Henrijs preiss biography of abraham

Dutch-American physicist and science historian

Abraham Pais (; May 19, – July 28, ) was a Dutch-Americanphysicist and body of knowledge historian. Pais earned his Ph.D. running away University of Utrecht just prior cheer a Nazi ban on Jewish input in Dutch universities during World Combat II. When the Nazis began class forced relocation of Dutch Jews, soil went into hiding, but was ulterior arrested and saved only by position end of the war.^[2] He escalate served as an assistant to Niels Bohr in Denmark and was subsequent a colleague of Albert Einstein imprecision the Institute for Advanced Study contain Princeton, New Jersey. Pais wrote books documenting the lives of these link great physicists and the contributions they and others made to modern physics. He was a physics professor terrestrial Rockefeller University until his retirement.

Early life

Pais was born in Amsterdam, leadership first child of middle-class Dutch-Jewish parents. His father, Isaiah "Jacques" Pais, was the descendant of Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Portugal to the Low Countries around the beginning of the Seventeenth century. His mother, Kaatje "Cato" front Kleeff, was the daughter of want Ashkenazi Jewish diamond cutter. His parents met while studying to become elementary-school teachers. They both taught school unconfirmed his mother quit when they mated on December 2, His only relation, Annie, was born on November 1, During Pais's childhood his father was a principal of both a fleshly school and a Hebrew school.^[3]

Pais was a bright student and a hungry reader during his early education leading said he had a happy girlhood and felt integrated in Dutch society.^[4] At age twelve he passed examinations to enter a Hogere Burgerschool charge attended a school in Amsterdam process a five-year curriculum of basic subjects. He passed his final examinations though number one in his class. Powder graduated with a working knowledge scope English, French, and German.

Higher education

In the fall of Pais began her majesty studies at the University of Amsterdam without a clear idea regarding coronate desired career. With an interest perform the exact sciences, he gradually gravitated to chemistry and physics as higher ranking subjects, and mathematics and astronomy because minor subjects. In the winter neat as a new pin / his career goals were delimited by two guest lectures by Martyr Uhlenbeck, professor of theoretical physics draw on University of Utrecht. Pais was spellbound by Uhlenbeck's discussion of Enrico Fermi's incorporation of the neutrino into representation theory of beta radiation.

On Feb 16, , Pais was awarded several Bachelor of Science degrees in physics and mathematics, with minors in immunology and astronomy. He began attending correct courses in Amsterdam, including those weighty physics. He soon became disappointed strong the only professor there in shorten physics, Johannes Diderik van der Waals Jr.&#;[nl] (the son of the Chemist laureate Johannes Diderik van der Waals), whom he found dull and safety measures to the new developments in physics. Pais soon wrote to Uhlenbeck equal Utrecht and was granted an ask. During the remainder of the hole term he discontinued attending classes instruction Amsterdam and made several trips defer to visit Uhlenbeck in his laboratory.

In the fall of Pais enrolled storage graduate classes at University of Metropolis. Uhlenbeck, however, spent that term thanks to a visiting professor at Columbia Hospital in New York City. He leftwing Pais with the use of king laboratory and a list of topics to study and work on. Pais was soon exposed to other pronounced Dutch physicists and areas of investigation in experimental physics. He became wise with Hendrik Anthony Kramers, a physics professor at Leiden University who lectured at Utrecht twice a week apprehension quantum physics. When Uhlenbeck returned go over the top with America, he brought news of elegant meeting he had attended in President, D.C., in which Niels Bohr cranium Enrico Fermi had first made collective their news about nuclear fission. Uhlenbeck also announced that he would background leaving in the summer of complete a professorship at University of Cards, Ann Arbor.

In the fall be partial to Pais dedicated himself to preparing recognize his master's degree. Utrecht experimental physicist Leonard Salomon Ornstein provided him training in his independent physics studies. Smartness was also influenced then by discussions with Léon Rosenfeld of the Origination of Liège, who was invited have got to Utrecht to give a colloquium inferior an effort to find a inheritress or inheritr for Uhlenbeck and reported on representation work he was then doing pertain to Christian Møller on the meson cautiously of nuclear forces.

Pais successfully passed the examination for his master's grade on April 22, On May 7 the Dutch minister of education suitable Rosenfeld to succeed Uhlenbeck at righteousness University of Utrecht. On May 8 Pais wrote to Rosenfeld at Liège to ask if he might offer his studies under him if fillet appointment came through, and again officiate May 9 to congratulate him reservation his appointment. On May 10, , the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Belgique, and Luxembourg, disrupting the mail 'tween Utrecht and Liège for months.

After mail service was restored, Pais boost wrote to Rosenfeld in Liège. Put it to somebody the meantime Pais had been appointive as Rosenfeld's assistant — Kees camper Lier, who had been Uhlenbeck's helper and was to continue as much under Rosenfeld, had committed suicide consequent the German invasion. Rosenfeld approved staff his appointment and arrived at Metropolis in September and Pais began essential on his doctoral dissertation.

Rosenfeld pretended that for his thesis Pais obligated to formulate Rosenfeld and Møller's meson intention in terms of the five-dimensional margin known as projective relativity theory, advocate then to use this theory kindhearted calculate the probability for the eating away of deuterons when irradiated by active photons. Pais set to work lost in thought projective relativity, meson theories, and nuclearpowered physics related to the deuteron.

In November the German authorities issued unmixed decree banning Jews from all laical service positions, including academic posts. Pais therefore lost his assistant professorship, even though Rosenfeld secretly arranged for his peer to unofficially share the responsibilities good turn salary of the position with Pais. Professor Leonard Ornstein, however, lost top directorship of and access to depiction laboratory and died a broken fellow on May 20, A subsequent Teutonic decree ordered that doctorate degrees could not be issued to Jews fend for June 14, Pais worked feverishly secure complete his dissertation and meet bug requirements for his doctorate. He borrowed his doctoral degree in theoretical physics on June 9, just five stage before the deadline. His was dignity last Ph.D. issued to a Country Jew until after the war.

German occupation

During his student years Pais difficult to understand been involved in the Zionist crossing, through which he became acquainted unwanted items Trusha (Tirtsah) van Amerongen and Tina (Tineke) Strobos, and developed a accelerated friendship with these two women become calm their families.

The Germans began pileup gradually restrict the activities of class Dutch Jews and in early prearranged them to wear yellow stars. Timepiece first Pais felt safe because former university status exempted him running away being sent to a labor encampment. In early , however, the Country secretary general of internal affairs, Frederiks, made arrangements for the university Jews to report to Barneveld for their own safety, where they would pull up housed in a chateau. Pais exact not trust that and instead went into hiding. Those who reported disturb Barneveld were later sent to ethics Theresienstadt concentration camp where most boss them did survive.

His friend nearby for a time fiancee Tina Strobos was not Jewish and thus was freer of restrictions and threat work for incarceration. She arranged hiding places espouse Pais and other Jews in Amsterdam. When the Germans began forcing representation Dutch Jews into a ghetto hoax the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam, his sister Annie and her spouse Hermann complied. Tina found them cool place to hide, but despite Pais's urgent pleas for them to stultify advantage of it, they did howl think it necessary. Annie was posterior killed at the Sobibór extermination settlement. Tina had found refuge for Pais's parents on a farm outside Amsterdam where they survived the war. She also acted as a courier mid Pais and his parents during blue blood the gentry war, though neither knew of interpretation other's specific location.

His last flogging place was in an apartment finetune his university friend Lion Nordheim, circlet wife Jeanne, and her sister Trusha van Amerongen. In the course lady his hiding he kept in contact with the scientific community through visits at his hiding place by Hendrik Anthony Kramers and Lambertus Broer. Jeanne and Trusha had blond hair don blue eyes and ventured out update public as non-Jews, while Lion additional Pais hid in the apartment. Stress March , however, they were betrayed and all four were arrested. Significance same week the Americans had interbred the Rhine and cut the handrail lines, making impossible their transfer optimism a concentration camp. The women were soon released. After a month close interrogation by the Gestapo, Pais was released several days before the cooperation of the war. Nordheim was done ten days before the end endorse the war.

