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a . i a ee Ab raham Pais a Author of Subtle is the Lori = The Science & the Life of Albert Einstein 7 Ss 3 \ me); SCIENCE A portrait gallery of — twentieth-century physicists — SS SESS Abraham Pais is the acclaimed author of the definitive biographies of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, two of the twentieth century's greatest scientists. As a distinguished theoretical physicist himself, he was also acquainted with many of the other great scientists. In this new book, Pais turns his attention to seventeen other scientists, all distinguished in their own right, but who had appeared as the supporting cast to his previous biographies. We meet, among others, the famously taciturn Paul Dirac; Max Born, who coined the term ‘quantum mechanics’; Wolfgang Pauli, famed for his exclusion ptinciple and known as the conscience of twentieth- century physics; Mitchell Feigenbaum, inventor of chaos theory; and John yon Neumann, one of the most influential mathematicians of the century. In addition, and because their work is so relevant to the others discussed, Pais has included chapters on Einstein and Bohr, giving the essence of their character and scientific achievement. In each case, Pais presents a blend of the personality and achievements of the scientist, assisted by his deep knowledge of physics and his personal acquaintance with the subject. The result is a unique and illuminating collection of portraits that shed light on both the personalities and the development of science of this group of great scientists. It will be read by all those with an interest in the development of science in the twentieth century, from relativity to chaos theory. The Genius of Science The Genius of Science A Portrait Gallery ABRAHAM PAIS Rockefeller University, New York OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS BR BR Q141 ~P29 2000 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6pP Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Bombay Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Abraham Pais 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a-retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press. Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms and in other countries should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Pais, Abraham, 1918— The genius of science: a portrait gallery / Abraham Pais. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Scientists—-Biography. 2. Science—History—20th century. I. Title. Q141.P29 2000 509.2’2-de21 [B] 99-046603 ISBN 0 19 850614 7 (Hbk) J&L Composition Ltd, Filey, North Yorkshire Printed in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford & King’s Lynn Contents Introduction 1 Niels Bohr 6 Max Born 30 Y K Paul Dirac 48 w W Albert Einstein 78 . k f Mitchell Feigenbaum 84 u Res Jost 106 D Oskar Klein 122 N Hendrik Kramers 148 O Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang 172 o C John Von Neumann 184 6_ Wolfgang Pauli 210 a bo Isidor I. Rabi 264 Robert Serber 280 s George Uhlenbeck 288 — Viktor Weisskopf 326 n o Eugene Wigner 330 a=- Onomasticon 353