Where was richard feynman born?

RichardPhillipsFeynman (English: Richard Phillipsfeynman,1965438+May1-65438+February 15), American Jewish physicist, professor of physics at California Institute of Technology,15.

Richard feynman, after graduating from high school, entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in mathematics and electronic engineering at first, and then switched to physics. 1939 graduated with honors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in June 1942 received a doctorate in theoretical physics from Princeton University. In the same year, I married my high school sweetheart Irene. From 65438 to 0942, 24-year-old Feynman joined the American atomic bomb research project team and participated in the secret development of the atomic bomb project "Manhattan Project". 1945 Irene passed away. The Manhattan Project ended and Feynman taught at Cornell University. From 65438 to 0950, he served as tolman Professor of Physics at California Institute of Technology until his death.

Feynman diagram, Feynman rule and renormalization are put forward, which are indispensable tools for studying quantum electrodynamics and particle physics. Feynman also discovered the singing method of Humai, and had been looking forward to going to Tuwa, the birthplace of Humai, but he failed in the end. He is regarded as the most intelligent theoretical physicist after Einstein and the first person to put forward the concept of nano.

Chinese name: richard phillips feynman.

Mbth: RichardPhillipsFeynman (English original name)

Alias: Dick; Ritti

Nationality: USA

Ethnic group: Jews

Birthplace: Fallowway, a small town in Queens, new york.

Date of birth:191May 8 1 1.

Date of death: 1988 February 15.

Occupation: scholar, physicist

Graduate school: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University.

Belief: atheism

Main achievements: 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Oster Medal of American Association of Physics Teachers

Representative works: Feynman lectures on physics and the beauty of physics.

Former organization: Manhattan Project

Doctoral Supervisor: john archibald wheeler.

Constellation: Taurus

The life of the character

Early life

19 18 may 1 1 Feynman was born in new york, USA. His father is Melville Arthur Feynman and his mother is Lucile Phillips. His parents are Jewish, and his sister Joan is nine years younger than him. Their relationship is very close. Joan later became a physicist. Feynman grew up in Faroukville on the south coast of Long Island.

Although Melville and Lucille are both Jews, they have no narrow and paranoid religious views on children's education. Melville bought a set of white and blue tiles for the bathroom when his son was still sitting in a children's high chair. He put them in various ways and taught Richard about shapes and simple arithmetic principles. When the child grows up, Melville takes him to the museum, reads the Encyclopedia Britannica to him, and patiently explains it in his own language. Later Feynman happily recalled: "There was no pressure, only lovely and interesting discussions."

Melville taught Liddy how to think. He asked Letty to imagine that he had met a Martian, who was sure to ask many questions about the earth. For example, why do people sleep at night? How does Liddy answer this question? This kind of training and teaching is very beneficial. Young Richard soon began to read the Encyclopedia Britannica by himself, and he was particularly interested in the scientific and mathematical articles in it. He found an old textbook from the attic, so he taught himself geometry according to it. Although Richard is a precocious teenager, he finds the humanities boring, and he has no interest in history and literature. He thinks English spelling is too illogical, so he is not good at spelling even as an adult.

His father's early training was invaluable to Feynman's teaching career. Most importantly, Melville instilled in him an admiration and appreciation for the beauty of nature, and made him have a strong desire to share this feeling with others.

Schooling career

1935 entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and studied mathematics first, then physics.

1939 graduated, and the graduation thesis was published in Physis. Rev., there is a quantum mechanical formula named after him.

From June 65438 to September 0939, I worked as a graduate student of J.Wheeler at Princeton University, and devoted myself to studying the difficult problem of quantum mechanics: divergence difficulty.

1June, 942, received a doctorate in theoretical physics from Princeton University.

occupation

From 65438 to 0942, 24-year-old Feynman joined the American atomic bomb research project team and participated in the secret project "Manhattan Project" to develop atomic bombs.

