The nature of physical laws

Author: (American) R·P·Feynman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: This book is divided into seven chapters and is based on the Messenger Lectures series delivered by Professor Feynman at Cornell University in the United States. The audience for these lectures were university students who hoped to gain a broader understanding of the "nature of physical laws." These lectures were not delivered from prepared manuscripts but were extemporaneous, based on a brief outline. Each chapter in the book records one of his lectures, delivered on a large stage that allowed Professor Feynman to freely showcase his eloquence and demeanor. He is internationally renowned as a speaker and is also famous for his engaging teaching style. This book is intended to provide guidance or memory aids for television viewers who, after watching the broadcasts, still wish to have a reference text. Although this book cannot be considered a textbook, it will undoubtedly inspire many of its arguments for physics students seeking a clear understanding of the laws of physics.
Author Bio: Richard Feynman, born in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City in 1918, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1939 and pursued graduate studies at Princeton University. A renowned American physicist, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He proposed Feynman diagrams, Feynman rules, and renormalization methods, which are indispensable tools for studying quantum electrodynamics and particle physics. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics in June 1942. That same year, he married Arline Greenbaum. In 1943, he joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory and contributed significantly to the Manhattan Project. On June 16, 1945, his wife Arline passed away. He began teaching at Cornell University in 1945 and later joined the California Institute of Technology in 1951, where he was deeply beloved by students for his humorous and unconventional style. In 1965, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to quantum electrodynamics. In 1986, he investigated the cause of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, proving the reason with a glass of ice water and a rubber band. Tragically, he passed away on February 15, 1988, due to cancer.
Editorial Works:
- The Feynman Lectures on Physics
- The Character of Physical Law
- Q.E.D.: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
- What Do You Care What Other People Think?
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman