Philosophy
Georges Charpak
August 1st, 1924 to September 29th, 2010
"France Mourns Georges Charpak, Physicist and Wit"
by
Barbara Casassus
October 1st, 2010
Science
French physicist Georges Charpak, who died on 29 September, aged 86, will be remembered for his contribution above all to science and humanity, but also for a lexicon of humorous soundbites.
Polish-born Charpak, who won the Nobel physics prize in 1992 for inventing the proportional chambers used in particle physics, arrived in France at the age of seven. He joined the French Resistance in World War II, was interned in Dachau, and in the 1950s joined CERN, the European particle physics lab in Geneva. From that time, he knew that basic research would "engulf my life." It would also impact many other lives, since the detectors he invented or upgraded have been used in a number of particle discoveries since the 1960s.
He didn't take his discovery too seriously; however, he is reported to have quipped that the invention that earned him the Nobel Prize was just a cheap repair and that Scotch had played a vital role in high energy physics. The French daily Le Figaro reported that Charpak once wrote that "physics resembles the most demanding and sometimes most destructive of mistresses. Night and day, summer, winter, morning and night, she pursues you, invades you, fulfills you, or throws you into despair."
Charpak revolutionized the way science is taught in schools with his "hands on" method that replaces theory with practice and has been emulated in several other countries. Among the numerous tributes, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described him as "a great humanist, whose life and commitment are an example for the country and its youth."
Even though a supporter of nuclear power, Charpak was one of three signatories to an editorial in the French daily Libération in August that called for a halt to the building of the experimental fusion reactor ITER in the south of France because the cost of the project has running out of control and the plant will be "unusable."
Charpak's last book, Memoirs of a Rootless Person, Physicist, Citizen of the World, was published in 2008.
Georges Charpak [Wikipedia]
Nobelprize.org
- A Flaw In Nobel Prize Awards?
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- Standard Physics Model Is On The Line
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- British Physics...how Is It Measured?
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- Lord Rutherford And No Second Nobel Prize
Abstract: "I have dealt with many different transformations with various periods of time, but the quickest that I have met was my own transformation in one moment from a physicist to a chemist." Ernest Rutherford (Nobel Banquet, 1908) This article is...
- Σπυροπούλου [maria Spiropulu]--physicist
Maria Spiropulu Some time ago when I was involved in a physics forum, and there was a topic initiated on the sparsity of women in the sciences--physics in particular. During the course of discussion I received a letter from Maria Spiropulu who at that...
Philosophy
Deceased--Georges Charpak
Georges CharpakAugust 1st, 1924 to September 29th, 2010
"France Mourns Georges Charpak, Physicist and Wit"
by
Barbara Casassus
October 1st, 2010
Science
French physicist Georges Charpak, who died on 29 September, aged 86, will be remembered for his contribution above all to science and humanity, but also for a lexicon of humorous soundbites.
Polish-born Charpak, who won the Nobel physics prize in 1992 for inventing the proportional chambers used in particle physics, arrived in France at the age of seven. He joined the French Resistance in World War II, was interned in Dachau, and in the 1950s joined CERN, the European particle physics lab in Geneva. From that time, he knew that basic research would "engulf my life." It would also impact many other lives, since the detectors he invented or upgraded have been used in a number of particle discoveries since the 1960s.
He didn't take his discovery too seriously; however, he is reported to have quipped that the invention that earned him the Nobel Prize was just a cheap repair and that Scotch had played a vital role in high energy physics. The French daily Le Figaro reported that Charpak once wrote that "physics resembles the most demanding and sometimes most destructive of mistresses. Night and day, summer, winter, morning and night, she pursues you, invades you, fulfills you, or throws you into despair."
Charpak revolutionized the way science is taught in schools with his "hands on" method that replaces theory with practice and has been emulated in several other countries. Among the numerous tributes, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described him as "a great humanist, whose life and commitment are an example for the country and its youth."
Even though a supporter of nuclear power, Charpak was one of three signatories to an editorial in the French daily Libération in August that called for a halt to the building of the experimental fusion reactor ITER in the south of France because the cost of the project has running out of control and the plant will be "unusable."
Charpak's last book, Memoirs of a Rootless Person, Physicist, Citizen of the World, was published in 2008.
Georges Charpak [Wikipedia]
Nobelprize.org
- A Flaw In Nobel Prize Awards?
He has a point. "Nobel Jury Member Calls Physics Prize ‘Wrong’" Argues that the groundbreaking CERN lab that finally discovered the ‘god particle’ deserved more than a nod by Agence France-Presse October 9th, 2013 The Raw Story The Nobel Prize...
- Standard Physics Model Is On The Line
"End of Higgs Search Will Confirm or Refute the Standard Model of Physics 'Within Months'" by Alexis Madrigal July 24th, 2011 The Atlantic The number one particle on physicists most-wanted list, the Higgs boson, has played a key role in our...
- British Physics...how Is It Measured?
The Fox and the Grapes by Tara Hogan Is this a case of sour grapes? Ultimately, how does one measure the realm of physics achievements...by prestigious awards, national clout, garnered prize money...isn't there something more? "Where have our Nobel...
- Lord Rutherford And No Second Nobel Prize
Abstract: "I have dealt with many different transformations with various periods of time, but the quickest that I have met was my own transformation in one moment from a physicist to a chemist." Ernest Rutherford (Nobel Banquet, 1908) This article is...
- Σπυροπούλου [maria Spiropulu]--physicist
Maria Spiropulu Some time ago when I was involved in a physics forum, and there was a topic initiated on the sparsity of women in the sciences--physics in particular. During the course of discussion I received a letter from Maria Spiropulu who at that...