DOCSLIB.ORG

Circles of Light: a Physicist's Tale

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Circles of Light: a Physicist's Tale New Journal of Physics The open access journal at the forefront of physics www.njp.org Now part of the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP3). To view the benefits for authors visit iopscience.org/NJP/articlecharge. CERN Courier March 2015 Inside Story New Journal of Physics IMPACT FACTOR The open access journal at the forefront of physics 3.673 as listed in the 2013 ISI Journal Citation Report® www.njp.org Circles of light: a physicist’s tale We are pleased to announce our participation in the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Thinker or artisan? performing calculations using the theoretical tools of particle physics. In this respect, my Access Publishing in Particle Physics Lalit Sehgal on the link occupation combined the traits of a thinker with those of an artisan. (SCOAP3). between his career in physics Did the work bring me fame and fortune? A modicum of recognition, perhaps, but and a tailor he saw long ago certainly no great wealth. The main reward SCOAP3 can get your high-energy physics article published in was the joy of working with scientists, and in Lahore. sharing in the exhilaration of search and this prestigious open access journal at no cost to you. discovery. Was the work I did held in esteem? Here I have to be guarded in my reply. The For more details visit iopscience.org/NJP/articlecharge. When I was four years old, fi eld of elementary-particle physics tends to my grandfather, who was a divide itself into groups with varying ideas respected citizen of Lahore, about the important issues, priorities and came to our home in his ultimate goals. To put it crassly, some people horse-drawn carriage to take Lalit Sehgal. (Image credit: Anand Sehgal.) believe that their task is to try to read the me along on a drive through mind of God, who is a thinker. This group the city. He was known to thimble. The fl ashes appeared to merge into is convinced that the truth will be found in be a person of temper, so I decided not to a circle of light, suspended in air against the mathematical equations. Others believe that say or do anything that might risk his ire. dark background. It was a beautiful sight. God is an artisan, whose blueprint will be The drive proceeded in complete silence, When I next visited my grandfather’s discovered in the careful observation of the but I was aware that he was observing me house, I hastened to tell everyone that I had phenomena of nature. The two groups regard intently. At the end, when we returned to his decided on my future occupation: I would each other with polite tolerance, at best, and spacious house, he announced to the whole be a tailor. To my surprise the statement studied indifference, at worst. To the best family: “This young man is going to be a evoked as much hilarity as on the previous of my judgement, the people I care for did ELECTRON GUN SYSTEMS philosopher.” occasion. Somebody remarked that a tailor’s appreciate my work. Ultra-fast ps to fs Photo Emission Guns There were peals of laughter from all sides. job was that of a “Karigar” (a craftsman or Finally, I return to the “circle of light” that Not knowing what the word “philosopher” artisan), who worked with his hands and did captivated me at the tailor’s shop. Years later, High Brightness LaB6, meant, I hung my head in shame. A relative, not have much education, and that I should I had a similar sense of awe when, looking seeing me crestfallen, took me aside and be aspiring to something higher. I protested down into a valley after a shower of rain, explained: “A philosopher is someone who that I had seen a tailor doing embroidery and I saw a magnifi cent set of rainbows, both Flood Beams, EGG-3101 (10 keV) thinks a lot. Your grandfather probably found his work interesting. In reply, someone primary and secondary, against a clear blue Small Spots, noticed that you were absorbed in your own cautioned me that a tailor did not earn much sky. At that time I had learned enough physics thoughts.” “But why did they laugh?” I asked. money. It began to appear that regardless of to know that a rainbow was caused by the She said: “People assume that a person who whether I chose to be a thinker or an artisan, refraction and refl ection of light in raindrops. Energies: spends too