Who is your favorite physicist and why?

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SUMMARY

This forum discussion centers on participants sharing their favorite physicists, highlighting figures such as Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein, and Niels Bohr. Richard Feynman is frequently praised for his approachability and ability to communicate complex concepts to the public, while Einstein is recognized for his humanitarian efforts and scientific contributions. Other notable mentions include Eratosthenes for his ingenuity and Nikola Tesla for his visionary work. The conversation reflects a blend of admiration for scientific achievements and personal anecdotes about the physicists' characters.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of key physicists and their contributions, including Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein.
  • Familiarity with basic physics concepts and terminology.
  • Knowledge of historical context regarding the development of physics.
  • Awareness of the impact of personality and public perception on scientific figures.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research Richard Feynman's contributions to quantum electrodynamics (QED).
  • Explore the humanitarian efforts of Albert Einstein beyond his scientific work.
  • Investigate the historical significance of Eratosthenes' method for measuring the Earth's circumference.
  • Learn about the life and inventions of Nikola Tesla and their impact on modern technology.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physics enthusiasts, students, educators, and anyone interested in the personalities and contributions of notable physicists throughout history.

Benzoate
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I don't think there been a thread on a use'sr favorite physicist , so I decided to create one.

For me , Richard feynman because he tried to help both graduate student and the lay public under QED and any other topic on physics. And to me , he comes across as a regular guy you would play poker with instead of a supergenius. I'm not going to doubt that he wasn't a smart man . I'm only saying that did not come across as intimidating to other to laymen and had the a'priori notion that anyone can learn and understand physics. He also , in a subtle manner, criticize academic elitism ; he pointed out that he didn't like clubs or organizations that existed primary for people to talk about how smart they were or how high their IQ was.
 
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Schrödinger all the way!
 
"Favorite"= Feynman. Everybody loves Feynman.
 
Humanino :!)
 
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, of course.

if not then the ancient Greeks who started studying these things in a more logical manner. ... their assumptions were wrong for the most part, but you got to hand it to them.
 
Eratosthenes for ingenuity.
Robert Hooke for discoveries.
Richard Feynman for cuddliness.
 
moe darklight said:
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, of course.

>.< lol.
 
Janna Levin

http://www.jannalevin.com/bio.html
 
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Archimedes
 
  • #10
Math Jeans said:
>.< lol.

"Doomsday device! Ahh the balls in Farnsworth's court now."

Assortment of doomsday devices appear.

"I suppose I could part with one of these and still be feared."

Best episode ever! >.<
 
  • #11
tacosareveryyum said:
"Doomsday device! Ahh the balls in Farnsworth's court now."

Assortment of doomsday devices appear.

"I suppose I could part with one of these and still be feared."

Best episode ever! >.<

He he. I remember that one. The basketball bit was funny.
 
  • #12
Benzoate said:
I don't think there been a thread on a use'sr favorite physicist ,

Not in the past 6 months, maybe.

Still, Maxwell for me!
 
  • #13
There are so many great physicists that it is too hard to choose which one is the best. So I asked my mother to help me out. Modesty prevents me from divulging the answer.
 
  • #14
jimmysnyder said:
There are so many great physicists that it is too hard to choose which one is the best. So I asked my mother to help me out. Modesty prevents me from divulging the answer.

:smile:
 
  • #15
Fermi no doubt.
 
  • #16
clearly Newton
 
  • #17
Feynman was committed to academic integrity like very few others.
 
  • #18
proton said:
clearly Newton

indeed

'standing on the shoulders of giants' youll find on 2£ coins was a dig at Hooke.
bit of character, though all boffins seem to be highly eccentric
 
  • #19
That would be Madame Marie Curie.
 
  • #20
newton5.jpg
 
  • #21
Since everyone avoided making the generic, trendy answer:

Enstein.

Mostly because he was a humanitarian, but also because of his unique contributions to science.
 
  • #22
Feynman because his love of physics is so contagious
 
  • #23
I suppose I'd pick Max Born... but mostly because I have a biography about him.
 
  • #24
I asked my wife :approve:

She said Feynman:cry:
 
  • #25
No one else favors Schrödinger?

Fine. Be that way.
 
  • #26
Heisenberg =] He had cool german style (who cares if he helped the Germans with the bomb?) and he was a genius. I remember reading in his biography or (autobiography, i forget which ones which, the one that someone else wrote on him), and one of the things that amazed me most was that on hiking trips with his brother, they would play chess, in their heads! Imagine that, "Queen to B9, ha I took your bishop!". His Uncertainty principle is one of the most, if not the most, controversial principals of physics, considered unintuitive for many and even more so its consequences. And everyone loves going home after a long day and doing some matrix mechanics don't they =]? I know what your thinking Math Jeans, Schrödinger's Wave Mechanics is the same thing, and more intuitive, but that's never been Heisenbergs style =]
 
  • #27
Math Jeans said:
No one else favors Schrödinger?

Fine. Be that way.

I think most people can't get past his blithe position on animal cruelty. Evidently, scientific testing on animals didn't matter one way or the other to him.
 
  • #28
Has to be Sylvia Brown from the Physics Friends Network. Wayne Newton's not bad either. And there's Pam "Big Mac Attack" Dirac.
 
  • #29
Dead, Einstein easily. Alive, probably Michio Kaku, mostly because he sparked my interest in science.
 
  • #30
Math Jeans said:
No one else favors Schrödinger?

Fine. Be that way.

I do. He was handsome as well and a polymath that knew six languages; apart from being a great scientist he was a man of culture as well. His book on Greek philosophers is one of the best I have read.
 
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