- 西柚不是西游
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MarieCurie,orratherMaryaSklodowska,wasborninWarsawonNovember7,1867.Atthetime,thePolishcapitalwasoccupiedbytheRussians,whowereseekingtoweakenthelocalélitebutnonethelesstoleratedtheburgeoningofthepositivistdoctrineadvocatedbyAugusteComte.Basedonthevalueofexperienceandscientificreality,andappliedtosociety,itwasformanyintellectualsthepathofprogress;itwastoleaveanindeliblemarkonMarya.Bornintoafamilyofteachersandbroughtupinanenvironmentmarkedbyasenseofdutyandalackofmoney,sheledthemostSpartanoflives.Fromtheprematuredeathofoneofhersisters,andlaterofhermother,shedrewtheagnosticismthatwouldlaterbolsterherfaithinscience.Asabrilliantandmaturestudentwithararegiftofconcentration,Maryaharbouredthedreamofascientificcareer,aconceptinconceivableforawomanatthattime.Butlackoffundsmeantshewasforcedtobecomeaprivatetutor.ShemadehugefinancialsacrificessothathersisterBroniacouldfulfilherwishofstudyingmedicineinParis,nurturingthehopethatthefavourmightbereturned
爱因斯坦的
AlbertEinstein:1879-1955
ByNielsBohrandI.I.Rabi
WiththedeathofAlbertEinstein,alifeintheserviceofscienceandhumanitywhichwasasrichandfruitfulasanyinthewholehistoryofourculturehascometoanend.MankindwillalwaysbeindebtedtoEinsteinfortheremovaloftheobstaclestoouroutlookwhichwereinvolvedintheprimitivenotionsofabsolutespaceandtime.Hegaveusaworldpicturewithaunityandharmonysurpassingtheboldestdreamsofthepast.
Einstein"sgenius,characterizedequallybylogicalclarityandcreativeimagination,succeededinremoldingandwideningtheimposingedificewhosefoundationshadbeenlaidbyNewton"sgreatwork.Withintheframeoftherelativitytheory,demandingaformulationofthelawsofnatureindependentoftheobserverandemphasizingthesingularroleofthespeedoflight,gravitationaleffectslosttheirisolatedpositionandappearedasanintegralpartofageneralkinematicdescription,capableofverificationbyrefinedastronomicalobservations.Moreover,Einstein"srecognitionoftheequivalenceofmassandenergyshouldproveaninvaluableguideintheexplorationofatomicphenomena.
Indeed,thebreadthofEinstein"sviewsandtheopennessofhismindfoundmostremarkableexpressioninthefactthat,intheverysameyearswhenhegaveawidenedoutlooktoclassicalphysics,hethoroughlygraspedthefactthatPlanck"sdiscoveryoftheuniversalquantumofactionrevealedaninherentlimitationinsuchanapproach.WithunfailingintuitionEinsteinwasledtotheintroductionoftheideaofthephotonasthecarrierofmomentumandenergyinindividualradiativeprocesses.Hetherebyprovidedthestartingpointfortheestablishmentofconsistentquantumtheoreticalmethodswhichhavemadeitpossibletoaccountforanimmenseamountofexperimentalevidenceconcerningthepropertiesofmatterandevendemandedreconsiderationofourmostelementaryconcepts.
ThesamespiritthatcharacterizedEinstein"suniquescientificachievementsalsomarkedhisattitudeinallhumanrelations.Notwithstandingtheincreasingreverencewhichpeopleeverywherefeltforhisattainmentsandcharacter,hebehavedwithunchangingnaturalmodestyandexpressedhimselfwithasubtleandcharminghumor.Hewasalwayspreparedtohelppeopleindifficultiesofanykind,andtohim,whohimselfhadexperiencedtheevilsofracialprejudice,thepromotionofunderstandingamongnationswasaforemostendeavor.Hisearnestadmonitionsontheresponsibilityinvolvedinourrapidlygrowingmasteryoftheforcesofnaturewillsurelyhelptomeetthechallengetocivilizationintheproperspirit.
TothewholeofmankindAlbertEinstein"sdeathisagreatloss,andtothoseofuswhohadthegoodfortunetoenjoyhiswarmfriendshipitisagriefthatweshallnevermorebeabletoseehisgentlesmileandlistentohim.Butthememorieshehasleftbehindwillremainanever-livingsourceoffortitudeandencouragement.—NielsBohr
WithAlbertEinstein"sdeathagreatlighthasgoneoutintheworldofphysics,forEinstein,morethananyotherman,setthetoneofthephysicsofthe20thcentury.Histheoriesofspecialandgeneralrelativitywerethecapstoneofclassicalphysicsandthetheoryoffields.Histheoryoflightquantaandhislaterdemonstrationofthenatureofthefluctuationsof"blackbody"radiationraisedtheparadoxofthewave-particleduality,whichwaspartlyresolvedtwodecadeslaterintheprincipleofcomplementarityofNielsBohrandWernerHeisenberg.His1917paper,introducingtheideasofspontaneousandstimulatedemissionofradiation,wasthefirstclearstatementofthestatisticalnatureoffundamentalatomicphenomena.ThefamousEinsteinAandBcoefficientsledtothequantitativeuseofthecorrespondenceprincipleandtotheformulationoftheKramers-Heisenbergdispersionformula,whichinturnledtoHeisenberg"smatrixmechanics.Einsteinwasthereforeinaveryrealsensethefounderofthestatisticaltheoryoffundamentalatomicphenomena.