much time thinking, instead of my future would be one of penury. A similar phenomenon that impressed me, doing something practical, will never earn Fortunately, my parents gave me freedom one winter night, was a ring around the Moon, 1 eV to enough to support himself.” I had received to fi nd my own way in life. I studied physics which, I learned later, was caused by ice my fi rst lesson of life. Too much thinking is and entered a career of research and teaching. crystals in the upper atmosphere. And fi nally, 100 keV not good, and is likely to leave you poor. Today, in the tranquillity of retirement, I fi nd once I was immersed in the fast-moving EMG-4210 (30 keV) Some days later, I accompanied my myself recalling that childhood encounter world of particle physics, an image that never parents to Anarkali, a popular shopping area in my grandfather’s house 70 years ago. My failed to enthral me was of the rings of light and meeting point for Lahore residents, after grandfather had prophesied that I would be a created by charged particles in a Cherenkov sundown. I happened to be standing next to philosopher. He was not far off the mark. My detector, such as in the Super-Kamiokande a tailor’s shop. A man seated in the doorway PhD certifi cate says “...Doctor of Philosophy experiment. was working assiduously with needle and in the fi eld of Physics...”. As Richard Feynman once remarked, the coloured thread, doing embroidery, and My relatives had expressed apprehension fact that a mysterious phenomenon can be between stitches his hand executed a circular that by choosing to be a thinker or artisan, explained in physical terms does not take EGA-1012 (1 keV) arc. The thimble that he wore fl ashed during I would end up in a job that was low in away from its beauty and allure. Even today, EGH-8123 (100 keV) each circular movement, refl ecting the esteem as well as in income. It turned out the sight of a rainbow brings to my mind an light of a lamp in the porch. As dusk turned that the fi eld I chose was elementary-particle imaginary weaver, weaving a pattern with to darkness, the tailor’s face and body phenomenology. It allowed me to combine coloured threads, while the rays of the sun ELG-2U (2 keV) receded into the shadows. The only sign of my propensity for thinking with the dance off the thimble on his moving hand. more prosaic task of analysing data and ● Lalit M Sehgal, Aachen. EMG-4193 (30 keV) his presence was the periodic fl ash of his www.kimballphysics.com 53 p52.indd 1 04/02/2015 11:51 CERNCOURIER www. V OLUME 5 5 N UMBER 2 M ARCH 2 0 1 5.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Luis Alvarez: the Ideas Man
    CERN Courier March 2012 Commemoration Luis Alvarez: the ideas man The years from the early 1950s to the late 1980s came alive again during a symposium to commemorate the birth of one of the great scientists and inventors of the 20th century. Luis Alvarez – one of the greatest experimental physicists of the 20th century – combined the interests of a scientist, an inventor, a detective and an explorer. He left his mark on areas that ranged from radar through to cosmic rays, nuclear physics, particle accel- erators, detectors and large-scale data analysis, as well as particles and astrophysics. On 19 November, some 200 people gathered at Berkeley to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Alumni of the Alvarez group – among them physicists, engineers, programmers and bubble-chamber film scanners – were joined by his collaborators, family, present-day students and admirers, as well as scientists whose professional lineage traces back to him. Hosted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the University of California at Berkeley, the symposium reviewed his long career and lasting legacy. A recurring theme of the symposium was, as one speaker put it, a “Shakespeare-type dilemma”: how could one person have accom- plished all of that in one lifetime? Beyond his own initiatives, Alvarez created a culture around him that inspired others to, as George Smoot put it, “think big,” as well as to “think broadly and then deep” and to take risks. Combined with Alvarez’s strong scientific standards and great care in execut- ing them, these principles led directly to the awarding of two Nobel Luis Alvarez celebrating the announcement of his 1968 Nobel prizes in physics to scientists at Berkeley – George Smoot in 2006 prize.
