Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work [Hardcover]

Abraham Pais (Author), Maurice Jacob (Author), David I. Olive (Author), Michael F. Atiyah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1998

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was one of the founders of quantum theory. He is numbered alongside Newton, Maxwell and Einstein as one of the greatest physicists of all time. Together the lectures in this volume, originally presented on the occasion of the dedication ceremony for a plaque honoring Dirac in Westminster Abbey, give a unique insight into the relationship between Dirac's character and his scientific achievements. The text begins with the dedication address given by Stephen Hawking at the ceremony. Then Abraham Pais describes Dirac as a person and his approach to his work. Maurice Jacob explains how Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, and its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology. This is followed by David Olive's account of the origin and enduring influence of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles. Finally, Sir Michael Atiyah explains the deep and widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Readers will gain insight into Dirac's love of the beauty of nature, his interest in mountain climbing, his approach to mathematical physics, and his emphasis on beauty and simplicity." Optics & Photonoics News

"The overall thrust of the book is to increase the recognition of a brilliant theoretical physicist, whose solitary work habits and retiring manner have allowed him to be relatively neglected when compared with many of the other giants of 20th-century physics." Choice

"This small volume of four lectures delivered in Westminster Abbey during the dedication of a plaque in Dirac's honor captures the relation between his personality and his science via a mosaic of historical recollections and scientific reviews." American Scientist

"...this book is a...gem of an introduction...." Notices of the AMS

Book Description

This book will be of interest to physicists and historians of science. Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was one of the founders of quantum theory. He is numbered alongside Newton, Maxwell and Einstein as one of the greatest physicists of all time. Together the lectures in this volume, presented on the occasion of the dedication ceremony for a plaque commemorating Dirac in Westminster Abbey, give a unique insight into the relationship between Dirac's character and his scientific achievements. Four lectures given by internationally respected physicists, Abraham Pais, Maurice Jacob, David Olive and Sir Michael Atiyah follow the text of the dedication address given by Stephen Hawking.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521583829
• ISBN-13: 978-0521583824
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,804,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An insightful recollection of a nearly invisible genius., November 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work (Hardcover)

After missing the first collection of essays on this brilliant recluse published soon after his death, I picked up the present version as soon as I was able. It did not disappoint.

The book is a collection of four lectures given in the subject's honor in 1995 on the tenth anniversary of his death. The final lecture and the latter part of the third are highly mathematical and technical and clearly intended for a professional audience.

But for me, the first lecture by Abraham Pais is worth the purchase price alone. Pais was not only a contemporary physicist, but also a close friend and as close to a confidant as was possible with such a reticent man.

Through Pais' eyes, we see a mathematician turned physicist who was very different from the man to whom Dirac is most frequently compared, Albert Einstein. Einstein was a physicist first, mathematician second. Dirac was exactly the opposite. Einstein became a social and political critic, Dirac never strayed far from his study. The two were similar in that both viewed mathematical beauty as primary and both hated the modern remake of quantum mechanics (after the initial theory) for very similar reasons. This last point was interesting as Dirac was the first one to combine all his contemporaries' work on this improved quantum physics into a formal mathematical structure. His resulting equation, called naturally the Dirac equation, is classic Dirac, short and sweet. It combined Einsteinian relativity with the new quantum theory and Dirac considered the result to govern most of physics and all of chemistry. Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist, says in his introductory memorial address to the book, "If Dirac had patented the equation ... he would have become one of the richest men in the world. Every television set or computer would have paid him royalties." For this work, Dirac shared the 1933 Nobel Prize with German physicist Erwin Schroedinger. One unexpected consequence of this work was a mathematical conclusion that defined a "negative energy" matter (aka antimatter) solution. Simply put, he had discovered a universe noone had imagined. To this day, we see the effects of this discovery from medical necessities (PET scan imaging-Positron Emission Tomography) to science fiction (Star Trek).

The quotations and anecdotes Pais chooses are well placed and often very funny. They are also supported by the images of Dirac portrayed in the sketch on the cover and in the few photographs scattered through the first two lectures. They reveal his character well. He saw mathematical and physical realities so clearly that he simply could not understand why others did not see them as well. The photo of him "listening" to future Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman in Maurice Jacob's section is one of the most amusing of the collection.

In the second lecture, Jacob shows the path of discovery and effect on latter day experimental physics of antimatter. He goes too long in spots but is generally fine.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tribute to a Brilliant Man, November 9, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work (Paperback)

A man Stephen Hawking calls 'probably the greatest British theoretical physicist since Newton,' has got to be a pretty bright man. Paul Dirac wrote the definitive equasion that joined the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Like Einstein before him, his equasion is very simple to express, very complex in its overall impact. It explains things like how television sets or computers work.

This book is not exactly a biography, but more a tribute to him. It is a series of four talks given about Dirac eleven years after his death, upon the dedication of a plack to him in Westminster Abby.

Abraham Pais describes Dirac's character and his approach to his work.

Maurice Jacob explains not only how and why Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, but also its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology.

David Olive gives an account of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles and shows how it has had a profound influence in the development of fundamental physics down to the present day.

Sir Michael Atiyah explains the widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics, its roots in algebra and its implications for geometry and topology.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paul Dirac - The man and his work, January 19, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (der Schweiz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work (Hardcover)

We were ourselves participating in the inauguration of the Paul Dirac memorial in Westminster Abbey. Especially the speeches of Stephan Hawking and Abraham Pais were very touching as they did not only touch Dirac's work but also his personality and life. He was a very complex person and a great physicist. This book reflects that more than others about him.