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Paul Dirac was a pioneer of quantum mechanics and was regarded as an equal by Albert Einstein. He predicted, purely from what he saw in his equations, the existence of antimatter. The youngest person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics, he was also pathologically reticent, strangely literal-minded and almost completely unable to communicate or empathise. His silences were legendary and when he spoke, he betrayed no emotion. Through his greatest period of productivity, his postcards home contained only remarks about the weather. He is said to have cried only once, when his friend Einstein died.Based on a previously undiscovered archive of family papers in Florida, Graham Farmelo celebrates Dirac's massive scientific achievement while drawing a compassionate portrait of his life and the people around him. Dirac had a traumatic relationship with his family: his brother committed suicide, and he hated his father to the end of his life. His political allegiances were radical. His best friend was the Russian physicist Peter Kapitza, and even at the height of the purges Dirac holidayed in the Soviet Union. Yet Farmelo also reveals a man who, while seemingly lacking in emotion, could manage to love and father a family. He catches Dirac's absolute belief in the beauty of mathematics with warmth and sympathy. And Farmelo shows that Dirac's eccentricities may well have stemmed from undiagnosed autism.The Strangest Man is a moving human story, and a study of one of the most exciting times in scientific history.
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Quantum theory, Physicists, Biography, physics, quantum physics, biography, University of Cambridge, Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Dirac, p. a. m. (paul adrien maurice), 1902-1984, Physicists, biography, Quantum theory, history, New York Times reviewed, History, Physiciens, Biographies, Théorie quantiquePlaces
Great Britain, Bristol, Cambridge, PrincetonShowing 8 featured editions. View all 8 editions?
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1
The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
Jun 28, 2011, Basic Books
paperback
0465022103 9780465022106
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2
Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
2011, ReadHowYouWant.com, Limited
in English
1458752518 9781458752512
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3
The strangest man: the hidden life of Paul Dirac, mystic of the atom
2009, Basic Books
in English
0465018270 9780465018277
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4
The strangest man: the hidden life of Paul Dirac, mystic of the atom
2009, Basic Books
in English
0465018270 9780465018277
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5
The strangest man: the hidden life of Paul Dirac, quantum genius
2009, Faber and Faber
in English
0571222781 9780571222780
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The Strangest Man: The Hideen Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius
2009, Faber and Faber
Paperback
0571222862 9780571222865
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From the Publisher: Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics. One of Einstein's most admired colleagues, Dirac was in 1933 the youngest theoretician ever to win the Nobel Prize in physics. Dirac's personality is legendary. He was an extraordinarily reserved loner, relentlessly literal-minded and appeared to have no empathy with most people. Yet he was a family man and was intensely loyal to his friends. His tastes in the arts ranged from Beethoven to Cher, from Rembrandt to Mickey Mouse. Based on previously undiscovered archives, The Strangest Man reveals the many facets of Dirac's brilliantly original mind. A compelling human story, The Strangest Man also depicts a spectacularly exciting era in scientific history.
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November 19, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
July 2, 2021 | Edited by Drini | Merge works |
August 4, 2013 | Edited by VacuumBot | Updated format 'E-book' to 'eBook' |
April 2, 2013 | Edited by VacuumBot | Updated format 'eBook' to 'E-book'; Removed author from Edition (author found in Work) |
June 23, 2010 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from marc_overdrive MARC record |