1945 At 5: 30 on July, the world's first experimental atomic bomb made in the United States exploded in the desert of New Mexico. On August 9 of the same year, Feynman wrote to his mother and described what he saw at the scene of the explosion: "The atomic bomb was installed on a steel tower 100 feet high in the center of the Alamoco desert, and the weather didn't look very good. Everyone got glasses that protected against light radiation. Then, everyone sat down and waited while eating.

"At 5 o'clock in the morning, everyone set their watches and gathered around the radio. When the countdown on the radio began to last for 3 minutes, people scattered to find favorable positions to watch and put on their radiation-proof eyes. Some people even started wearing sunscreen.

"I wanted a completely stereoscopic experience, so I decided to watch the explosion directly without glasses. I went around behind the windshield of the weapon carrier-if there is ultraviolet radiation, it won't hurt my eyes. A voice said, "15 seconds later."

"A terrible silvery white light waved my eyes. Wherever I look, purple spots appear in my field of vision. My reason tells me that this is the afterimage after seeing strong light, not an explosion. Looking back, I saw a bright orange fireball rising from where the atomic bomb was. "

1943 entered los Alamos national laboratory and participated in Manhattan project. Richard feynman is a member of the talented team of Manhattan Project, which is responsible for developing the atomic bomb. Feynman was recruited by Princeton University as a member of the American atomic bomb project during World War II, and then worked in the new secret laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico (1943- 1945). At Los Alamos National Laboratory, he became the theoretical team leader of Manhattan Project.

On June 1945, Feynman's first wife, Irene Greenebaum, died. In the same year, Feynman began to teach at Cornell University.

1945 On July 6th, he watched the explosion of the world's first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

1946 10 His father Melville died of a stroke, which made Feynman very depressed.

1949, Feynman published "Positron Theory" and "Spatio-temporal Discussion of Quantum Electrodynamics", and gave corresponding Feynman diagrams and Feynman rules about the interaction between electrons and photons.

195 1 year to Caltech. During his stay at California Institute of Technology, Feynman was very popular with students because of his humorous, vivid and eclectic lecture style. California Institute of Technology collected a series of his lectures and published Feynman lectures on physics. Feynman is called "the teacher's teacher".

196/kloc-0 taught elementary physics at California institute of technology from September 2000 to May 2003. With the help of colleagues, the recording was edited into Feynman Physics Lecture Notes.

1965 Feynman won the Nobel Prize in Physics Julian. The contribution of Schwinger and Ichiro Chao to quantum electrodynamics.

Feynman hadron structure model was put forward in 1968.

1972 won the Oster Education Medal.

In his later years, Feynman tried to do what his ex-wife Irene thought was important. He began to draw, drawing good sketches and oil paintings.

1986, after the space shuttle Challenger crashed, Feynman was entrusted to investigate the cause of the crash. Feynman made a famous O-ring demonstration experiment, and only used a glass of ice water and a rubber ring to reveal to the public in Congress the root cause of the Challenger accident-rubber lost its elasticity at low temperature.

At the end of his life, Feynman suffered from several rare cancers, and his kidney almost failed.

Feynman died of peritoneal cancer in Los Angeles, California on February 5, 1988 at the age of 69.

Personal life

The love of a lifetime

194 1 year, Feynman married Irene Greenebaum.

Richard feynman and Irene Greenebaum fell in love in high school. When Richard left his hometown to go to college, they confided in each other and fell in love. After dating for six years, they were officially engaged. Although they have different interests, they all have a natural sense of humor. After years of contact, Richard and Irene love each other deeply. When Richard went to Princeton University for further study, they were deeply concerned about the separation between the two places. During this period, Irene found a lump in her neck and continued to be tired and have a low fever for several months. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis. When Richard learned the test results, he thought he should marry her to take care of her. However, his parents opposed his marriage because they were afraid that Richard would get tuberculosis. They advised him to tear up the engagement, but Feynman refused to do so.

Therefore, shortly after Richard received his doctorate, he managed to get a charity hospital near Princeton University to agree to accept Irene. He put a bed in the car, let Irene lie on it, and took her to the hospital. On June 29th, 1942, on the way to the hospital, a public security officer presided over their wedding. Although Richard has been busy with the Manhattan project, he still takes care of Irene wholeheartedly. From the day they got married until Arlene died, she had been lying in the hospital bed.

1943 In the spring, scientists from Princeton University were transferred to the laboratory in Los Alamos, and Richard was very worried about Irene. Robert Oppenheimer, the project leader, found a hospital in Albuquerque, 60 miles north of Los Alamos, and let Irene live there so that her husband could work with peace of mind. Every weekend, Richard will drive there to accompany Arlene. On other days of the week, a young couple wrote letters to each other. In this strange and tragic situation, the two have never lost their wit and humor. In order to avoid the inspection by security personnel, they designed special passwords for their letters.

One love letter after another, like a trickle, moistens the hearts of two young people. Feynman wrote affectionately in a letter: "Dear, you are like a stream, and I am a reservoir. Without you, I would be as empty as Me Before You. And I am willing to comfort you with the power you gave me at that moment when you are at a low tide. "

With the fierceness of World War II, Feynman's work pressure is increasing. Every time I see her husband's thin face, Irene asks affectionately, "Dear, can you tell me what you are doing?" Every time, Feynman always smiled and said, "Sorry, I can't."

It is getting closer and closer to the test explosion, but Irene's condition is getting worse.

June 1945, 16, she closed her eyes forever. At that time, they had only been married for three years, only one month before the first nuclear explosion. Before she died, she said to Feynman in a weak voice, "Dear, can you tell me this secret?" Feynman gritted his teeth. "Sorry, I can't."

Richard spent the last moment of his life with her, but he was numb as if he had lost consciousness. He was surprised at his numbness. A few weeks later, when he passed a shop, he saw a dress. He thinks it will be beautiful if Irene wears it. Irene taught him to appreciate art and listen to music, and then he suddenly felt very sad. He burst into tears and couldn't help himself.

1945 16 One morning in July, Feynman and his colleagues were waiting nervously at a secret test base. At 5: 29: 45, a bright light penetrated the darkness, and then the light went out for a while. Next, a black cloud composed of smoke and explosive fragments rose into the sky and gradually formed a mushroom cloud.

"Honey, now I can tell you the secret," Feynman muttered to himself. At this moment, he realized that Irene was dead, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Half a month later, mushroom clouds rose again in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, and the Second World War ended. But Feynman was not excited, but fell into deep depression. In order to get rid of this terrible melancholy, he began to learn to appreciate music and even learned to draw. All this is Arlene's "request" to him.

When he is not listening to music or painting, he will write to Arlene as before, in a language that only they can understand. Different from before, every time he writes a letter, he never forgets to add a sentence at the end of the letter: "Dear, please forgive me for not sending this letter, because I don't know your new address."

As time went by, Feynman gradually got rid of his depression and began to work with greater enthusiasm.

1965, won the nobel prize in physics for his outstanding contribution to quantum electrodynamics. Feynman said in an interview: "I want to thank my wife. In my heart, physics is not the most important thing, but love is! " Love is like a stream, cool and bright. "

She remarried on 1960, her son was born on 1962, and her daughter Michelle Feynman was adopted on 1968.

Major achievements

personal work

1. Feynman lectures on physics are excerpts from Feynman's lectures at California Institute of Technology from September 196 1 Sunday to May 1963.

2. The nature of the laws of physics (TheCharacterofPhysicalLaw)

3. Quantum electrodynamics (Q.E.D: Strange Theory of Light and Matter)

4. Do you care what others think? )

5. Feynman Lecture on Statistical Mechanics

6. This unscientific era (all meanings: thought chemists! )

7. elementary particles and laws of physics: 1986 dirac memory lecture notes

8. Lecture notes on quantum electrodynamics: ISBN:978704036960 1

9. Basic process theory: ISBN0-8053-2507-7

10. with Albert Hibbs: ISBN 0-07-020650-3.

