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A passion for discovery / Peter Freund.

Van Pelt Library QC15 .F74 2007
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Freund, Peter G. O. (Peter George Oliver), 1936-2018.
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Physicists--Anecdotes.
Physicists.
Mathematicians--Anecdotes.
Mathematicians.
Genre:
Anecdotes.
Physical Description:
xvi, 221 pages ; 24 cm
Place of Publication:
New Jersey : World Scientific, 2007.
Summary:
This fascinating book assembles human stories about physicists and mathematicians. Remarkably, these stories cluster around some general themes having to do with the interaction between scientists, and with the impact of historic events - such as the advent of fascism and communism in the twentieth century - on scientists' behavior. Briefly, but lucidly, some of the beautiful science that brought these scientists together in the first place is explained. Book jacket.
Contents:
1 Einstein Once Removed 1
2 Heisenberg's Turn 7
3 A True Aristocrat 14
4 The Conscience of Physics 20
5 The Wizard of Pasadena 26
6 Back to Maupertuis 32
7 The Language of God 37
8 Emmy Noether and the Urge for the Abstract 43
9 Oswald Teichmuller and Nazi Science 51
10 Spontaneous Breakdown of Human Decency 58
11 Scientists in Politics 61
12 Jews in Science. The Backlash 69
13 Stalin and the Quantum 77
14 Mister Sakharov Goes to Kiev 82
15 Mr. Yang also Goes to Kiev 87
16 The Stone Age and the Fermi Era 94
17 The Serene Sensei 99
18 Oppenheimer, Hero or Antihero? 105
19 Viennese Physics, Then and Now 110
20 The Importance of a Sense of Humor 123
21 The Russian Style 129
22 Chandra, Passionate Cambridge Gentleman 134
23 On and Off the Map: Romanian Mathematics 143
24 Du cote de chez Telegdi, the Experimental Side 151
25 Leader of the Pack 160
26 New Dimensions 165
27 A Brief History of Space 173
28 The Coming Age 182
Epilogue: The Goal and the Means 184
Sources, Comments and Some More Stories Masquerading as Comments 192.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9789812706461
9789812772145
9812706461
9812772146
OCLC:
154672019

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