Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science

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Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science Page 31

by Lawrence M. Krauss


  gravitational potential energy in, 257–59, 309–13

  gravitational waves (gravitons) in, 247–49, 250, 257–61

  group theory used in, 288–90, 292–94, 302–3

  hadrons in, 294–96, 297, 305

  Hawking Radiation in, 249–50

  Hawking’s contributions to, 249–50, 256

  inclusive processes in, 295–96

  infinities problem in, 240–41, 242, 245–46, 251, 283–84, 302, 310–12

  inflationary expansion in, 259–60

  laws of, 252, 255–57, 270–72, 278–81, 282

  lowest-order approximations in, 245–46

  machines created with, 265–66, 270–86

  mass in, 238–41, 246–47, 249, 250–51, 257–60, 301, 304, 306–7, 309–13

  massless particles in, 269, 301, 304

  mathematical analysis of, 239–40, 242, 249, 251–53, 257, 260, 280, 288–89, 292–93, 301–2, 306–9, 311

  neutrinos in, 298–99

  non-observation phenomenon in, 308–9

  nuclear democracy in, 291–92, 305–6

  observational problems in, 71–73, 249–51, 256, 281, 290–91, 308–9

  particles in, 246–47, 250, 257–61, 269, 283–84, 287–301, 304, 305

  partons in, 295–96, 298, 299–300

  path-integral formalism of, 255–57, 283–84, 309–10

  phenomenological approach to, 294–95

  photons in, 246–47, 249, 260, 269, 301–2, 303

  predictions of reality based on, 252–54

  probabilities in, 278–79, 280, 283–84

  protons in, 291, 294–95, 297–98, 300, 302, 305, 312

  quanta in, 246, 247, 255, 278–81, 285

  quantum bits (qubits) in, 283–85

  quantum chromodynamics (QCD) compared with, 305–9

  quantum electrodynamics (QED) compared with, 180, 200–201, 243, 246–47, 249, 280, 285, 288–89, 300, 301, 302–3, 312; see also quantum electrodynamics (QED)

  quarks in, 196, 217, 287–305, 308, 309–10

  relativity theory and, 238–41, 243, 246–47, 249, 251

  renormalization in, 304–5, 309–10, 311

  reversible systems in, 281–83

  scalar properities of, 243–44, 297–98, 300, 306–7, 308, 310–11

  Schwarzchild radius in, 240–42

  singularities in, 250–51

  space-time curvature in, 238–39, 241, 246–47, 255–57, 310

  spin as factor in, 247–48, 283–84

  standard model of, 247, 249–50, 299–300

  strangeness (strange particles) in, 196, 200–201, 202, 205–6, 273, 291–92, 305

  string theory and, 234, 235, 251–55

  strong vs. weak interaction in, 257–58, 288, 293–96, 298–99, 300, 302, 304–7, 309–13

  SU(3) symmetry group in, 289–91, 305

  symmetries (symmetry transformation) in, 247, 289–91, 301–5

  theory of, 247, 249–53, 256–57, 261–62, 293–94, 297, 299–300, 305–13

  “theory of everything” (TOE) and, 253–54

  thermal radiation in, 250–51

  variables in, 255–56, 280–82

  virtual particles in, 29, 42, 112–13, 115, 126, 130–31, 133, 137, 154–56, 259–61, 304, 310

  Yang-Mills theory of, 301–4, 305, 306, 307

  zero energy in, 257–58, 306–7

  quantum transmission, 285–86

  quarks, 196, 217, 287–305, 308, 309–10

  “flavors” of, 305

  Rabi, I. I., 119, 128, 129, 142

  radiation, energy, 27–28, 33, 35, 173, 247–48 250–251, 281–82, 295–300, 310

  radiation resistance, 33

  “Radiation Theories of Tomonaga, Schwinger, and Feynman, The” (Dyson), 150–54

  radioactivity, 195

  radio waves, 27–28, 248

  reabsorption, 29–32, 38

  reactors, nuclear, 68, 77

  “Recent Developments in QED” (Schwinger), 143–44

  Reines, Fred, 219–20

  relativity, theory of, 6, 18, 19, 27, 40, 60, 69, 97, 99–100, 102, 110–12, 114, 117, 118, 119, 122–23, 125–26, 130, 131, 148, 159, 238–41, 243, 246–47, 249, 251