1 1. gravity lecture:1995 ISBN 0-201-62734-5.

12. Calculation handout: ISBN 0-201-48991-0.

13. Feynman's last lecture: planets of the sun: ISBN0-09-97362 1-7.

14. Fei Enman Processor: Quantum Entanglement and Computing Revolution ISBN 0-7382-0173-1

15. Feynman physics: Chinese ISBN original document: 978-986-417-998-5/0-8053-9063-4.

Biographical works

Stop it, Mr Feynman (of course you're joking, Mr Feynman! )

The Joy of Discovery (Richard P Feynman's Best Short Stories)

James Gleike.

Leonard Mlodinow ISBN 0-446-6925 1-4.

Feynman's Notes: Endless Drum Michelle Feynman (ISBN 0-7382-0636-9, April 2005)

thesis

QED and its creators: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinge, Asanaga Ichiro (Princeton Physics Series) (sylvain. Schweber).

Selected papers on quantum electrodynamics (Fermi, Jordan, Heisenberg, Dyson, Vaiskopf, Lamb, Dirac, Oppenheimer, Redford, Pauli, Bert, Bloch, Klein, Schwinge, Tomonaga, Feynman, Wei Gena, etc. JulianSchwinger (ed. ))

TheBeatofaDifferentDrum:thelifeandscienceofricchardfeynman(byJagdishMehra)

A principle of least action in quantum mechanics (that is, the path integral method of quantum mechanics published in 1948 Modern Physics Monthly).

Audio works

Feynman's Six Lectures on Relativity

Complete record of Feynman physics lecture notes

Quantum mechanics Volume I

Advanced Quantum Mechanics Volume II

From Crystal Structure to Magnetism Volume III

Electromagnetic characteristics Volume IV

Feynman Physics Lecture: Energy and Motion Volume 5

Feynman Lecture on Physics: Dynamics and Thermology Volume VI

Feynman Lecture Notes: Scientific Perspectives Volume VII

Feynman Lecture Notes: Gravity Relativity and Electromagnetism Volume VIII

Basic concepts of classical physics Volume 9

Basic concepts of quantum physics Volume 10

BBC:TheFantasticMr。 Feynman

give a lecture

Lecture on quantum electrodynamics (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Tiny Machines)-Feynman Said Nano (California Institute of Technology)

academic ideas

Feynman's academic thought is accompanied by every antenna of his work and life, and its depth and breadth are extremely far away, which can be shown from the Manhattan Project, the death of his wife Alin and the teaching of California Institute of Technology.

Teaching and scientific research

Feynman advocates bold exploration and innovation in physics learning and research; Integrating theory with practice in physics teaching: multi-dimensional physics teaching objectives: loving students and teaching; Change the concept of education and teaching and pursue the innovation of education and teaching; Pursuing scientific innovation and emphasizing the integration of theory with practice; Correctly explore the methods of nature; The knowledge gained in this way increases the ability to do new things. Feynman summed up five reasons for studying physics: the first is to learn measurement and calculation and their applications in various aspects (training engineers); The second is to train scientists, who are not only committed to the development of industry, but also contribute to the progress of human knowledge; The third is to know the beauty of nature and feel the stability and reality of the world; The fourth is to learn from the unknown to the known and scientific methods of seeking knowledge; The fifth is to learn the creative spirit of free exploration with universal significance through trial and error.

Feynman once said that teachers don't understand others, but they don't really understand others. Feynman often explores new ideas and thinks about many new problems by examining the questions raised by students. Feynman's teaching is full of energy and passion. He said: "Teaching and students enable me to continue my life. If someone creates a good environment for me, but I can't teach, then I will never accept it, never. " Feynman also believes that people remember him first because of his teaching work. Caltech collected a series of his lectures and published Feynman's lectures on physics.

