Men Who Made New Physics
I finished reading this book on Monday. It is an excellent book that tells the
stories of many physicists working during the prime era of physics. It starts
with
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nuclear physics", and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday". In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances." He was the first Oceanian Nobel laureate, and the first to perform the awarded work in Canada.
's story about his rustic nature and how he used to work in his
lab.
I was amazed by the story of
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; German: [maks ˈplaŋk] ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
, and I have decided to keep Max Planck
as an example of being organized and disciplined in life. Max Planck was very
organized, it seems. He used to come to the lab almost at the same time every
day, and he had set aside half an hour daily for learning piano. His work style
was appreciated by many.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from special relativity, has been called "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.
and others respected and loved him, addressing
him as "our Planck." Later, in Einstein's story, I learned that Einstein
resigned from his post in Germany during the troubled Nazi era, knowing that it
would fall upon Planck to make the decision of removing Einstein. Einstein
understood that Planck would feel uncomfortable doing it. Einstein then moved to
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The institution moved to Newark in 1747 and then to its Mercer County campus in Princeton nine years later. It officially became a university in 1896 and was subsequently renamed Princeton University.
as the political situation in Germany worsened under Hitler.
One funny thing I can recall is that during one of the anti-Einstein meetings, Einstein was present in the audience and enjoying it.
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr (US: , UK: ; Danish: [ˈne̝ls ˈhenʁek ˈtæːvið ˈpoɐ̯ˀ]; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.
is another scientist we come to know in detail. He, along with
Einstein, was one of the primary characters in this book. Bohr had established
an institute where many young physicists loved to study and conduct experiments.
Physicists who had been there felt it was a golden era.
The final topic is on Einstein and Bohr's debate. Einstein believed that there is an organized approach in God's design of the universe, whereas Bohr's point of argument (as I understood) was that we have not yet understood the organization of the universe enough to comment on it. Bohr was an athlete and used to go for short sprints between scientific discussions and debates, it seems. :-)
Many of my friends will enjoy this book. Jonathan gifted it to me while I was in college, and Kannapan feels this is one of the best books he has ever read.
I took some snaps of the middle-page pictures using my Nokia 6600.
Thanks a lot for Your informative web-site
Great site, I am bookmarking it!Keep it up!
With the best regards!
David
Anonymous
soft for windows,games,software,news
Hello
Linux software,news driver ,games
http://italiagame.org
G'night
Anonymous