  renormalization, 125, 138–39, 150–51, 197–98, 231, 304–5, 309–10, 311

  resistance, electrical, 170–71

  rest mass, 125, 126, 151

  Retherford, Robert, 121

  reversible systems, 281–83

  Reviews of Modern Physics, 65, 98–99, 115

  Rio de Janeiro, 164–65

  RNA, 267

  Robertson, Howard, 240

  Rochester Conference (1956), 206–7, 209, 211, 213

  Rochester Conference (1958), 220–21

  rotating shafts, 20

  rotons, 185, 187–88

  Rutherford, Ernest, 62, 294

  Sagan, Carl, 230

  Salam, Abdus, 305, 310

  samba, 166

  Sands, Matthew, 221, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228

  satellites, 16, 260–61

  scalar properities, 212, 213, 215, 243–44, 297–98, 300, 306–7, 308, 310–11

  scalar (S) interaction, 212, 213, 215

  scanning-tunnelling microscopes, 269–70

  Schrieffer, Robert, 189

  Schrödinger, Erwin, 51–52

  Schrödinger equation, 19, 51–52, 63, 65, 69, 97, 119–20, 121, 158, 161, 173, 188

  Schwartz, Melvin, 222–23

  Schwarzchild, Karl, 240–42

  Schwarzchild radius, 240–42

  Schweber, Sylvan, 87–88, 141

  Schwinger, Julian, 94, 122, 123, 125, 128–29, 141–45, 149, 152, 158–59, 196, 202, 229–30, 231, 302–3, 304

  scintillating screens, 25–26, 54–58

  “sea of negative-energy” electrons (“Dirac sea”), 104–7, 114, 126, 127, 131, 157

  second-order differential equations, 86

  security codes, 284–85

  self-energy, 23–24, 30, 41–42, 111–12, 115–23, 124, 136–39, 137, 150–51, 159

  sequencing, genetic, 268

  Shelter Island conference (1947), 122–23, 124, 143

  Sherman, Richard, 315–16

  Shor, Peter, 284

  Signal Corps, U.S., 67

  sines, 7

  singularities, 250–51

  SLAC, 293–300, 306, 308

  Slater, John, 21

  Slotnik, Murray, 155–56

  Snell, Willebrord, 9–10

  Snell’s Law, 9–12, 10, 12

  software, 278

  solar energy, 82–85

  solar mass, 241, 250

  solar system, 16, 83

  Sommerfeld, Arnold, 83–84

  sonic booms, 91

  sound waves, 54, 183–84

  Soviet Academy of Sciences, 181

  space:

  curvature of, 238–39, 241, 246–47, 255–57, 310

  Euclidean, 258

  flat, 258–60

  isotropic, 240

  space exploration, xv, 16

  “Space-Time Approach to Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, The” (Feynman), 65, 97–99

  “Space-Time Approach to Quantum Electrodynamics, A” (Feynman), 140, 147, 157

  space-time curvature, 238–39, 241, 246–47, 255–57, 310

  special relativity, theory of, 6, 19, 27, 60, 97, 117

  spherical mass distribution, 240–41

  spin, 24–25, 100–102, 116, 120–21, 128–29, 174–75,
186–88, 190, 209, 210–11, 247–48, 251, 283–84

  spin ½ particles, 100–101, 187

  spin 2 particles, 247–48, 251

  spin down, 24–25, 116, 283–84

  spin up, 24–25, 116, 283–84

  square of the wave function, 52–53

  square roots, 116

  Stanford University, 273, 293–300

  Star Trek: The Next Generation, 180

  State Department, U.S., 165, 181

  statistical mechanics, 277

  statistics, 185, 277

  Steinberger, Jack, 222–23

  strangeness (strange particles), 196, 200–201, 202, 205–6, 273, 291–92, 305

  strange quarks, 291–92, 305

  string theory, 234, 235, 251–55

  strong interactions, 194, 201, 204–17, 219, 222–23, 257–58, 288, 293–96, 298–99, 300, 302, 304–7, 309–13

  SU(3) symmetry group, 289–91, 305

  Sudarshan, E. C. G., 212–14, 216

  “sum over paths” approach, 65, 73–74, 97, 99, 117–18, 126–28, 145–46, 153, 176, 178–79, 185, 256–57

  supercomputers, 186

  superconductivity, 170–72, 179, 188–89, 190, 271

  superfluidity, 171–92

  superposition, 25

  superstring theory, 254–55

  Sykes, Christopher, 317

  symmetries, quantum, 198–200, 202–11, 215–16, 247, 289–91, 301–5

  symmetry transformation, 247, 289–91, 301–5

  tau particles, 205–6

  temperature, 170–75, 181–88

  tensor (T) interaction, 212, 213, 215

  tetrahedrons, 199

  text miniaturization, 264–67, 272–73

  “theory of everything” (TOE), 253–54

  “Theory of Positrons, The” (Feynman), 135, 147

  “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” (Feynman), 263–64

  thermal energy, 174, 183, 248, 250–51, 275

  thermonuclear bomb, 84–85, 194

  theta particles, 205–6

  Thinking Machines, 277, 316

  third-order differential equations, 86

  ’t Hooft, Gerardus, 304–5

  Thouless, David, 192

  time:

  arrow of, 40–41

  in computer processing, 278–79

  direction in, xii, 34–35, 38–42, 47–48, 107, 129–40, 144–46, 148–54, 169, 173, 193

