Richard P. Feynman
“”It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.
|
| —Richard Feynman |
Richard Phillips Feynman (May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American physicist known for creating the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, expanding the theory of quantum electrodynamics, exploring the physics superfluidity and of supercooled liquid helium, elementary particles, and playing the bongo drums[1]. For his work on quantum electrodynamics, Feynman was a joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, together with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga[2]; he developed a way to understand the behavior of subatomic particles using pictorial tools that later became known as Feynman diagrams.
He participated in the development of the atomic bomb, and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster[3]. Despite his prolific contributions, Feynman wrote only 37 research papers during his entire career. Much of his work, e.g. quantum field theory and gravitation, were not published in a formal manner; he simply studied physics for the fun of it. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman is credited with the concept and early exploration of quantum computing, and publicly envisioning nanotechnology, creation of devices at the molecular scale. He held the Richard Chace Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at Caltech[4].
Feynman was a keen and influential populariser of physics in both his books and lectures, notably a seminal 1959 talk on top-down nanotechnology called "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" and The Feynman Lectures on Physics, a three-volume set which has become a classic text. Known for his insatiable curiosity, wit, brilliant mind, and playful temperament, he is equally famous for his many adventures, detailed in his books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Contents |
[edit] Feynman presentations
Feynman was a brilliant lecturer and communicator. Transcripts are okay, but you need to see the actual videos to see what a good and clear lecturer in physics looks and sounds like. And all this in an accent like a Brooklyn cab driver. Go to YouTube and search on "Feynman". Doing so will make immediately obvious why he is still posthumously called "The Great Explainer".
[edit] Feynman and skepticism
"Cargo cult science" is a term perhaps best known because of a 1974 speech of the same name by Feynman at a Caltech commencement[5], which became a chapter in the book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. In the speech, Feynman referred to the cargo cultists of the Pacific islands who, having observed Western technology, assumed they could create such technology by merely fashioning superficially similar components. For example, they could create all the appearance of an airport, right down to headsets with bamboo "antennas". Feynman's point was that some scientists often produce studies with all the trappings of real science, but which are nonetheless pseudoscience and unworthy of either respect or support.
He exposed an early instance of security theatre at the Manhattan Project, where researchers kept classified papers in combination-locked file drawers with a number of vulnerabilities. The "solution" was not to provide more secure document storage, but to "keep Feynman away from your file cabinet."
[edit] Chicks and fame
In Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Feynman spends a chapter explaining in detail how to reliably pick up women. None of his readers will benefit from this.
He always maintained that winning the Nobel prize hampered his life and was a complete pain in the backside[6].
[edit] See also
- Six Easy Pieces, a compilation of the "simpler" lectures from The Feynman Lectures on Physics
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWabhnt91Uc
- ↑ http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-lecture.html
- ↑ http://www.fotuva.org/feynman/challenger-appendix.html
- ↑ http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-bio.html
- ↑ http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.pdf (pdf)
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61KMw5zVhg