Just finished reading : 'Quantum Man' - about Richard Feynman's life in science, by Lawrence Kraus.
If there is one thing I took home, it is that all those particles, their 'positions', charge and whatnot is all a matter of probablities. For instance, there is a finite possibility that two particles occupy exactly the same 'position' at the same 'time'. So I believe it will never be a case of 'we found it - go home'.
BTW Did you know that RF used to go to stripjoints and the like to draft his papers and to think deeply? I tried that too but the thinking somehow eluded me
jan
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My Swiss friend asked me to explain the importance of the LHC . I said my view is that the building of a big structure like this will translate very nicely into the skills to build fusion reactors . I think the scale of such a reactor is now known . I am sure the verification of Higgs will take years as jobs depend on it .
I think Richard Feynman said something like this .
How to solve a problem .
First , define the problem
Second , do lots of thinking .
Lastly , solve the problem .
That's how to solve a problem .
My belief is that very seldom the real problem is defined . Saves a lot of work if you do .
I think Richard Feynman said something like this .
How to solve a problem .
First , define the problem
Second , do lots of thinking .
Lastly , solve the problem .
That's how to solve a problem .
My belief is that very seldom the real problem is defined . Saves a lot of work if you do .
Feynman cheats. He was a lot smarter than the rest of us.
They put his entire lecture series out on DVD. He was also a great presenter. I envy anyone who had his classes. Alas, it would be out of date today.
Actually, I agree with Jan. Nothing is for sure. I was thinking more how the non-scientific establishment will not want to keep putting the billion or so a year into it after they announce it was successful. Some of the greatest accomplishments are in the detector engineering and in my subject, big data. The true value is not obvious. I can think of far worse things to spend a few billion on, and it seems we do. Thanks for the book tip.
Wave's chart just about sums it up.
They put his entire lecture series out on DVD. He was also a great presenter. I envy anyone who had his classes. Alas, it would be out of date today.
Actually, I agree with Jan. Nothing is for sure. I was thinking more how the non-scientific establishment will not want to keep putting the billion or so a year into it after they announce it was successful. Some of the greatest accomplishments are in the detector engineering and in my subject, big data. The true value is not obvious. I can think of far worse things to spend a few billion on, and it seems we do. Thanks for the book tip.
Wave's chart just about sums it up.
I remember Richard Feynman's proof of the existence of Tuva . He brought to a class a triangular postage stamp that his grandfather had given him I beleive ? Grandfather also told of this mysterious country somewhere in the east . Officially Tuva did not exist . After the class investigated they got hold of a LP record of Tuvan music . I was a bit like Tibetan music ( throat singing ) . The record was the Rosetta stone , it was in Russian and Tuvan . They risked a letter in Tuvan and got a reply . The USSR (as was ) arranged a visit under the understanding Feynman would give a lecture . He accepted , alas he died of cancer before it could be finalized . His students went .
Feynman's point was that solving problems is looking for Tuva in what we do . Most people will be more comfortable with Tuva does not exist . If that's is cheating we all should try it .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvans
Feynman's point was that solving problems is looking for Tuva in what we do . Most people will be more comfortable with Tuva does not exist . If that's is cheating we all should try it .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvans
Well Higgs exists (presumably) in the quantum world where one cannot simulataneously know its position and momentum thanks to Heisenberg. So it must necessarily be an exercise where one can (sort of) say we saw it right here but the energy is fuzzy, or it was at 129 GeV over there somewhere. Accumulate a bunch of these observations and the probability that it is or is not the particle Higgs described narrows. Sounds like they have reached 5 sigma, so betting against it makes the odds of winning Powerball look pretty good.
No, most of what Feynman taught in his lectures is still valid today. In fact, most of it will still be valid in 50 years time; at least in the sense that Newtonian mechanics is still true even though superseded by QM and relativity. Some of the details may change, and QM might have been incorporated into a New Theory of Everything by then but pendulums, spinning tops and hydrogen atoms will still behave in the same way and Maxwell's and Schrodinger's equations will still be true.tvrgeek said:
BTW Did you know that RF used to go to stripjoints and the like to draft his papers and to think deeply? I tried that too but the thinking somehow eluded me
jan
You left out the punch line about one thing he did not leave to chance.
I still have my pack of Tuvan stamps that I got 50yr ago, never doubted there was a Tuva but as with Pitcairn's Is. the usefulness of stamps is questionable.
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A lot of RF is on YouTube - look for instance for The Character of Physical Law, the rights to which were purchased by Bill Gates (who does a lot of good things lately) to be able to put it out in the open.
jan
You left out the punch line about one thing he did not leave to chance.
I still have my pack of Tuvan stamps that I got 50yr ago, never doubted there was a Tuva but as with Pitcairn's Is. the usefulness of stamps is questionable.
He was a character, and a womanizer as well. When he accepted a job offer at Caltech he did it on the condition that he could start with a sabbatical which he spend on Copacabana. Rumour has it that at one time he not only succeeded to talk a beautiful woman into his bed but even got her to repay him the dinner he bought her the night before! Charisma, anyone
?jan
Rumour has it that at one time he not only succeeded to talk a beautiful woman into his bed but even got her to repay him the dinner he bought her the night before! Charisma, anyone
What a problem?
A lovely woman went yesterday to grocery stores, made dinner, and pulled me into the bed.
Eureka !
You make experiments and I make theories. Do you know the difference? A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it.
Remark to Hermann F. Mark.
— Albert Einstein
As related by Herman F. Mark to the author. Quoted in Gerald Holton, The Advancement of Science, and Its Burdens, (1986)
I apologize.
If I write something funny, there are two possibilities:
1. It told to me my parrot Pepe.
2. I borrowed it from somewhere...
You make experiments and I make theories. Do you know the difference? A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it.
Remark to Hermann F. Mark.
— Albert Einstein
As related by Herman F. Mark to the author. Quoted in Gerald Holton, The Advancement of Science, and Its Burdens, (1986)
I apologize.
If I write something funny, there are two possibilities:
1. It told to me my parrot Pepe.
2. I borrowed it from somewhere...
You are correct of course. I should see them again. It was a long time ago when they were on TV. I doubt they will be on again as one had to think, and that seems to exclude even what is on PBS or BBC any more. So, if the standard model is now shown to be still a reasonable guess, they yes, I guess all his recorded lectures would be current. Bongo drums and all.
Mistiaen, Veronique (2 November 2002). "Time, and the great healer". The Guardian. The history behind the discovery of streptomycin.
Time, and the great healer | Education | The Guardian
No Nobel for You: Top 10 Nobel Snubs
As the 2008 laureates are announced, SciAm looks back at some of Nobel history's also-rans
No Nobel for You: Top 10 Nobel Snubs: Scientific American Slideshows
As the 2008 laureates are announced, SciAm looks back at some of Nobel history's also-rans
No Nobel for You: Top 10 Nobel Snubs: Scientific American Slideshows
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