    [Show full text]
  • Enrico Fermi
    Fermi, Enrico Inventors and Inventions Enrico Fermi Italian American physicist Fermi helped develop Fermi-Dirac statistics, which liceo (secondary school) and, on the advice of Amidei, elucidate the group behavior of elementary particles. joined the Scuola Normale Superiore at Pisa. This elite He also developed the theory of beta decay and college, attached to the University of Pisa, admitted only discovered neutron-induced artificial radioactivity. forty of Italy’s top students, who were given free board Finally, he succeeded in producing the first sustained and lodging. Fermi performed exceedingly well in the nuclear chain reaction, which led to the discovery highly competitive entrance exam. He completed his of nuclear energy and the development of the university education after only four years of research and atomic bomb. studies, receiving his Ph.D. in physics from the Univer- sity of Pisa and his undergraduate diploma from the Born: September 29, 1901; Rome, Italy Scuola Normale Superiore in July, 1922. He became Died: November 28, 1954; Chicago, Illinois an expert theoretical physicist and a talented exper- Primary field: Physics imentalist. This rare combination provided a solid foun- Primary inventions: Controlled nuclear chain dation for all his subsequent inventions. reaction; Fermi-Dirac statistics; theory of beta decay Life’s Work After postdoctoral work at the University of Göttingen, Early Life in Germany (1922-1923), and the University of Leiden, Enrico Fermi (ehn-REE-koh FUR-mee) was the third in the Netherlands (fall, 1924), Fermi took an interim po- child of Alberto Fermi and Ida de Gattis. Enrico was very sition at the University of Florence in December, 1924.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific and Related Works of Chen Ning Yang
    Scientific and Related Works of Chen Ning Yang [42a] C. N. Yang. Group Theory and the Vibration of Polyatomic Molecules. B.Sc. thesis, National Southwest Associated University (1942). [44a] C. N. Yang. On the Uniqueness of Young's Differentials. Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 50, 373 (1944). [44b] C. N. Yang. Variation of Interaction Energy with Change of Lattice Constants and Change of Degree of Order. Chinese J. of Phys. 5, 138 (1944). [44c] C. N. Yang. Investigations in the Statistical Theory of Superlattices. M.Sc. thesis, National Tsing Hua University (1944). [45a] C. N. Yang. A Generalization of the Quasi-Chemical Method in the Statistical Theory of Superlattices. J. Chem. Phys. 13, 66 (1945). [45b] C. N. Yang. The Critical Temperature and Discontinuity of Specific Heat of a Superlattice. Chinese J. Phys. 6, 59 (1945). [46a] James Alexander, Geoffrey Chew, Walter Salove, Chen Yang. Translation of the 1933 Pauli article in Handbuch der Physik, volume 14, Part II; Chapter 2, Section B. [47a] C. N. Yang. On Quantized Space-Time. Phys. Rev. 72, 874 (1947). [47b] C. N. Yang and Y. Y. Li. General Theory of the Quasi-Chemical Method in the Statistical Theory of Superlattices. Chinese J. Phys. 7, 59 (1947). [48a] C. N. Yang. On the Angular Distribution in Nuclear Reactions and Coincidence Measurements. Phys. Rev. 74, 764 (1948). 2 [48b] S. K. Allison, H. V. Argo, W. R. Arnold, L. del Rosario, H. A. Wilcox and C. N. Yang. Measurement of Short Range Nuclear Recoils from Disintegrations of the Light Elements. Phys. Rev. 74, 1233 (1948). [48c] C.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae: Georg A
    Curriculum Vitae: Georg A. Weidlich, Ph.D., phone 650-387-0896 403 Pratt Ln email: [email protected] Palo Alto, CA 94306 url: www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Georg/Weidlich Professional Experience: - Founder and President, National Medical Physics and Dosimetry Company, Inc., in Palo Alto, California, from 1995 to date - Consulting Physicist and Radiation Safety Officer at ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc., San Carlos, CA, development of novel dedicated Radiosurgery device, January 2016 to date - Director of Radiological Physics at Valley Regional Cancer Center in Modesto, California, from December 1992 to December 1999 - Consulting Professor at Stanford University, Department of Neurosurgery, Palo Alto, CA, 2003 to 2008 - Adjunct Professor at California State University, Fresno, Physics