Hans Bethe And His Physics

G. E. Brown, Chang-Hwan Lee9812566090, 9789812774507, 9789812566096, 9812566104, 9789812566102

When Hans Bethe, at the age of 97, asked his long-term collaborator, Gerry Brown, to explain his scientific work to the world, the latter knew that this was a steep task. As the late John Bahcall famously remarked: “If you know his (Bethe’s) work, you might be inclined to think he is really several people, all of whom are engaged in a conspiracy to sign their work with the same name”. Almost eight decades of original research, hundreds of scientific papers, numerous books, countless reports spanning the key areas of 20th century physics are the impressive record of Hans Bethe’s academic work. In answering Bethe’s request, the editors enlisted the help of experts in the different research fields, collaborators and friends of this “last giant” of 20th century physics. “Hans Bethe and His Physics” is the result. It contains discussions of Hans Bethe’s work in solid state physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics; it explains his contributions as a science advisor and his stance on energy and nuclear weapons; and it demonstrates his impact as a teacher and mentor to generations of young scientists. While the book’s primary aim is to explain the science behind the man, the different articles also allow the reader to take a glimpse at the man behind the science.

---

Table of contents :
Contents……Page 10
Preface……Page 6
List of Contributing Authors……Page 12
Hans Bethe and His Physics……Page 15
1. German Beginnings……Page 17
2. America the First Years……Page 24
3. After the War……Page 29
References……Page 36
1. Introduction to Astrophysics……Page 41
2. The Washington Conference……Page 42
3. The Carbon Cycle……Page 43
4. Subsequent Developments……Page 45
5. The Nobel Prize……Page 46
6. Returning to Astrophysics……Page 52
7. Conclusion……Page 57
First Week……Page 59
Second Week……Page 86
Third Week……Page 103
Hans Bethe at The New Yorker……Page 125
My Sixty Years with Hans Bethe……Page 129
References……Page 137
Hans Bethe……Page 139
A Fuller Picture……Page 140
“The Happy Thirties”……Page 145
From Sommerfeld to Fermi……Page 147
1933 and Its Aftermath……Page 149
Cornell University……Page 152
The 1930’s in Retrospect……Page 154
Epilogue……Page 156
Hans Bethe to Arnold Sommerfeld……Page 157
References……Page 158
Stellar Energy Generation and Solar Neutrinos……Page 161
How the Sun Shines……Page 162
After the War……Page 164
The Missing Solar Neutrinos……Page 165
References……Page 168
Hans Bethe and Quantum Electrodynamics……Page 171
Mastering QED……Page 174
References……Page 177
Foundations……Page 179
Hole-line Expansion……Page 181
Nuclei and Neutron Stars……Page 183
Legacy……Page 184
Out of the Ordinary……Page 185
References……Page 187
Hans Bethe and Astrophysical Theory……Page 189
Not Enough Entropy……Page 190
Stellar Explosions……Page 192
About the Future……Page 194
A Large Piece of Life……Page 196
References……Page 197
Early History……Page 199
References……Page 201
Hans Bethe’s Contributions to Solid-State Physics……Page 203
References……Page 213
1. The Atomic and Nuclear Shell Models……Page 215
2. Hans Bethe in Cambridge England……Page 230
3. The Reference-Spectrum Method for Nuclear Matter……Page 237
References……Page 250
Commentary by G. E. Brown……Page 253
References……Page 255
And Don’t Forget the Black Holes……Page 256
References……Page 262
Shaping Public Policy……Page 265
My Contacts with Bethe……Page 277
The Necessity of Nuclear Power……Page 279
Advantages and Problems of Nuclear Energy……Page 280
References……Page 284
In Memoriam: Hans Bethe……Page 287
The Hydrogen Bomb Decision……Page 288
The Test Ban……Page 289
Missile Defense……Page 290
References……Page 291
Obituary: Hans A. Bethe……Page 293
II. Papers……Page 297
III. Publications about Hans Bethe and other biographical material……Page 325