Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac

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Reminiscences about a great physicist: Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Editors Behram N. Kursunoglu Center for Theoretical Studies, University of Miami Eugene P. Wigner Department of Physics, Princeton University The righl of Ihe University of Cambridge lo print and seil all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge New York Port ehester Melbourne Sydney Contents Portrait by Richard Feynman ü List of contributors vii A Memorial to P. A. M. Dirac ix Behram N. Kursunoglu Preface xv Behram N. Kursunoglu and Eugene P. Wigner Chronology xvii 1 HUMAN SIDE 1 Thinking of My Darling Paul 3 Margit Dirac 2 Dirac in Coral Gables 9 Sevda A. Kursunoglu 3 Recollections of Paul Dirac at Florida State University 29 Joseph E. Lannutti 4 My association with Professor Dirac 34 Harish-Chandra 5 What Paul Dirac meant in my life 37 N. Kemmer 6 Dirac's way 43 Rudolf Peierls 1 An experimenter's view of P. A. M. Dirac 46 A. D. Krisch 8 Dirac at the University of Miami 53 Henry King Stanford 9 Remembering Paul Dirac 57 Eugene P. Wigner Contents 2 MORE SCIENTIFIC IDEAS 10 Another side to Paul Dirac 69 R. H. Dalitz 11 Playing with equations, the Dirac way 93 A. Pais 12 Paul Dirac and Werner Heisenberg - a partnership in science 117 Laurie M. Brown and Helmut Rechenberg 13 Dirac's magnetic monopole and the fine structure constant 163 William J. Marciano and Maurice Goldhaber 14 Magnetic monopoles and the halos of galaxies 174 F. Hoyle 15 The inadequacies of quantum field theory 194 P. A. M. Dirac 16 Dirac and the foundation of quantum mechanics 199 P. T. Matthews 3 INFLUENCED AND INSPIRED BY ASSOCIATION 17 At the feet of Dirac 228 J. C. Polkinghorne 18 Reminiscences of Paul Dirac 231 Nevill Mott 19 From relativistic quantum theory to the human brain 235 Harry J. Lipkin 20 Dirac in 1962, weak and gravitational radiation interactions 245 J. Weber 21 Schrödinger's cat 250 Willis E. Lamb, Jr. 22 Dirac and finite field theories 263 Abdus Salam 23 Dirac's influence on unified field theory 277 Behram N. Kursunoglu Index 292 vi .

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f.IOE/MA-0001 -08 ‘9g [ . J vb JMkirlJkhilgUimBA’mmml — .— Q RDlmm UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ,:.. .- ..-. .. -,.,,:. ,.<,.;<. ~-.~,.,.- -<.:,.:-,------—,.--,,p:---—;-.:-- ---:---—---- -..>------------.,._,.... ,/ ._ . ... ,. “ .. .;l, ..,:, ..... ..’, .’< . Copies of this publication are available while supply lasts from the OffIce of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. BOX 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Attention: Information Services Telephone: (423) 576-8401 Also Available: The United States Department of Energy: A Summary History, 1977-1994 @ Printed with soy ink on recycled paper DO13MA-0001 a +~?y I I Tho PROJEOT UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY F.G. Gosling History Division Executive Secretariat Management and Administration Department of Energy ]January 1999 edition . DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. I DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. 1 Foreword The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 brought together for the first time in one department most of the Federal Government’s energy programs.
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