Abraham Pais – författare

Subtle is the Lord is widely recognized as the definitive scientific biography of Albert Einstein. The late Abraham Pais was a distinguished physicist turned historian who knew Einstein both professionally and personally in the last years of his life. His biography combines a profound understanding of Einstein's work with personal recollections from their years of acquaintance, illuminating the man through the development of his scientific thought. Pais examines the formulation of Einstein's theories of relativity, his work on Brownian motion, and his response to quantum theory with authority and precision. The profound transformation Einstein's ideas effected on the physics of the turn of the century is here laid out for the serious reader. Pais also fills many gaps in what we know of Einstein's life - his interest in philosophy, his concern with Jewish destiny, and his opinions of great figures from Newton to Freud. This remarkable volume, written by a physicist who mingled in Einstein's scientific circle, forms a timeless and classic biography of the towering figure of twentieth-century science.

The history of physics since the discovery of X-rays would be too simplistic a description of this book. Certainly it covers the historical period from the late nineteenth century to the present day, but the book attempts to relate not only what has happened over the last hundred years or so, but why it happened the way it did, what it was like for those scientists involved, and how what, at the time, seemed a series of bizarre or unrelated events, now with hindsight presents a logical narrative. The author, himself a notable physicist and author of the highly successful Subtle is the Lord (Clarendon Press 1982), was personally involved in many of the developments described in the book. As with his previous book, unique insights into the world of big and small physics are to be gained from this major work.

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was one of the founders of quantum theory. He is numbered alongside Newton, Maxwell and Einstein as one of the greatest physicists of all time. Together the lectures in this volume, originally presented on the occasion of the dedication ceremony for a plaque commemorating Dirac in Westminster Abbey, give a unique insight into the relationship between Dirac's character and his scientific achievements. The text begins with the dedication address given by Stephen Hawking at the ceremony. Then Abraham Pais describes Dirac as a person and his approach to his work. Maurice Jacob explains how Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, and its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology, followed by an account by David Olive of the origin and enduring influence of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles. Finally, Sir Michael Atiyah explains the deep and widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics.

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was one of the founders of quantum theory. He is numbered alongside Newton, Maxwell and Einstein as one of the greatest physicists of all time. Together the lectures in this volume, originally presented on the occasion of the dedication ceremony for a plaque commemorating Dirac in Westminster Abbey, give a unique insight into the relationship between Dirac's character and his scientific achievements. The text begins with the dedication address given by Stephen Hawking at the ceremony. Then Abraham Pais describes Dirac as a person and his approach to his work. Maurice Jacob explains how Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, and its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology, followed by an account by David Olive of the origin and enduring influence of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles. Finally, Sir Michael Atiyah explains the deep and widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics.

Im September 1946 kam ich nach Princeton. Dort erfuhr ich aber, daß Pauli inzwi­ schen nach Zürich abgereist war. Bohr kam noch im gleichen Monat nach Prince­ ton, um - wie ich - den Zweihundert jahr-Feiern beizuwohnen. Damals versäumte ich meine erste Gelegenheit, einen Blick auf Einstein zu werfen, als er neben Präsi­ dent Truman im Akademischen Festzug einherschritt. Wenig später stellte mich Bohr aber Einstein vor, der dem ehrfurchtsvollen jungen Mann sehr feundlich ent­ gegenkam. Bald wendete sich das Gespräch der Quantentheorie zu und ich hörte, wie die beiden diskutierten. Die Details sind mir nicht mehr in Erinnerung, nur­ mehr meine ersten Eindrücke: sie begegneten einander mit liebevollem Respekt. Mit einiger Leidenschaft redeten sie aneinander vorbei. Wie bei meinen ersten Gesprä­ chen mit Bohr verstand ich nunmehr nicht, worüber Einstein eigentlich sprach. Wenig später begegnete ich Einstein vor dem Institut und erzählte ihm, daß ich seiner Diskussion mit Bohr nicht hatte folgen können und fragte, ob ich einmal weitere Auskünfte in seinem Büro einholen dürfte. Er lud mich ein, ihn nach Hause zu begleiten. Damit begann eine Reihe von Diskussionen, die bis kurz vor seinem Tod andauerten. ! Oft besuchte ich ihn in seinem Büro oder begleitete ihn (häufig gemeinsam mit Kurt Gödel) auf seinem Mittagsspaziergang nach Hause. Manchmal besuchte ich ihn auch dort. Üblicherweise trafen wir uns alle paar Wochen einmal. Wir sprachen deutsch, da sich diese Sprache am besten eignete, die Nuancen seiner Gedanken aus­ zudrücken und die deutsche Sprache auch seiner Persönlichkeit entsprach.