  Time, 217

  Tizsa, László, 185–86

  Tomonaga, Sin-Itiro, 148–49

  tornadoes, 187

  “toy” theories, 148

  trajectories, of particles, 48–50, 52–58, 65, 69–70, 73–74, 97, 99, 100–104, 107, 117–18, 126–28, 145–46, 153, 154, 176, 178–79, 185, 193–94, 210–12, 256–57, 309–10

  transistors, 272

  triangles, 9

  Trinity test site, 90–91, 93, 108

  truth, scientific, 310–11

  tuberculosis, 44, 79–80

  Tuck, Helen, 317

  two-component neutrino formalism, 215–16

  two-dimensional elastic theory, 317

  “two fluid” model, 185–86

  “Two Men in Search of the Quark” (Edson), 287

  two-slit devices, 25–26

  “typewriter symbols,” 5

  unitary approaches, 145, 178–79

  universal computing systems, 281–82

  universe:

  dimensions of, 251–54

  evolution of, 256–58

  expansion of, 239–40, 257–60

  up quarks, 291–92, 305

  uranium, 66, 68, 77, 84, 86, 90

  uranium 235, 66, 86, 90

  uranium 238, 66

  vacuum, 104–5

  vacuum polarization, 113–15, 136–40, 137, 150–51, 156–57, 159

  variables, 188–89, 255–56, 280–82

  V-A (vector-axial vector) interaction, 212–16, 292

  vector (V) interaction, 212–16, 292

  Veltman, Martinus, 304–5

  Venter, Craig, 269

  virtual particles, 29, 42, 112–13, 115, 126, 130–31, 133, 137, 154–56, 259–61, 304, 310

  viscosity, 181–82

  vision, 226

  von Neumann, John, 39, 71, 86

  vortex lines, 187–88, 189–90

  Walker, Arthur, 240

  Warner Brothers, 228

  wave functions, 52–56, 70, 117–20, 173, 182–84, 185, 188–89

  wave-particle duality, 10–12, 24, 52–56

  weak interactions, 194, 201, 204–17, 219, 222–23, 257–58, 288, 293–96, 298–99, 300, 302, 304–7, 309–13

  Weinberg, Steven, 219, 246, 249, 304–5, 310

  Weisskopf, Victor, 124, 125, 128, 143, 235

  Welton, Ted, 17, 18–20, 88, 99, 211, 317

  Weyl, Herman, 105–6

  What Do You Care What Other People Think? (Feynman), 45

  Wheeler, John Archibald, 22, 32–35, 36, 37–40, 41, 42, 45, 48–50, 59, 68–69, 74, 77, 81, 82, 113, 122, 131, 140

  Wigner, Eugene, 22, 39–40, 61, 68–69, 76

  Wilczek, Frank, 306–7, 312, 319

  William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, 21–22

  Wilson, Kenneth, 310

  Wilson, Robert, 66, 67, 96

  Wolfram, Stephen, 278, 318

  World War II, 66, 67, 77–80

  wormholes, 256

  Wu, Chien-Shiung, 208

  Yale University, 196, 266

  Yang, Chen Ning “Frank,” 207–9, 211, 212, 301–4, 305, 306, 307, 309

  Yang-Mills theory, 301–4, 305, 306, 307

  Zel’dovich, Yakov, 259

  zero energy, 102–3, 118, 257–58, 306–7

  zero mass, 269, 301, 304

  zero-order predictions, 102–3, 118

  zero temperature, 170, 174–75, 185–86

  Zweig, George, 292–93, 295

  More praise for Quantum Man

  “A worthy addition to the Feynman shelf and a welcome follow-up to the standard-bearer, James Gleick’s Genius.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Enlightening.”

  —George Johnson, New York Times

  “Entertaining and masterly. A great read.”

  —Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe

  “Such a charismatic figure deserves a charismatic, knowledgeable, and literate physicist as his warts-and-all biographer. Lawrence Krauss fits the bill admirably and rises to the challenge with style, panache, and deep understanding.”

  —Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

  “Krauss’s wonderful biography puts Feynman’s remarkable contributions to science front and center, accessibly, in the context of his life and times. Feynman would approve.”

  —Frank Wilczek, MIT, Nobel Laureate in Physics

  “Highly recommended for readers who want to get to know one of the preeminent scientists of the 20th century.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A rich and entertaining biography.”

  —Dan Falk,

  New Scientist

  “If your interest is in Feynman the physicist, [Quantum Man] is an excellent place to start.”

  —Jon Turney,

  Times Higher Education

  “An enlightening addition to the field.”

  —George Johnson,

  The Scotsman

  Copyright © 2011 by Lawrence M. Krauss

  All rights reserved

  First published as a Norton paperback 2012
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  Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:

  Krauss, Lawrence Maxwell.

  Quantum man : Richard Feynman’s life in science /

  Lawrence M. Krauss. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (Great discoveries)

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN 978-0-393-06471-1 (hardcover)

  1. Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918–1988.

  2. Physicists—United States—Biography. I. Title. II. Series.

  QC16.F49K73 2011

  530.092—dc22

  [B]

  2010045512

  ISBN 978-0-393-34065-5 pbk.

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