Richard Feynman Brief Biography

American Physicist, 1965 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Work on QED

Aug 26, 2009

Brief biography of physicist Richard Feynman, one of the founders of quantum electrodynamics (QED) and inventor of Feynman diagrams.

American physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988), made simpler the Quantum Mechanics textbooks by developing his own version. In doing so, complicated calculations became easier and results more accurate. He shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.

Brief Biography of Richard Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman was born on May 11, 1918 in Queens, New York. At 18-years-old, he entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study physics but moves to Princeton three years later. In 1940, he married Arline Greenbaum who died from illness after five years. He re-married twice, had a son and an adopted daughter with his third wife.

He gave a set of lectures recorded and published in a series of three books, The Feynman Lectures on Physics (1961-1963.) In 1965, he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. He died on February 15, in Los Angeles, California.

Feynman and Quantum Electrodynamics

Quantum electrodynamics or QED was the successor to quantum mechanics. Despite improvements, it still had problems. Although the concept appeared to be fundamentally correct, physicists ran into complicated equations when they tried to calculate answers. Approximate answers were worked but when they tried to push for the equations to get a concrete result, problems started to set in.

At that time, Feynman was working with Hans Bethe, the director of theoretical physics for the atomic bomb project at Los Alamos. One fine day, out of excitement Bethe shared his thoughts about a way of getting around the calculation inefficiencies. With his inquiring mind, Feynman was interested, but not impressed.

Soon enough, Feynman returned with a neat method of calculating quantum electrodynamics. Since then, with credit to him, a clear and understandable quantum theory set in.

Shuttle Challenger Disaster Report

On January 28, 1986, just after take-off, the space shuttle Challenger blew up in full view of the world's media. All seven crew members were killed. It was an American national disaster and a public relations nightmare for NASA. It was thought that the sealed O-rings on the right hand solid rocket booster failed and the leak of fuel resulted in the explosion.

The U.S. President ordered an independent inquiry into the accident and NASA invited Feynman to join the Rogers Commission to investigate the shuttle disaster. Within the commission, Feynman showed his determination to remain an independent observer and to that end, perhaps ruthlessly, published his own addendum to the report.

The official report pointed to rubber sealing rings that were vital parts of the rocket motor's safety. Feynman publicly demonstrated how rubber, when cold, becomes brittle. His report also leveled criticism at NASA's system of management.

A Brief Summary of Feynman's Contributions

Nobel Prize laureate Richard P. Feynman expanded the understanding of quantum electrodynamics and introduced "Feynman Diagrams" which provided representations of particle interactions. He also provided insights into the 1986 shuttle Challenger disaster and assisted in the development of the atomic bomb.

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