Walter Kohn: From Kindertransport and Internment to DFT and the Nobel Prize

Walter Kohn: From Kindertransport and Internment to DFT and the Nobel Prize
Author: David C Clary
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-11-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9789811291951

"This book is the first ever biography of Walter Kohn. Sir David Clary traces Kohn's early life in Vienna and his dramatic escape from the Nazis on the Kindertransport to England in 1939, followed by Kohn's internment as an "enemy alien" and his transportation to Canada in 1940. His subsequent scientific career is discussed in detail, including his remarkable sabbatical in France when he discovered DFT, and his enduring efforts on peace initiatives and reduction of nuclear proliferation"--

Julian Schwinger: The Physicist, The Teacher, And The Man

Julian Schwinger: The Physicist, The Teacher, And The Man
Author: Jack Ng Yee
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 212
Release: 1996-01-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814499471

In the post-quantum-mechanics era, few physicists, if any, have matched Julian Schwinger in contributions to and influence on the development of physics. A deep and provocative thinker, Schwinger left his indelible mark on all areas of theoretical physics; an eloquent lecturer and immensely successful mentor, he was gentle, intensely private, and known for being “modest about everything except his physics”. This book is a collection of talks in memory of him by some of his contemporaries and his former students: A Klein, F Dyson, B DeWitt, W Kohn, D Saxon, P C Martin, K Johnson, S Deser, R Finkelstein, Y J Ng, H Feshbach, L Brown, S Glashow, K A Milton, and C N Yang. From it, one can get a glimpse of Julian Schwinger, the physicist, the teacher, and the man. Altogether, this book is a must for all physicists, physics students, and others who are interested in great legends.

QED and the Men Who Made It

QED and the Men Who Made It
Author: S. S. Schweber
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 762
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691213283

In the 1930s, physics was in a crisis. There appeared to be no way to reconcile the new theory of quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of relativity. Several approaches had been tried and had failed. In the post-World War II period, four eminent physicists rose to the challenge and developed a calculable version of quantum electrodynamics (QED), probably the most successful theory in physics. This formulation of QED was pioneered by Freeman Dyson, Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger, and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, three of whom won the Nobel Prize for their work. In this book, physicist and historian Silvan Schweber tells the story of these four physicists, blending discussions of their scientific work with fascinating biographical sketches. Setting the achievements of these four men in context, Schweber begins with an account of the early work done by physicists such as Dirac and Jordan, and describes the gathering of eminent theorists at Shelter Island in 1947, the meeting that heralded the new era of QED. The rest of his narrative comprises individual biographies of the four physicists, discussions of their major contributions, and the story of the scientific community in which they worked. Throughout, Schweber draws on his technical expertise to offer a lively and lucid explanation of how this theory was finally established as the appropriate way to describe the atomic and subatomic realms.

Science and the Navy

Science and the Navy
Author: Harvey M. Sapolsky
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 140086092X

Addressing all those interested in the history of American science and concerned with its future, a leading scholar of public policy explains how and why the Office of Naval Research became the first federal agency to support a wide range of scientific work in universities. Harvey Sapolsky shows that the ONR functioned as a "surrogate national science foundation" between 1946 and 1950 and argues that its activities emerged not from any particularly enlightened position but largely from a bureaucratic accident. Once involved with basic research, however, the ONR challenged a Navy skeptical of the value of independent scientific advice and established a national security rationale that gave American science its Golden Age. Eventually, the ONR's autonomy was worn away in bureaucratic struggles, but Sapolsky demonstrates that its experience holds lessons for those who are committed to the effective management of science and interested in the ability of scientists to choose the directions for their research. As military support for basic research fades, scientists are discovering that they are unprotected from the vagaries of distributive politics. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Hall Effect and Its Applications

The Hall Effect and Its Applications
Author: C. Chien
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1475713673