Department November 2015 to date - Consulting Physicist at Siemens in the development of several major Linear Accelerator projects, beam line design, industrial applications, and shielding. - Consulting Radiological Physicist at Sierra View Medical Center, Roger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center, Porterville, California, September 1995 to date - Consulting Radiological Physicist at Sonora Regional Medical Center, Sonora, California, July 1992 to date - Reviewing Medical Physicist for Cureus Journal – Cardiac Radiosurgery, March 2016 to date - Consulting Radiological Physicist at Florence Wheeler Cancer Center, Mercy Hospital, Bakersfield, California, August 1999 to May 2003 - Consulting Radiological Physicist and RSO at California Cancer Center, Fresno, California,
    [Show full text]
  • Enrico Fermi: Genius
    ANNIVERSARY Enrico Fermi: genius This year marks the centenary of the birth of Enrico Fermi, one of the giants of 20th- • century science, and one of the last physicists to be both an accomplished experimentalist and an influential theorist. Here, Gianni Battimelli of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" traces the life of a genius. Enrico Fermi was born on 29 September 1901 in Rome to a family with no scientific traditions. His passion for natural sciences, and in particular for physics, was stimulated and guided in his school years by an engineer and family friend, Adolph Amidei, who recognized Fermi's exceptional intellectual abilities and suggested admission to Pisa's Scuola Normale Superiore. After finishing high-school studies in Rome, in 1918 Fermi progressed to the prestigious Pisa Institute, after producing for the admission exam an essay on the characteristics of the propagation of sound, the authenticity of which the commissioners initially refused to believe. Studies at Pisa did not pose any particular difficulties for the young Fermi, despite his having to be largely self-taught using mate­ rial in foreign languages because nothing existed at the time in Fermi's group discovered the Italian on the new physics emerging around relativity and quantum radioactivity induced by theory. In those years in Italy, these new theories were absent from university teaching, and only mathematicians likeTullio Levi-Civita neutrons, instead of the had the knowledge and insight to see their implications. alpha particles used in the Working alone, between 1919 and 1922, Fermi built up a solid competence in relativity, statistical mechanics and the applications Paris experiments.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief Newsletter from World Scientific February 2017
    Brief Newsletter from World Scientific February 2017 Exclusive Interview with 2003 Nobel Laureate One of the Top Condensed Matter Theorists and World Scientific Author Anthony Leggett Sir Professor Anthony James Leggett is a distinguished physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003 for his pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids. He is currently a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prof Leggett gave a presentation at the 2016 APS March Meeting in Baltimore, USA on “Reflections on the past, present and future of condensed matter physics”. In a phone interview, he shared with us some of his thoughts and further musings on the future of condensed matter physics. Paradigm Shift and Our Quest for the Unknown Chad Hollingsworth Your talk at the APS March Meeting 2016 mentioned developments That probably depends on your current tenure status! Certainly, if that you classified as “paradigm shifts”. Are there any recent you have a secure, tenured job (as I have been fortunate enough to discoveries that you would classify as paradigm shifts? have for the last few decades), then I think most certainly it’s better Well, if we go slightly outside the area of condensed matter physics to explore the unknown. But, of course, I appreciate that in the current as it has been conventionally defined, then, undoubtedly, any employment situation, people who have not got a tenured job need revolution which overthrew the view of quantum mechanics as a to think about their future. This may well be a rather strong pressure complete account of the world would, I think, certainly qualify as a to basically explore the known further.
    [Show full text]
  • The Federal Government: a Nobel Profession
    The Federal Government: A Nobel Profession A Report on Pathbreaking Nobel Laureates in Government 1901 - 2002 INTRODUCTION The Nobel Prize is synonymous with greatness. A list of Nobel Prize winners offers a quick register of the world’s best and brightest, whose accomplishments in literature, economics, medicine, science and peace have enriched the lives of millions. Over the past century, 270 Americans have received the Nobel Prize for innovation and ingenuity. Approximately one-fourth of these distinguished individuals are, or were, federal employees. Their Nobel contributions have resulted in the eradication of polio, the mapping of the human genome, the harnessing of atomic energy, the achievement of peace between nations, and advances in medicine that not only prolong our lives, but “This report should serve improve their quality. as an inspiration and a During Public Employees Recognition Week (May 4-10, 2003), in an effort to recognize and honor the reminder to us all of the ideas and accomplishments of federal workers past and present, the Partnership for Public Service offers innovation and nobility of this report highlighting 50 American Nobel laureates the work civil servants do whose award-winning achievements occurred while they served in government or whose public service every day and its far- work had an impact on their career achievements. They were honored for their contributions in the fields reaching impact.” of Physiology or Medicine, Economic Sciences, and Physics and Chemistry. Also included are five Americans whose work merited the Peace Prize. Despite this legacy of accomplishment, too few Americans see the federal government as an incubator for innovation and discovery.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol. 6 No. 14 ... Enrico Fermi, Distinguished Physicist, Whose Name Will Head Illinois Research Laboratory ••• ... H. Ande
    Vol. 6 No. 14 April11, 1974 The National Accelerator Laboratory will become the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at a dedication cere­ mony to be held at the Laboratory on Saturday, May 11, 1974. The plan to change the name of the Laboratory was announced on April 29, 1969 by Glenn T. Seaborg, then chair­ man of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. It was understood then that the dedication and the changing of the name would take place when construction was complete. May of 1974 will find the Laboratory close to completion and running strongly in all areas. In announcing the AEC's plans, Seaborg said in 1969: ... Enrico Fermi, distinguished "It is particularly fitting that we honor Dr. Fermi in this physicist, whose name will head manner, for in so doing we further acknowledge his many con­ Illinois research laboratory ••• tributions to the progress of nuclear science, particularly his work on nuclear processes. Enrico Fermi was a physicist of great renown who contributed in a most significant way to the defense and welfare of his adopted land and to the enhancement of its intellectual well-being. His greatest achievement, the first sustained nuclear chain reaction, took place in a small laboratory in Chicago. It seems sin­ gularly appropriate, therefore, that the Federal Government recognize the memory of a man who was at the forefront of science in his day by naming in his honor a laboratory near Chicago -- a laboratory which will have a major internationa: impact on our understanding of the basic structure of matter." ... H. Anderson, student and long-time Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy, on September 29, colleague of Fermi, on visit to NAL 1901.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intersection of Video Games and Physics Education Cameron Pittman, LEAD Academy
    Teaching With Portals: the Intersection of Video Games and Physics Education Cameron Pittman, LEAD Academy ABSTRACT The author, a high school physics teacher, describes the process of teaching with the commercial video game Portal 2. He gives his story from inception, through setbacks, to eventually teaching a semester of laboratories using the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker, a tool which allows for the easy conception and construction of levels. He describes how his students used the Puzzle Maker as a laboratory tool to build and analyze vir- tual experiments that followed real-world laws of physics. Finally, he concludes with a discussion on the current and future status of video games in education. Introduction n June of 2012 I interviewed for my current teaching position at LEAD Academy, a charter high school in Nashville, Tennessee. During my interview, I made it clear that I wanted to teach physics using video games as part of the curricu- Ilum. Well before I had even heard of LEAD or sent in a resume and cover letter, I had planned a semester of laboratories set inside the virtual world of Valve Software’s commercial video game, Portal 2. During the interview I told the principal that I fully intended to use a video game in a way that no other teacher had ever considered; I wanted to use Portal 2 as a laboratory setting. It seems self-evident. Video game realism, simulation ability, and availability have vastly improved in recent years. Video games showcase how realistically they resemble the world, both graphically and interactively. It seemed like a natural jump to take physics education to a readily available and flexible medium.
    [Show full text]
  • What Can I Do with a Major in Physics
    What can I do With a Major in . .? What can I do With a Major in Physics? Physics can be best described as the study of laws that govern the behaviour and interactions of energy and matter. Physics encompasses the entire physical universe and everything in it, therefore a variety of topics can be studied while pursuing a major in Physics. Topics can include mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics. Physicists believe everything can be explained in terms of a set of fundamental physical laws, therefore it is the goal of physics to discover these laws and to understand the world at its most basic level. A student majoring in Physics can build strong analytical and experimental skills, as well as mathematical abilities. Learning how to synthesize and summarize data compliments theoretical and experimental skills to enhance career opportunities. The completion of a physics degree can enable a student to develop occupational skills such as mathematical modelling, utilizing math formulas, theory development, testing an idea or hypothesis, organizing ideas and materials, adapting ideas, preparing technical reports and computer technology. Many people with undergraduate degrees in Physics can expect to find work in the areas of health, education, the federal government, computer technology or other applied sciences. Careers in Physics The occupations noted below may be directly or indirectly related to Physics. Some of these careers may require additional education beyond a Bachelor’s degree. Research
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of a Physicist in Radiation Oncology
    AAPM REPORT No. 38 THE ROLE OF A PHYSICIST IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY Published for the American Association of Physics in Medicine by the American Institute of Physics AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS IN MEDICINE STATEMENT ON THE ROLE OF A PHYSICIST IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY The report of Task Group 1 of the Professional Information and Clinical Relations Committee: Members: Lloyd Asp Morris Bank Theodore Fields William Hendee Douglas Jones Cohn Orton Vincent Sampiere George Starkschall K. David Steidley Bruce Thomadsen (Chair) Consultants: Christedoulis Constantinou Howard Couvillon Robert Dunoskovic James A. Deye Richard Geise Subramania Jayaraman Patricia Johnson Alan Kepka Isaac Rosen Susan Selden Richard Steeves Thomas White This statement follows that entitled “The Roles, Responsibilities, and Status of the Clinical Medical Physicist,” issued by the AAPM in 1985, to concentrate on the role and relationships of the clinical medical physicist practicing in radiation oncology. DISCLAIMER: This publication is based on sources and information believed to be reliable, but the AAPM and the editors disclaim any warranty or liability based on or relating to the contents of this publication. The AAPM does not endorse any products, manufacturers or suppliers. Nothing in this publication should be interpreted as implying such endorsement. Further copies of this report may be obtained from: American Association of Physicists in Medicine 335 East 45th Street New York, NY 10017 International Standard Book Number: l-56396-229-2 International Standard Serial Number: 0271-7344 ©1993 by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine 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 (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Physics Careers: to the Bachelor's Degree and Beyond
    Physics Careers: To the Bachelor’s Degree and Beyond Crystal Bailey American Physical Society Who is a Physicist? Anyone with a Physics Degree • BS • BA • MS • PhD, etc. Why? • Definition is consistent with other disciplines (e.g. Chemistry) • Defines a common set of experiences (and texts) • Inclusive view is better for survival of discipline What makes them Physicists? Shared experiences creates familiarity—not only with the same Physics concepts, but also with the culture of the discipline. However, most importantly, even a basic Physics training imparts essential problem solving skills—“how to think”—which is the hallmark of a physicist. www.aps.org/careers [email protected] Where do Physicists Work? Not where you think! What is a “traditional physicist”? A physics professor? A PhD researcher? The “most common” career path? The AIP Statistical Research Center estimates that 1 in 7 physics bachelors will Physics PhDs choose to finish a Physics PhD. BS, MS or Employment So ~14% of all Physics Degree holders will actually become Physics PhDs—and by extension “traditional physicists.” www.aps.org/careers [email protected] Bachelor’s Degree Between 1995 and 2007, about one‐third to one‐half of Bachelor’s degree recipients went directly into the workforce. The remainder went on to graduate school: • Mostly in Physics and Astronomy • A significant proportion went to graduate school in other fields. Many physics bachelor’s degree recipients pursued advanced degrees in other areas… …and less than 7% of them were unemployed! www.aps.org/careers [email protected] Initial Employment of Physics Bachelors Physics Bachelors in 2009‐10 found initial employment in a variety of areas.
    [Show full text]