Thirty Years that shook Physics by George Gamow : Preface

PREFACE

Two great revolutionary theories changed the face of physics in the early decades of the twentieth
century: the Theory of Relativity and the Quantum Theory. The former was essentially the creation of one man, Albert Einstein, and came in two instalments: the Special Theory of Relativity, published in 1905, and the General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915. Einstein's Theory of Relativity called for radical changes in the classical Newtonian concept of space and time as two independent entities in the description of the physical world, and led to a unified four-dimensional world in which time is regarded as the fourth coordinate, though not quite equivalent to the three space coordinates. The Theory of Relativity introduced important changes in the treatment of the motion of electrons in an atom, the motion of planets in the solar system, and the motion of stellar galaxies in the universe.

The Quantum Theory, on the other hand, is the result of the creative work of several great scientists starting with Max Planck, who was the first to introduce into physics the notion of a quantum of energy. The theory went through many evolutionary stages and gives us today a deep insight into the structure of atoms and atomic nuclei as well as that of bodies of the sizes familiar to our everyday experience. As of today Quantum Theory is not yet completed, especially in its relation to the Theory of Relativity and the problem of elementary particles, being stalled (temporarily) by tremendous difficulties encountered on the way toward further development.

It is the development of the Quantum Theory that this book will discuss. The author was first introduced to the idea of quanta and Bohr's atomic model at the age of eighteen when he enrolled as a student in the University of Leningrad, and later, at the age of twenty- four, he had the good luck to become Bohr's student in Copenhagen. During those memorable years at paa Blegdamsvej (the address of Bohr's Institute) he had the opportunity of meeting many scientists who con tributed to the early development of the Quantum Theory, and of taking part in their discussions. The account that follows is an outgrowth of those experiences, centered on the great and lovable figure of Niels Bohr. The author hopes that the new generation of physicists will find some interesting information in the pages that follow.

January 1965

д. досто

George Gamow