Hans Bethe Lectures

March 7, 2005 2:59 PM

Quantum physics made relatively simple. Personal and historical perspectives of Hans Bethe, who has died at 98.
posted by liam (12 comments total)

A giant has passed away. One of the fathers of atomic physics.

I still get a chuckle that one of the most pivotal papers in Big Bang theory has as its authors: Alpher, Bethe and Gamow (pronounced Alpha, Beta, Gamma) It was a joke that Gamow engineered.
posted by vacapinta at 3:43 PM on March 7, 2005

A giant, indeed.

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posted by kickingtheground at 3:48 PM on March 7, 2005

Does anyone have the text of the lectures, or any related work by Bethe? It looks fascinating, but I can't watch a video right now...
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:07 PM on March 7, 2005

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posted by c13 at 4:09 PM on March 7, 2005

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posted by fatllama at 5:15 PM on March 7, 2005

I met Hans Bethe as a freshman at Cornell. He signed my copy of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" and "What do you care...". Which was fairly irrelevant; it was just a total fanboy moment. The nicest guy in academia I've met to day; he had endless time for freshmen undergraduates.

I was just rereading the two Feynman books and caught his signature last week. I thought of him and wished him well. Looks like I was just in time.
posted by Eideteker at 6:08 PM on March 7, 2005

Does anyone know of a similarly good site for Feynman?
posted by xammerboy at 6:12 PM on March 7, 2005

As Feynman said, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."
posted by smackfu at 7:59 PM on March 7, 2005

Damn. Francis Crick, Ernst Mayr, now Bethe.

I feel old.
posted by orthogonality at 8:29 PM on March 7, 2005

I think he'd appreciate QuantumFites (excuse the cacophony) sharing other Quantum For Dummies with IgnoramusFites like me.
posted by elpapacito at 4:04 AM on March 8, 2005

Quantum physics made relatively simple.

Heh.



In all seriousness, RIP.

If anyone is looking for a great read on this subject matter, check out Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. Very accessible, very fun.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:15 AM on March 8, 2005

Asimov's books on physics are great for general reads on the history of physics. http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/asimov_catalogue.html
posted by edmo at 10:24 AM on March 8, 2005