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.
Reviews
"There is much new material on Bethe the man, as in Christoph Adami's detailed diary of three weeks with him ... I'm amazed at Bethe's prescience as far back as 1977 on global energy problems as they are emerging at the present time. Read about it in a revealing essay by Boris Ioffe ... I highly recommend this handsome volume."Australian Physics"I would especially recommend the book to anyone who has been involved in any way with the events described, as it brings alive many of the physicists that some of us knew only slightly, or by reputation alone."Nature"This book does an admirable task in drawing a portrait of a great scientist and a great man. Bethe's power, in my experience, was that he could always readily get to the heart of a problem in any field and solve it in the most economical way, and this comes through clearly. The book is a 'must read' for every researcher and teacher of science."CERN Courier



Book Information
ISBN 9789812566102
Author Gerald E Brown
Format Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
Publisher World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd