Sheldon glashow autobiography samples
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The Standard Model
This is the third and final essay in a three-part series. Parts one and two told of the development of the physical sciences from ancient times to the upptäckt of relativity and quantum mechanics in the first quarter of the twentieth century. This part begins with the challenges posed by the atomic nucleus. Two forces of naturlig eller utan tillsats had been recognized, gravity and electromagnetism, but two more would needed to understand nuclear phenomena: a strong force to bind nucleons into nuclei, and a weak force to explain how they decay.
In this part, I describe the Standard Model of particle physics, which encompasses three of the fyra forces of nature. Gravity seems to play no role in the subatomic world. The strong force results from a gauge theory based on an unbroken SU(3) symmetry called quantum chromodynamics, the weak and electromagnetic forces from a broken SU(2) × U(1) symmetry. Together they form the Standard Model of particle physics, offering a complete, c
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Prof. Sheldon L. Glashow
Prof. Sheldon L. Glashow
Nobel Laureate for Physics at Boston University, Boston/USA
Topic of Keynote Speech
How basic science drives technological progress
Abstract of Keynote Speech
Applied Research seeks to address societal or commercial goals by creating new and better technologies. Edison found it to be 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. On the other hand, Basic Research is undirected, curiosity-driven and motivated by the desire to understand nature. Doing it, can be lots of fun. During his keynote speech Professor Glashow will discuss how these disparate approaches to science reinforce one another.
A century ago Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger and their friends set out to understand atoms, whose constituents, electrons and nuclei had just been discovered. By they had created the new science of quantum mechanics. Think of how happy they were when their theory explained the structure and properties of atoms and provided the basic rules go
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Long Lost Love
I approachedLost in Math with trepidation. Its subtitle, “How Beauty Leads Physics Astray,” annoyed me because, like Albert Einstein, Paul Dirac, and many others, I have always regarded elegance, simplicity, and beauty as essential criteria for physical laws. The preface begins even more disturbingly:
They were so sure, they bet billions on it. For decades physicists told us they knew where the next discoveries were waiting. They built accelerators, shot satellites into space, and planted detectors in underground mines. … But where physicists expected a breakthrough, the ground wouldn’t give. The experiments didn’t reveal anything new.
These imprudent words demand rebuttal, but they do not characterize the remainder of the book. Sabine Hossenfelder shows even less understanding of her forsaken discipline in a recent essay for The New York Times. “Is a new $10 billion particle collider worth the money?” she asks. “If particle physicists have only guesses,