What do you think?
Rate this book
From A Life Of Physics
A compilation of previously unpublished lectures delivered at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics by the pioneers and creators of modern physics - Bethe, Dirac, Heisenberg, Wigner, Klein and Landau (the sixth delivered by E Lifshitz). By sharing with us their own lives of physics, these outstanding physicists convey the sense of total dedication, the pleasure and elegance of scientific creation at its peak. Readers would acquire a deeper sense of the scope and nature of physics, and the insights of its fascinating diverse disciplines as the developments of modern physics are being unfolded through history.
- GenresPhysics
102 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
1 person is currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Hans Bethe
23 books11 followersHans Albrecht Bethe (German: [ˈhans ˈalbʁɛçt ˈbeːtə]; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German and American nuclear physicist who, in addition to making important contributions to astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics and solid-state physics, won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis.
For most of his career, Bethe was a professor at Cornell University. During World War II, he was head of the Theoretical Division at the secret Los Alamos laboratory which developed the first atomic bombs. There he played a key role in calculating the critical mass of the weapons and developing the theory behind the implosion method used in both the Trinity test and the "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.
After the war, Bethe also played an important role in the development of the hydrogen bomb, though he had originally joined the project with the hope of proving it could not be made. Bethe later campaigned with Albert Einstein and the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists against nuclear testing and the nuclear arms race. He helped persuade the Kennedy and Nixon administrations to sign, respectively, the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (SALT I). His scientific research never ceased and he was publishing papers well into his nineties, making him one of the few scientists to have published at least one major paper in his field during every decade of his career – which, in Bethe's case, spanned nearly seventy years. Freeman Dyson, once one of his students, called him the "supreme problem-solver of the 20th century".
Bethe received numerous honors and awards in his lifetimes and afterwards. He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1947, and that year was received the National Academy of Sciences's Henry Draper Medal. He was awarded the Max Planck Medal in 1955, the Franklin Medal in 1959, the Royal Astronomical Society's Eddington Medal and the United States Atomic Energy Commission's Enrico Fermi Award in 1961, the Rumford Prize in 1963, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967, the National Medal of Science in 1975, Oersted Medal in 1993, the Bruce Medal in 2001, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences by the American Philosophical Society posthumously in 2005.
Cornell named the third of five new residential colleges, each of which is named after a distinguished former member of the Cornell faculty, Hans Bethe House after him, as was the Hans Bethe Center, 322 4th St. NE, Washington, DC, home to the Council for a Livable World, where Bethe was a longtime board member, and the Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics at University of Bonn in Germany. He also has an asteroid, 30828 Bethe, that was discovered in 1990 named after him, as was the American Physical Society's Hans Bethe Prize.
On his religious views, Bethe was an atheist. Professor Bethe was a man of profound integrity and humility who made outstanding contributions beyond his own discipline in a constant effort to influence public policy for the greater good. He was instrumental in changing the public perception of the role of science and scientists in relation to society. He was famous for his optimistic phrase: “I can do that” when faced with adversity or a critical unsolved problem. His unwavering loyalty to Cornell and its students, his integrity and humility, as well as his profound intellectual accomplishments made him one of the most revered members of the Cornell faculty.
More: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prize...
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prize...
http://bethe.cornell.edu/about.html
http://bethe.cornell.edu/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
http://hansbethehouse.cornell.edu/who...
For most of his career, Bethe was a professor at Cornell University. During World War II, he was head of the Theoretical Division at the secret Los Alamos laboratory which developed the first atomic bombs. There he played a key role in calculating the critical mass of the weapons and developing the theory behind the implosion method used in both the Trinity test and the "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.
After the war, Bethe also played an important role in the development of the hydrogen bomb, though he had originally joined the project with the hope of proving it could not be made. Bethe later campaigned with Albert Einstein and the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists against nuclear testing and the nuclear arms race. He helped persuade the Kennedy and Nixon administrations to sign, respectively, the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (SALT I). His scientific research never ceased and he was publishing papers well into his nineties, making him one of the few scientists to have published at least one major paper in his field during every decade of his career – which, in Bethe's case, spanned nearly seventy years. Freeman Dyson, once one of his students, called him the "supreme problem-solver of the 20th century".
Bethe received numerous honors and awards in his lifetimes and afterwards. He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1947, and that year was received the National Academy of Sciences's Henry Draper Medal. He was awarded the Max Planck Medal in 1955, the Franklin Medal in 1959, the Royal Astronomical Society's Eddington Medal and the United States Atomic Energy Commission's Enrico Fermi Award in 1961, the Rumford Prize in 1963, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967, the National Medal of Science in 1975, Oersted Medal in 1993, the Bruce Medal in 2001, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences by the American Philosophical Society posthumously in 2005.
Cornell named the third of five new residential colleges, each of which is named after a distinguished former member of the Cornell faculty, Hans Bethe House after him, as was the Hans Bethe Center, 322 4th St. NE, Washington, DC, home to the Council for a Livable World, where Bethe was a longtime board member, and the Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics at University of Bonn in Germany. He also has an asteroid, 30828 Bethe, that was discovered in 1990 named after him, as was the American Physical Society's Hans Bethe Prize.
On his religious views, Bethe was an atheist. Professor Bethe was a man of profound integrity and humility who made outstanding contributions beyond his own discipline in a constant effort to influence public policy for the greater good. He was instrumental in changing the public perception of the role of science and scientists in relation to society. He was famous for his optimistic phrase: “I can do that” when faced with adversity or a critical unsolved problem. His unwavering loyalty to Cornell and its students, his integrity and humility, as well as his profound intellectual accomplishments made him one of the most revered members of the Cornell faculty.
More: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prize...
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prize...
http://bethe.cornell.edu/about.html
http://bethe.cornell.edu/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
http://hansbethehouse.cornell.edu/who...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 25, 2021
Although the technical descriptions provided by the authors often far exceed my knowledge of the matter, I found this book to be tremendously useful, feeling the need to take notes at least once per couple pages. The reason why these transcribed talks are so meaningful to me is that, for once, someone discusses what a physicist actually does: physics. Aside from the (to me) incomprehensible explanations of the great works these people carried out during their lifetimes, they get deep into the different ways one can approach a difficulty (Dirac), the friendly and welcoming demeanor that characterized some of the best physicists (Heisenberg), the struggles to get to a fantastic formula that describes a phenomenon (Bethe and Klein), the reasons why we must appreciate the struggles we experience while doing physics, as they give meaning to our lives (Wigner) and some of the tales that described the personality of a very special scientist (Landau, by Lifshitz).
I guess that what I'm trying to say is that the authors don't waste time on dreamy concepts that aren't even proven to be true, like many other pop-science books do—these guys get right into their own lives, showing the difficulties, the passion, the methodology and the interactions that are bound to teach any young student like myself more than a few lessons for the future. You won't read about useless and vague theories, what you'll find is something that might actually impact the future scientist you are to become.
I guess that what I'm trying to say is that the authors don't waste time on dreamy concepts that aren't even proven to be true, like many other pop-science books do—these guys get right into their own lives, showing the difficulties, the passion, the methodology and the interactions that are bound to teach any young student like myself more than a few lessons for the future. You won't read about useless and vague theories, what you'll find is something that might actually impact the future scientist you are to become.
June 12, 2008
Amazon 2008-05-31
February 28, 2019
Great book about the journey of six scientists into the world of physics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews