Philosophy
Edwin E. Salpeter
December 3rd, 1924 to November 26th, 2008
"Edwin E. Salpeter, Leader in Astrophysics Study, Dies at 83"
by
The Associated Press
November 29th, 2008
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Edwin E. Salpeter, an astrophysicist widely known for his studies of chain reactions in stars and as a developer of the "Salpeter-Bethe equation" describing how helium changes to carbon, died Tuesday at his home here. He was 83.
His death was announced by Cornell University, where he was an emeritus professor of physical sciences.
Along with Hans Bethe, a theoretical physicist at Cornell who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1967, Dr. Salpeter introduced an equation in 1951 showing how helium nuclei fuse to form carbon in the interiors of ancient stars. Until then, the origin of elements beyond helium in the periodic table was unexplained.
From that work, Dr. Salpeter determined the formation rates of stars of different masses. The process remains the basis of today’s studies into the rates of stellar births and deaths.
In 1964, while working independently, Dr. Salpeter and a Soviet physicist, Yakov Zeldovich, were the first to propose that a stream of gas falling toward a black hole could in principle be heated to very high temperatures, where it would produce detectable X-rays. Thirty years later, data from the Hubble telescope confirmed his idea.
"It's good to finally win the bet," Dr. Salpeter said at the time.
In 1997, Dr. Salpeter and Sir Fred Hoyle, the British scientist who coined the term "Big Bang," shared the $500,000 Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for "their pioneering contributions involving the study of nuclear reactions in stars and stars' development."
The prize is given annually to honor accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prizes in science, whose winners are also chosen by the academy.
Born in Austria, Dr. Salpeter moved to Cornell in 1949 as a postdoctoral student and spent his career there. Although he retired in 1997, he kept publishing papers and moved into new arenas of research, including explorations of neuromuscular disorders and the epidemiology of tuberculosis.
A self-deprecating man, Dr. Salpeter described his mind as "quick but sloppy," saying he preferred the challenge of tackling a contentious new problem to undertaking mathematical calculations.
Late in his career, research by Dr. Salpeter and his wife, Miriam Salpeter, an expert in cell biology and a neurobiologist at Cornell, contributed to the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular disorders like myasthenia gravis. She died in 2000 at the age of 71.
Dr. Salpeter remarried and is survived by his wife, Lhamo; two daughters, Judy and Shelley; and four grandchildren.
Edwin Ernest Salpeter
Book review-- "Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe"
Credit where credit is due--"Big Bang"
Fred Hoyle--cosmologist
Philip Morrison...physicist
Rudi Peieris...physicist's physicist
Sir Hermann Bondi--steady state universe
The astronomy/cosmology debates of the 1930's & 1940's
- Deceased--robert Coleman Richardson
Robert Coleman Richardson June 26th, 1937 to February 19th, 2013 "Robert Richardson: Nobel Winner Dies, Leaving Legacy On Field Of Physics" February 21st, 2013 The Inquisitor Nobel winner Robert Richardson has died at age 75, leaving behind a legacy...
- Deceased--geoffrey Burbidge
Geoffrey Burbidge September 24th, 1925 to January 26th, 2010 "Renowned Astrophysicist Geoffrey Burbidge Dies at 84" January 28TH, 2010 University of California San Diego Geoffrey Burbidge, a renowned British astrophysicist and astronomer at the University...
- "cosmology Preference" Poll
Your cosmology preference... Big bang...7 Steady state...1 Other...2 The consensus wins. But now one must ask...what caused the "Big Bang"?...or who caused the "Big Bang"?...and why? The answers may well lie in metaphysics. Other?????? Book review--...
- Sir Hermann Bondi--steady State Universe
Sir Hermann Bondi I well remember him working with Fred Hoyle and promotion of the "steady state universe" hypothesis. The Universe at Large, Relativity and Common Sense, The Steady State Theory of the Expanding Universe [with Professor Thomas Gold],...
- Hans Bethe...physicist's Physicist
Hans Bethe (1906-2005) "Hans A. Bethe (1906-2005)"by Freeman Dyson April 8th, 2005 Theoretical physicists come in two varieties: deep thinkers and problem solvers. Hans Bethe was the...
