Related papers: Fritz Haber: The Damned Scientist
We review the work and life of Otto Stern who developed the molecular beam technique and with its aid laid the foundations of experimental atomic physics. Among the key results of his research are: the experimental determination of the…
Abner Shimony was an exceptional human being and a remarkably lucid and penetrating thinker whose work centered on some of the most significant physical and philosophical questions of his era at their nexus. He approached these questions…
In this article, I trace the early historical developments that ultimately led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Even after the completion of weapons, many scientists continued to argue that nuclear armaments were indispensable for…
A brief review of Heisenberg's life and work: participating in the youth movement in the aftermath of World War I, creating quantum mechanics, conflict with "deutsche Physik", involvement in "Hitler's Uranium Project", last illusions.…
Alastair Graham Walker Cameron was an astrophysicist and planetary scientist of broad interests and exceptional originality. A founder of the field of nuclear astrophysics, he developed the theoretical understanding of the chemical…
Feyerabend frequently discussed physics. He also referred to the history of the subject when motivating his philosophy of science. Alas, as some examples show, his understanding of physics remained superficial. In this respect, Feyerabend…
Th\'eophile De Donder, a Belgian mathematician born in Brussels, elaborated two important ideas that created a bridge between thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. He invented the concept of the degree of advancement of a reaction, and, in…
The Rutherford scattering experiment, conceived by Ernest Rutherford and carried out by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, provided the first direct evidence of a compact atomic nucleus, fundamentally altering the understanding of atomic…
One of the most important philosophers in history, the German Friedrich Nietzsche, is almost ignored by physicists. This author who declared the death of God in the 19th century was a science enthusiast, especially in the second period of…
Quantum mechanics can be formulated in three ways, as Heisenberg, Schr\"odinger and Feynman did respectively. For the last way, an unknown (i.e. forgotten) forerunner exists, that we have found in a paper by Gregor Wentzel, published before…
The fascinating story of a major discovery at CERN is outlined. The bold decision to convert its most powerful, and only recently inaugurated, proton accelerator to a proton-antiproton collider led to the discovery of the W and Z bosons --…
I recall my "first hour" events following on my meeting in Fall 1968 in the classroom with my academic teacher and thesis mentor Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. multiple Walter Greiner. My comments focus on the creation of the new "strong fields" domain…
The famous scientist Hermann von Helmholtz was born 200 years ago. Many complex physical wave phenomena in engineering can effectively be described using one or a set of equations named after him: the Helmholtz equation. Although this has…
Einstein was in many ways like a detective on a mystery trail, though in his case he was on the trail of nature's mysteries and not some murder mystery! And like all good detectives he had a style. It consisted of taking facts that he knew…
From its very beginning, Quantum Theory developed contrary to the intentions of its creators. For Max Planck it marks the failure of a long-term research program, in which he tried to understand the 2nd law of thermodynamics…
This essay tells briefly of the life and work of one of the most successful scientists originating from a Balkan settlement whose name and popularity have greatly exceeded its realm. The word is of a discovery during WWII of the…
In October 1934 Fermi discovered that neutrons became particularly effective in rendering the elements radioactive after being slowed down by hydrogenous substances. His was described as an absolutely unpredictable scientific discovery. In…
Probably the most dramatic historical challenge to scientific realism concerns Arnold Sommerfeld's 1916 derivation of the fine structure energy levels of hydrogen. Not only were his predictions good, he derived exactly the same formula that…
I discuss examples of what Dr. Irving Langmuir, a Nobel prize winner in Chemistry, called "the science of things that aren't so." Some of his examples are reviewed and others from High Energy Physics are added. It is hoped that discussing…
This Introduction opens the collection "Physics in A Mad World" devoted to two outstanding physicists whose destinies were deeply intertwined with the tragedies and drama of the times in which they lived. Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans was…