In 1879, while a graduate student under Henry Rowland at the Physics Department of The Johns Hopkins University, Edwin Herbert Hall discovered what is now universally known as the Hall effect. A symposium was held at The Johns Hopkins University on November 13, 1979 to commemorate the lOOth anniversary of the discovery. Over 170 participants attended the symposium which included eleven in vited lectures and three speeches during the luncheon. During the past one hundred years, we have witnessed ever ex panding activities in the field of the Hall effect. The Hall effect is now an indispensable tool in the studies of many branches of condensed matter physics, especially in metals, semiconductors, and magnetic solids. Various components (over 200 million!) that utilize the Hall effect have been successfully incorporated into such devices as keyboards, automobile ignitions, gaussmeters, and satellites. This volume attempts to capture the important aspects of the Hall effect and its applications. It includes the papers presented at the symposium and eleven other invited papers. Detailed coverage of the Hall effect in amorphous and crystalline metals and alloys, in magnetic materials, in liquid metals, and in semiconductors is provided. Applications of the Hall effect in space technology and in studies of the aurora enrich the discussions of the Hall effect's utility in sensors and switches. The design and packaging of Hall elements in integrated circuit forms are illustrated.

What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution

What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution
Author: G. Holton
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2006-12-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0230601790

The result of a four-year, in-depth study of those refugees who came as children or youths from Central Europe to the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, fleeing persecution from the National Socialist regime. This study uses social science methodology and examines their fates in their new country, their successes and tribulations.

Kumba Africa

Kumba Africa
Author: Sampson Ejike Odum
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 123
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1663205043

‘KUMBA AFRICA’, is a compilation of African Short Stories written as fiction by Sampson Ejike Odum, nostalgically taking our memory back several thousands of years ago in Africa, reminding us about our past heritage. It digs deep into the traditional life style of the Africans of old, their beliefs, their leadership, their courage, their culture, their wars, their defeat and their victories long before the emergence of the white man on the soil of Africa. As a talented writer of rich resource and superior creativity, armed with in-depth knowledge of different cultures and traditions in Africa, the Author throws light on the rich cultural heritage of the people of Africa when civilization was yet unknown to the people. The book reminds the readers that the Africans of old kept their pride and still enjoyed their own lives. They celebrated victories when wars were won, enjoyed their New yam festivals and villages engaged themselves in seasonal wrestling contest etc; Early morning during harmattan season, they gathered firewood and made fire inside their small huts to hit up their bodies from the chilling cold of the harmattan. That was the Africa of old we will always remember. In Africa today, the story have changed. The people now enjoy civilized cultures made possible by the influence of the white man through his scientific and technological process. Yet there are some uncivilized places in Africa whose people haven’t tested or felt the impact of civilization. These people still maintain their ancient traditions and culture. In everything, we believe that days when people paraded barefooted in Africa to the swarmp to tap palm wine and fetch firewood from there farms are almost fading away. The huts are now gradually been replaced with houses built of blocks and beautiful roofs. Thanks to modern civilization. Donkeys and camels are no longer used for carrying heavy loads for merchants. They are now been replaced by heavy trucks and lorries. African traditional methods of healing are now been substituted by hospitals. In all these, I will always love and remember Africa, the home of my birth and must respect her cultures and traditions as an AFRICAN AUTHOR.

Children's Exodus

Children's Exodus
Author: Vera K. Fast
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2010-11-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0857718878

In the months leading up to the outbreak of World War Two, Britain rushed to evacuate nearly 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazi occupied territories. Through the unprecedented cooperation of religious and governmental organizations, the Kindertransport spared thousands of Jewish children from the terror of the Third Reich and provided them with host families in Britain. "Children's Exodus" offers an in-depth look at the people and politics behind the various chains of rescue as well as the personal narratives of the children who left everything behind in the hope of finding safety. Drawing on unpublished interviews, journals, and articles, Vera K. Fast examines the religious and political tensions that emerged throughout the migration and at times threatened to bring operations to a halt. "Children's Exodus" captures the life-affirming stories of child refugees with vivid detail and examines the motivations - religious or otherwise - of the people that orchestrated one of the greatest rescue missions of all time.