Philosophy
Deceased--Edwin E. Salpeter
Edwin E. SalpeterDecember 3rd, 1924 to November 26th, 2008
"Edwin E. Salpeter, Leader in Astrophysics Study, Dies at 83"
by
The Associated Press
November 29th, 2008
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Edwin E. Salpeter, an astrophysicist widely known for his studies of chain reactions in stars and as a developer of the "Salpeter-Bethe equation" describing how helium changes to carbon, died Tuesday at his home here. He was 83.
His death was announced by Cornell University, where he was an emeritus professor of physical sciences.
Along with Hans Bethe, a theoretical physicist at Cornell who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1967, Dr. Salpeter introduced an equation in 1951 showing how helium nuclei fuse to form carbon in the interiors of ancient stars. Until then, the origin of elements beyond helium in the periodic table was unexplained.
From that work, Dr. Salpeter determined the formation rates of stars of different masses. The process remains the basis of today’s studies into the rates of stellar births and deaths.
In 1964, while working independently, Dr. Salpeter and a Soviet physicist, Yakov Zeldovich, were the first to propose that a stream of gas falling toward a black hole could in principle be heated to very high temperatures, where it would produce detectable X-rays. Thirty years later, data from the Hubble telescope confirmed his idea.
"It's good to finally win the bet," Dr. Salpeter said at the time.
In 1997, Dr. Salpeter and Sir Fred Hoyle, the British scientist who coined the term "Big Bang," shared the $500,000 Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for "their pioneering contributions involving the study of nuclear reactions in stars and stars' development."
The prize is given annually to honor accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prizes in science, whose winners are also chosen by the academy.
Born in Austria, Dr. Salpeter moved to Cornell in 1949 as a postdoctoral student and spent his career there. Although he retired in 1997, he kept publishing papers and moved into new arenas of research, including explorations of neuromuscular disorders and the epidemiology of tuberculosis.
A self-deprecating man, Dr. Salpeter described his mind as "quick but sloppy," saying he preferred the challenge of tackling a contentious new problem to undertaking mathematical calculations.
Late in his career, research by Dr. Salpeter and his wife, Miriam Salpeter, an expert in cell biology and a neurobiologist at Cornell, contributed to the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular disorders like myasthenia gravis. She died in 2000 at the age of 71.
Dr. Salpeter remarried and is survived by his wife, Lhamo; two daughters, Judy and Shelley; and four grandchildren.
Edwin Ernest Salpeter
Book review-- "Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe"
Credit where credit is due--"Big Bang"
Fred Hoyle--cosmologist
Philip Morrison...physicist
Rudi Peieris...physicist's physicist
Sir Hermann Bondi--steady state universe
The astronomy/cosmology debates of the 1930's & 1940's
- Deceased--robert Coleman Richardson
Robert Coleman Richardson June 26th, 1937 to February 19th, 2013 "Robert Richardson: Nobel Winner Dies, Leaving Legacy On Field Of Physics" February 21st, 2013 The Inquisitor Nobel winner Robert Richardson has died at age 75, leaving behind a legacy...
- Deceased--geoffrey Burbidge
Geoffrey Burbidge September 24th, 1925 to January 26th, 2010 "Renowned Astrophysicist Geoffrey Burbidge Dies at 84" January 28TH, 2010 University of California San Diego Geoffrey Burbidge, a renowned British astrophysicist and astronomer at the University...
- "cosmology Preference" Poll
Your cosmology preference... Big bang...7 Steady state...1 Other...2 The consensus wins. But now one must ask...what caused the "Big Bang"?...or who caused the "Big Bang"?...and why? The answers may well lie in metaphysics. Other?????? Book review--...
- Sir Hermann Bondi--steady State Universe
Sir Hermann Bondi I well remember him working with Fred Hoyle and promotion of the "steady state universe" hypothesis. The Universe at Large, Relativity and Common Sense, The Steady State Theory of the Expanding Universe [with Professor Thomas Gold],...
- Hans Bethe...physicist's Physicist
Hans Bethe (1906-2005) "Hans A. Bethe (1906-2005)"by Freeman Dyson April 8th, 2005 Theoretical physicists come in two varieties: deep thinkers and problem solvers. Hans Bethe was the...