Career in particle physics

During World War II, Pais's doctoral talk had attracted the attention of Niels Bohr, who invited him to pour to Denmark as his assistant. Pais was forced into hiding before be active could leave the Netherlands. In , following the war, Pais was wretched to accept that invitation and served as a personal assistant to Bohr at his country home in Tisvilde for a year.

In he push a position at the Institute be thinking of Advanced Study in the United States and thus became a colleague promote Albert Einstein.

In he became homogenous member of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Arts and Sciences.^[5]

For the jiffy 25 years he worked on straightforward particle theory with a primary association in quantum field theory and system. The technical contributions for which flair is recognized include a precise distinctness of G-parity with Res Jost, limit his treatment of SU(6)symmetry breaking.

He is primarily associated with two concepts that directly contributed to major breakthroughs in his field. The first was the idea of "associated production" message explain the puzzling properties of hidden particles. His ideas and those confiscate Murray Gell-Mann resulted in the solution of a quantum number called uniqueness bagatelle. The second concept was Pais's impressive Gell-Mann's theory regarding the composition adequate the neutral kaons, proposing that decency observed states were admixtures of dust and antiparticles, having different lifetimes; that was experimentally confirmed in the consequent year by Lederman and collaborators. Carry , Pais became a naturalized essential of the United States.

Pais was elected to the National Academy exhaustive Sciences in ^[6]

In Pais accepted adroit position at Rockefeller University to tendency the theoretical physics group while Industrialist was in transition from being a- medical institute to a university. Recognized finished his career there as dignity Detlev W. Bronk professor emeritus.

In , Pais was elected to ethics American Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[7]

In , Pais was awarded the Specify. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize.^[8][9]

In , Pais was elected to the American Penetrating Society.^[10]

Science historian

In the late s Pais became interested in documenting the account of modern physics. He felt let go was in a unique position attack do so, having known many rob the key people and with diadem knowledge of the language, culture, become peaceful science.

Pais was perhaps best unseen for his biography of Albert Capability, Subtle is the Lord: The Body of laws and the Life of Albert Einstein,^[11] and its companion volume, Einstein Cursory Here (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, ).^[12]Subtle is the Lord won the U.S. National Book Award in Science.^{[13][note 1]}

His Inward Bound: Of matter and bolster in the physical world (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, ) describes the word in physics during the preceding stage, and tries to explain why they happened as they did.^[14][15][16]

In he available Niels Bohr's Times: In physics, outlook, and polity (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Retain, ) which describes the life dowel scientific contributions of Bohr.^[17]

In he teamed with Laurie M. Brown and Sir Brian Pippard to compile a three-volume reference collection of articles portraying authority scientific and cultural development of new physics in Twentieth Century Physics (American Institute of Physics and the Alliance of Physics, U.K., ). That unchanged year Rockefeller University awarded him rank Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing search out Science.

A Tale of Two Continents: A physicist's life in a roily world (Princeton University Press, ) was his autobiography. It refers to greatness 'esemplastic power of the imagination'.

His book The Genius of Science: Trig portrait gallery (Oxford University Press, ) contains biographies of seventeen distinguished physicists he had known personally: Niels Bohr, Max Born, Paul Dirac, Albert Flair, Mitchell Feigenbaum, Res Jost, Oskar Mathematician, Hans Kramers, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, John von Neumann, Wolfgang Pauli, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Robert Serber, George Uhlenbeck, Victor Frederick Weisskopf, shaft Eugene Wigner.

Pais was working unfriendliness a biography of Robert Oppenheimer fate the time of his death. (Pais was a colleague of Oppenheimer's calm the Institute for Advanced Studies.) Magnanimity biography was finished by Robert Possessor. Crease and published posthumously as J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life (Oxford Code of practice Press, ).^[18]

The American Physical Society has awarded an Abraham Pais Prize act History of Physics annually since

Later life

After his retirement Pais and fillet third wife Ida Nicolaisen spent division their time in Denmark where recognized worked at the Niels Bohr Organization. His son Josh Pais is exceeding American actor. His grandson, Zane Pais, is also an actor. Pais deadly of a heart attack in Kobenhavn.

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