His main contribution in this field is to comprehensively develop a unique method for applying quantum theory to contemporary frontier research fields, and thus has a great impact on the contemporary landscape of this field. Feynman path integral, Feynman diagram and Feynman rule are very basic tools used by modern theoretical physicists. These tools are necessary to apply the rules of quantum theory to various specific fields, such as the quantum theory of electrons, protons and photons, which constitute the basic elements of the processing method to make quantum rules consistent with Einstein's special theory of relativity. Although these concepts are not easy to understand. Feynman path integral method of quantum mechanics is a "historical accumulation" method, which is of great significance. There are two forms of traditional quantum mechanics, one is Schrodinger's wave-based form, and the other is Heisenberg's particle-based form. Feynman discovered the third form of quantum mechanics-path integral form based on action. The idea of path integral can give the behavior of things a physical intuition and provide a distinct intellectual image. This form can not only get the same answer as the other two forms, but also be effective for classical mechanics, which makes people see the clear connection between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics, which means that they are actually part of a unified world outlook at a higher level.

Aesthetic art

Richard feynman is a world-famous physicist. In his later years, Mr. Richard was addicted to the lines and structures of painting. He feels that his love for art is closely related to physics-both of them are expressing the beauty and complexity of the natural world. He expresses his feelings about the beauty of nature through a brush. He thinks that everything in the world looks so different, but they have surprisingly the same organization and obey universal laws. Physics is a kind of mathematics that appreciates the beauty of nature. What a wonderful and spectacular feeling it is to realize the complex structure and motion mode between atoms. This is a kind of awe of science. He thinks people can also feel this feeling through painting. And you can tell others: Please feel the magnificence of the universe at this moment.

Social contribution

Scientific contribution

Feynman developed the method of expressing quantum amplitude by path integral in the 1940s, and put forward a new theoretical form, calculation method and renormalization method of quantum electrodynamics in 1948, thus avoiding the divergence difficulty in quantum electrodynamics. Feynman amplitude, Feynman propagator and Feynman rule in quantum field theory are all named after his surname.

Feynman diagram was first proposed by Feynman in the late 1940s. It is used to express the interaction between fields and can simply reflect the essence of the process. Up to now, it is still the basic expression of electromagnetic interaction in physics and is widely used. It has changed the way of conceptualization and mathematicization of physical processes. Feynman always studies physics in his own unique way. He is not limited by Schrodinger wave function and Heisenberg matrix, and independently puts forward the temporal and spatial description of transition amplitude to deal with the probability problem. Based on the basic assumption of probability amplitude superposition, he used the expression of action quantity to add the amplitudes of all possible paths from one time point to another. This method is simple and clear and becomes the third expression of quantum mechanics. 1968, Feynman proposed a hadron structure model in high-energy collisions based on the deep inelastic scattering experiment of electrons and the scale independence of J.D.Bjorken. The model holds that hadrons are composed of many point particles, which are called partons. Parton model successfully explained the phenomenon of high-energy experiments. He can well describe the deep inelastic scattering of lepton to nucleon, electron pair annihilation, hadron and high-energy hadron scattering and other high-energy processes, and gradually enrich the physical images of hadron structure in explaining these processes.

In addition to his outstanding contribution to quantum electrodynamics, Feynman also established a mathematical theory to solve the phenomenon of liquid helium superfluidity. He and Murray gherman have done some basic work in the field of weak interaction, such as β decay. Feynman put forward the straton model of high-energy proton collision process, which played an important role in the development of quark theory.

Educational contribution

Feynman has a special ability to express complex ideas in simple language, which makes him an effective educator. Among many awards he won, he was proud of the Alceste Education Medal won by 1972.

