical bonds. The collection is composed of the archives of the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry (from the period 1910–1962) deposited at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and the archives of Paul Langevin (section dedicated to the Solvay Conferences) kept at the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris (ESPCI Paris) – PSL University.