Philosophy
Fascinating realm of the discovery of elementary particles.
Symmetry:
Michiji Konuma, Professor Emeritus, Keio University:
On November 1, 1934, Hideki Yukawa began to write the first draft of an article that would earn him the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Only 27 years old, Yukawa set out to explain the force that binds together protons and neutrons, forming atomic nuclei. Enrico Fermi, Werner Heisenberg, and other well-known physicists had tried to solve the problem, but their attempts had come up short. Yukawa, assistant professor at Osaka University, used the quantum field theory of electrons and photons as his starting point. He modified the theoretical description of the electromagnetic field to yield short-range forces, in agreement with nuclear experiments.
Yukawa proposed the existence of a new subatomic particle that weighs more than an electron but less than a proton. This particle, later named a meson (after the Greek word mesos for "middle"), mediates the nuclear force among the protons and neutrons inside a nucleus. (Physicists discovered later that protons, neutrons, and mesons are made of more fundamental building blocks named quarks, held together by gluons.)
In his paper, published in the Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, Yukawa predicted that cosmic rays with sufficient energy could produce the new particle outside a nucleus. In 1947, Cecil Frank Powell and his group at the University of Bristol found the pi meson, or pion, a particle about 270 times heavier than the electron. Two years later, Yukawa became the first Japanese person to receive the Nobel Prize. Powell received the award for his work in 1950.
Cesar Lattes...elementary particle man
- Deceased--gerald Guralnik
Gerald Guralnik September 17th, 1936 to April 26th, 2014 "Gerald Guralnik, 77, a ‘God Particle’ Pioneer, Dies" by William Yardlet May 3rd, 2014 The New York Times Gerald Guralnik, one of six pioneering physicists who in the 1960s came up with a theory...
- Importance Of The Higgs Boson...probably Not Much In Technology, But Something More Profound
The Higgs Boson "...is not going to be used to cure diseases or improve technology. This discovery simply fills a gap in our understanding of the laws of nature that govern all matter, and throws light on what was going on in the early universe."--Steven...
- Doubts About The Higgs Boson?
"Is the Higgs boson real?" Rumours abound that Cern scientists have finally glimpsed the long-sought Higgs boson. We asked physicists to share their thoughts on the elusive entity. by Ian Sample December 6th, 2011 guardian.co.uk Soon after Rolf-Dieter...
- Deceased--simon Van Der Meer
Simon van der Meer November 24th, 1925 to March 4th, 2011 "Simon van der Meer, Nobel Laureate, Dies at 85" by Kenneth Chang March 11th, 2011 The New York Times Simon van der Meer, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 for a technological advance...
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...
Philosophy
Hideki Yukawa and the pi-meson
Fascinating realm of the discovery of elementary particles.Symmetry:
Michiji Konuma, Professor Emeritus, Keio University:
On November 1, 1934, Hideki Yukawa began to write the first draft of an article that would earn him the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Only 27 years old, Yukawa set out to explain the force that binds together protons and neutrons, forming atomic nuclei. Enrico Fermi, Werner Heisenberg, and other well-known physicists had tried to solve the problem, but their attempts had come up short. Yukawa, assistant professor at Osaka University, used the quantum field theory of electrons and photons as his starting point. He modified the theoretical description of the electromagnetic field to yield short-range forces, in agreement with nuclear experiments.
Yukawa proposed the existence of a new subatomic particle that weighs more than an electron but less than a proton. This particle, later named a meson (after the Greek word mesos for "middle"), mediates the nuclear force among the protons and neutrons inside a nucleus. (Physicists discovered later that protons, neutrons, and mesons are made of more fundamental building blocks named quarks, held together by gluons.)
In his paper, published in the Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, Yukawa predicted that cosmic rays with sufficient energy could produce the new particle outside a nucleus. In 1947, Cecil Frank Powell and his group at the University of Bristol found the pi meson, or pion, a particle about 270 times heavier than the electron. Two years later, Yukawa became the first Japanese person to receive the Nobel Prize. Powell received the award for his work in 1950.
Cesar Lattes...elementary particle man
- Deceased--gerald Guralnik
Gerald Guralnik September 17th, 1936 to April 26th, 2014 "Gerald Guralnik, 77, a ‘God Particle’ Pioneer, Dies" by William Yardlet May 3rd, 2014 The New York Times Gerald Guralnik, one of six pioneering physicists who in the 1960s came up with a theory...
- Importance Of The Higgs Boson...probably Not Much In Technology, But Something More Profound
The Higgs Boson "...is not going to be used to cure diseases or improve technology. This discovery simply fills a gap in our understanding of the laws of nature that govern all matter, and throws light on what was going on in the early universe."--Steven...
- Doubts About The Higgs Boson?
"Is the Higgs boson real?" Rumours abound that Cern scientists have finally glimpsed the long-sought Higgs boson. We asked physicists to share their thoughts on the elusive entity. by Ian Sample December 6th, 2011 guardian.co.uk Soon after Rolf-Dieter...
- Deceased--simon Van Der Meer
Simon van der Meer November 24th, 1925 to March 4th, 2011 "Simon van der Meer, Nobel Laureate, Dies at 85" by Kenneth Chang March 11th, 2011 The New York Times Simon van der Meer, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 for a technological advance...
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...