Steven Weinberg dies at 88

[joigus]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/steven-weinberg-nobel-winning-physicist-who-united-principal-forces-of-nature-dies-at-88/2021/07/26/75d8d24a-ee31-11eb-bf80-e3877d9c5f06_story.html

Nobel-Prize-winning Steven Weinberg dies at 88. One of the makers of the standard model. His influence in the world of physics in the second half of the 20th century has been only comparable to that of giants as Feynman, Gell-Mann, and 't Hooft.

His books Dreams of a Final Theory and The First Three Minutes are a must-read for anybody willing to understand physics and how physicists think.

He was notorious for his view of a universe without a purpose.

May he rest in peace.

[iNow]

I got to hear him speak in person a few years back. Brilliant man. 

[joigus]

1 hour ago, iNow said:

I got to hear him speak in person a few years back. Brilliant man. 

He was. He didn't have the aura of genius that others have accrued perhaps, but nudged physics into common sense many times.

[beecee]

8 hours ago, joigus said:

He was. He didn't have the aura of genius that others have accrued perhaps, but nudged physics into common sense many times.

Read his book "The First Three Minutes" written in a nice simplistic as possible manner. One of my favourite reads just behind "The Making of the Atomic Bomb"

[joigus]

42 minutes ago, beecee said:

Read his book "The First Three Minutes" written in a nice simplistic as possible manner. One of my favourite reads just behind "The Making of the Atomic Bomb"

Awesome book. Totally compliant with Einstein's alleged* motto 'as simple as possible, but not any simpler'. The Making of... might be worth checking out.

*https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05004-4

[beecee]

2 hours ago, joigus said:

Awesome book. Totally compliant with Einstein's alleged* motto 'as simple as possible, but not any simpler'. The Making of... might be worth checking out.

*https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05004-4

 

2 hours ago, joigus said:

The Making of... might be worth checking out.

Incredible read that is actually more about the history of late 19th century physics/chemistry and 20th century physics, from the Curie's, Bequeral, Roentgen, Rutherford and company, through to Meitner Bohr Bethe and Einstein, up to your Feynman's Oppenheimer and company and the Manhatten project... Then naturally, about the Enola Gay, Paul Tibbets and the dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man, and the terrible aftermath.

Edited July 29, 2021 by beecee

[MigL]

I remember reading/hearing about S Weinberg, A Salam, and S Glashow, in the early 80s while finishing up my degree.
I have his books, at least one of Glashow's, and Salam's Nobel acceptance talk ( in book form ).
All excellent.

He seems so old in the YouTube video, compared to 40 years ago.
( don't we all )

[J.C.MacSwell]

I have three of his books. Dreams of a Final Theory and The First Thee Minutes, both mentioned above and which I quite enjoyed. The third I got was way over my head...but I got a good deal on it and couldn't resist it...the buying part...not the reading...😀

RIP Steven Weinberg

[joigus]

10 hours ago, MigL said:

He seems so old in the YouTube video, compared to 40 years ago.
( don't we all )

I do. You look young & rugged, @J.C.MacSwell looks young & smart, and @beecee looks ageless & 'iconic'.  

I can't say I didn't expect Weinberg's passing one of these days, but it makes me feel older suddenly anyway.

[MigL]

10 hours ago, joigus said:

You look young & rugged

I might squint a lot, and am usually unshaven when not working, but I'm no 1960s Clint Eastwood.

[joigus]

A leading physicist today --Nima Arkani-Hamed-- pondering the contribution of Steven Weinberg to modern physics:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-steven-weinberg-transformed-physics-and-physicists-20210811/?fbclid=IwAR27IwXxENuqp7AujdfZ0EZ6cJc0LdkIHXiK_XmhpsKVHjh9Vf8jpf9Uy5Y