John Stewart Bell and Twentieth-Century Physics: Vision and Integrity

by Andrew Whitaker

Overview

John Stewart Bell (1928-1990) was one of the most important figures in twentieth-century physics, famous for his work on the fundamental aspects of the century's most important theory, quantum mechanics. While the debate over quantum theory between the supremely famous physicists, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, appeared to have become sterile in the 1930s, Bell was able to revive it and to make crucial advances - Bell's Theorem or Bell's Inequalities. He was able to demonstrate a contradiction between quantum theory and essential elements of pre-quantum theory - locality and causality. The book gives a non-mathematical account of Bell's relatively impoverished upbringing in Belfast and his education. It describes his major contributions to quantum theory, but also his important work in the physics of accelerators, and nuclear and elementary particle physics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198742999
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/16/2016
Pages:	478
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Andrew Whitaker, Professor of Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Andrew Whitaker was awarded a BA in Theoretical Physics from the University of Oxford in 1967 and a PhD in the theory of nuclear magnetic resonance from the University of Nottingham in 1971. He lectured and carried out research at the University of Ulster until 1988, and since then at Queen's University Belfast, where he became a Professor in 1999. Much of his work over the last thirty years has been in the fundamental aspects of quantum theory, in particular the quantum Zeno effect and aspects of Bell's Theorem. He also has an interest in the history of science and has co-edited volumes on Kelvin, Maxwell and physicists of Ireland.

Table of Contents

1. A tough start but a good one2. The 1950s - Progress on All Fronts3. The 1960s - The Year of Greatest Success4. The 1970s - Interest Increases5. Final Achievements but Final Tragedies6. The Work Continues7. Work of the Highest Calibre and a Fine Life

Editorial Reviews

"The presentation is rather fascinating and non-mathematical in nature, and some effort is made to provide a thorough but comprehensible account of any area of Bell's work, not limited to quantum theory... [the author] unveils a number of extremely valuable works on the study of accelerators, nuclear physics and the physics of elementary particles, which we now recognize to be widely neglected." — Salvatore Esposito, Mathematical Reviews Clippings, Mathematical Reviews Clippings

"Andrew Whitaker's account of Bell's life and work is a superb testament to a truly great physicist. His honesty and clarity, as well as his modesty, indeed ring like a bell throughout!" — Contemporary Physics

"Bell's biography reminds us of the obstacles encountered in the making of physics. Whitaker's book, with its vivid biographical depiction and wealth of technical detail, fills a lacuna felt by many historians, philosophers, and physicists." — Physics Today

"[I]t is nicely illustrated with many pictures of John, his wife Mary and others such as Michael Horne, Daniel Greenberger and Artur Ekert. This is not a book to learn about physics, but to get to know a bit about the man who made one of the most profound, if not the most profound, discoveries of the 20th century." — Physics World

"Andrew Whitaker's account of Bell's life and work is a superb testament to a truly great physicist. His honesty and clarity, as well as his modesty, indeed ring like a bell throughout! As a physicist himself, working on the fundamental aspects of quantum theory, the author is ideally suited to providing the explanations necessary for non-physicists to appreciate Bell's work. He also knows the way in which personal interactions contribute to and affect research, so there are many charming accounts and thumbnail sketches of those whom Bell encountered. Nor has he neglected Bell's domestic life and origins, having interviewed the family and those who taught him. There really cannot be much more to be said about him so this must be the definitive biography. It was a delight to read." — Contemporary Physics

"The work of John Bell is integral to modern quantum theory through his famous theorem which sparked a new age of foundational and experimental research; but very little is known about Bell's background and private life. Here Andrew Whitaker has given us a superbly written and insightful biography, free of technicalities and rich in historical detail. Essential reading for physicists and philosophers of physics." —Dean Rickles, The University of Sydney, Australia

"This book beautifully chronicles the life story of one of the 20th century's most brilliant, charismatic, and influential geniuses. No, not Richard Feynman, but John Stewart Bell — the man whose epochal discovery arose not from his day job but from his hobby, the universally-admired sage whose views remain widely misunderstood even by those who praise him, and the mild-mannered vegetarian whose penetrating insights will be remembered, centuries from now, for ruthlessly slaying the orthodox quantum philosophy." —Travis Norsen, Smith College, USA

"Whitaker's book is the first comprehensive book on John Bell's outstanding work and life.
As an active researcher in the field of quantum physics, experienced science writer and aided by direct information from the Bell family, Whitaker is the best person for writing such an account. The result is a fascinating book on most important parts of quantum physics and on the people who were involved in it. I can strongly recommend Whitaker's book to students, teachers, and researchers as well, in fact, to anybody who is interested in these exciting topics of quantum physics." —Reinhold Bertlmann, Vienna, Austria

"Andrew Whitaker has written a beautiful, compelling, and utterly readable biography of one of the most important physicists of the last century. The ramifications of Bell's theorem continue to be felt in ways John Stewart Bell could not have anticipated in our present century. It is fascinating to read his story starting with upbringing in Belfast (Whitaker's home city) and continuing in Harwell, Birmingham and Geneva." —Lucien Hardy, Perimeter Institute

"Andrew Whitaker's biography gives an excellent account of his numerous achievements during his long tenure at CERN" — American Journal of Physics

From the Publisher