Feynman Lecture on Physics published by 1962 was praised by Scientific American: "Although this textbook is profound, it is rich in content and enlightening. After 25 years of publication, it has become a study guide for lecturers, professors and outstanding students in the lower grades. " Feynman himself wrote in the preface: "The main purpose of my teaching is not to help you cope with the exam, nor to help you serve industry or national defense. What I want to do most is to let you appreciate this wonderful world and the way physics observes it. "

In order to promote the general public's understanding of physics, Feynman wrote Characteristics of Physical Laws and Quantum Electrodynamics: Strange Theory of Light and Matter. At the same time, many advanced professional papers and works have been published, which have become classic documents and teaching materials for researchers and students.

In the 1960s, Feynman also worked hard in the California Curriculum Design Committee to oppose the mediocrity of textbooks.

Anecdotes of characters

Feynman lecture: perspective of Brazilian education

1949-1952, Feynman was invited to teach intermittently in Brazil for ten months. At the end of the year, he was invited to give a speech and comment on education in Brazil. In fact, Feynman's trip to Brazil was sponsored by a plan of the US government. He went to Rio University in Brazil to teach students advanced courses in electromagnetism. So he found two strange phenomena:

First, students never ask questions. Second, faced with the same question, sometimes students can answer it immediately, but sometimes they are at a loss and completely at a loss.

Feynman found that the only thing Brazilian students have to do in class is to sit there and write down everything the professor said to make sure there are no mistakes and prepare for the exam. But they only know what they recite.

At the end of the school year, Feynman was invited to the Brazilian Academy of Sciences to give a speech that deeply shocked the Brazilian education community-talking about Brazil's teaching experience. The audience is not only students, but also many professors and government officials. Feynman first asked them to guarantee freedom of speech. They said, "No problem, this is a free country."

He told Brazilians frankly the shocking facts he saw: so many primary school students buy physics books in bookstores, so many Brazilian children are studying physics, and they started earlier than American children, but there are not many physicists in Brazil-why? So many children worked so hard, but it was all in vain!

Feynman held up a well-written freshman physics textbook. "In this book, there is no mention of the experimental results from beginning to end. As long as I open the book and point to that line, I can prove that it is not science, but just recite it alive. "

Finally, Feynman said: I really don't see who can get any education in this repetitive system. Everyone works hard at exams and then teaches the next generation how to take them. Nobody knows anything. "But," I said, "I must be mistaken. Two students in my class got good grades, and another physicist I know was educated in Brazil. Therefore, it seems that although the system is not good, some people still have ways to succeed. "

After Professor Feynman finished speaking, the Brazilian Minister of Education stood up and said bitterly, "What Mr Feynman just said is something that makes us fidget, but it seems that he really loves science and his criticism is sincere. Therefore, I think we should listen to him. Before I came here, I knew that our education system was sick; But now I find that we have cancer! " -say that finish sat down.

Afterwards, to Feynman's delight, Feynman made a speech in Portuguese, only to find that everyone was speaking in English. When it was Feynman's turn, he said that he didn't know that the official language of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences was English, so I could only speak in Portuguese. Then, later people began to speak Portuguese. Feynman proudly said, "I actually changed the language tradition of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in one fell swoop."

Feynman's trip to Brazil was sponsored by a plan of the US government, so the US Foreign Ministry asked Feynman to write a report on his experience in Brazil, and Feynman wrote the contents of his speech in Brazil. Later, Feynman learned through some channels that some people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded: "How dangerous it is to send a naive person like Feynman to Brazil. This fool will only bring us trouble. He doesn't understand these problems at all. "

On the contrary, this guy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is really naive: just because he saw many lectures and explanations in the university, he thought he saw the truth!

Social assessment

Freeman Dyson: "Half genius, half comedian." Later, when Dyson knew Feynman very well, he revised his initial evaluation to: "A complete genius, a complete comedian." ; Feynman actually "reinvented almost the whole set of physics" in his own way, rather than systematic mathematics.

Wolfgang Pauli: "Why does this clever young man talk like an unemployed man?"

Feynman student: "Just as he likes to talk about atomic particles, he is always in a dynamic state, just like a dancer, walking around with his head held high and his hands drawing complex and beautiful arcs."

New york Times: "theimp.