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All atomic particles have a particular "spin." Simple as spin may sound, the quantum mechanical reality underlying it is complex and still poorly understood. Because of the wide range of physics needed for its understanding, spin is not described in sufficient depth by any standard textbook. Yet this mysterious quality and the statistics associated with it have vast practical importance to topics as wide-ranging as the stability of atoms and stars and magnetic resonance imaging. Originally published in 1974, Sin-itiro Tomonaga's The Story of Spin remains the most complete and accessible treatment of the subject, and is now available for the first time in English translation. Tomonaga tells the tale of the pioneers of physics and their difficult journey toward an understanding of the nature of spin and its relationship to statistics.
In the 1930s, physics was in a crisis. There appeared to be no way to reconcile the new theory of quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of relativity. Several approaches had been tried and had failed. In the post-World War II period, four eminent physicists rose to the challenge and developed a calculable version of quantum electrodynamics (QED), probably the most successful theory in physics. This formulation of QED was pioneered by Freeman Dyson, Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger, and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, three of whom won the Nobel Prize for their work. In this book, physicist and historian Silvan Schweber tells the story of these four physicists, blending discussions of their scientifi...
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Discusses major scientists and scientific issues and discoveries of the last half of the twentieth century.