9/10/2015

TheCuriousWavefunction:TheclearestessayonphysicsIhaveread:ThebeautyandclarityofPaulDirac'sprose

FS AbC CC CH CO/VL CW DM GMP GW HG MPM PX PY RRR SW TPP VM

ReanalysisoftheDiapsidReptile
Elachistosuchushueneifromthe
LateTriassicofGermany
4hoursagoinChinleana

Theexpansion
entropy

Petrosia:TheSexual
LifeoftheSponges

13hoursagoinDoc
Madhattan

1dayagoinCatalogueof
Organisms

Whistlersunshine

Haplochthoniidae

1dayagoinThe
Phytophactor

1dayagoinVarietyof
Life

TheCuriousWavefunction
Scienceinallitsendlessforms,allmostbeautiful

TheclearestessayonphysicsIhaveread:ThebeautyandclarityofPaul
Dirac'sprose
ByWavefunctiononMonday,July28,2014

PaulDiracwassortoftheErnestHemingwayofphysics,onlybetter.Bothhis
equationsandhisprosewereastight,spareandtothepointasHemingway.
ButunlikethedelightfullyroughhewnstorytellingofHemingwayDirac's
creationswere,inFreemanDyson'swords,"likeperfectmathematical
sculpturesfallingfromthesky".Whilehiselegantmathematicscaptivated
otherscientistsandinspiredawe,histranslationofmathematicalprecisionto
hisEnglishcouldfrustrateandbaffle.Diracoftenansweredinmonosyllables,
oftendidnotunderstandmetaphorandspokeonlywhenhefeltlike.There
wasalogicbehindthisbehaviorthatwashardtodisputethoughashe
pithilyputit,"Therearealwaysmorepeoplewillingtotalkthantolisten."
Butwhileeverydayconversationwithhimcouldbedifficult,theapplicationof
hisprinciplesoflanguagetohis"PrinciplesofQuantumMechanics"wasa
spectacularsuccess.Eventodaythebookstandsasthesimplestandclearest
accountofquantumtheorywrittenbyoneofitsmasterfounders.LikeMozart,
thetextcontainsnofewerandnomorewordsthanarenecessaryforaproper
expositionandevennonscientistsshouldreadthefirstchapter.Einstein
himselfcherishedhiscopy,andwheneverheneededtolookupatechnical
pointwouldmumble,"Where'smyDirac?"InfactDiracregardedthebookashislastwordonquantumtheory,
somuchsothatheusedtoliterallyreadfromitinclass.
ThepowerofDirac'slanguagetostripawaytheinessentialsandcutthroughthefoglikeadiamondisillustrated
inadelightfullittlebookthatIrecentlycameacross.Titled"FromaLifeinPhysics",itisacollectionoftalks
givenattheInternationalSchoolofTheoreticalPhysicsatTriesteinItalyin1968.Thecollectionfeaturestalks
bysomeofthetrueheavyweightsof20thcenturyphysicsHansBethe,Dirac,WernerHeisenberg,Eugene
Wigner,OskarKleinandEvgenyLifshitz.
Alltheessaysarehighlyreadablebutnotsurprisingly,theclearestandmostelegantoneisbyDirac.Inithe
essentiallytellsushowatheoreticalphysicistthinksandworks:"Ishallattempttogiveyouanideaofhowa
theoreticalphysicistworkshowhesetsabouttryingtogetabetterunderstandingofthelawsofnature".
Diracimmediatelycutstothechase.Hetellsusthattherearetwomainproceduresbywhichatheoretical
physicistoperates."Oneistoworkfromtheexperimentalbasis,andforthisyoumustkeepcloselyintouchwith
theexperimentalists.Theotheristoworkfromthemathematicalbasis".Howdoyouworkfromthe
mathematicalbasis,exactly?
"Oneexaminesandcriticizestheexistingtheory.Onetriestopinpointthefaultsinitandthentries
toremovethem.Thedifficultyhereistoremovethefaultswithoutdestroyingthegreatsuccesses
oftheexistingtheory."
ImmediatelyhereDirachashitontheessentialformulafollowedbymostsuccessfultheoreticalscientists.The
examplesarewellknownbynow:EinsteininventedrelativitywhilepreservingthesuccessofNewtonian
mechanics.Dirachimselfwaspartofarevolutionthatinventedquantummechanicswhilepreservingclassical
mechanics.Theresolutionofdiscrepanciesledtoscientificrevolutions.Thefirstprocedureisalsowellknownfor
instancespectroscopistsbuiltatheoryofatomicspectrabasedonahugeamountofexperimentaldata.
Sincewearefacedwithtwopotentialmethodsfortacklingaproblem,whichonedowefollow?Dirac's
prescriptionisclear:
"Whichprocedureonefollowsdependslargelyonthesubjectofstudy.Forasubjectaboutwhich
verylittleisknown,whereoneisbreakingnewground,oneisprettywellforcedtofollowthe
procedurebasedonexperiment.Inthebeginning,foranewsubject,onemerelycollects

http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/theclearestessayonphysicsihave.html

AboutMe
Ashutosh(Ash)Jogalekarisachemistworkingin
biotechnologyandinterestedinthehistoryandphilosop
science.Hecanbereachedat
curiouswavefunction[at]gmail[dot]com

Search

Blogroll
Subscribe

Dylan'sTenderblog
Posts

Retread
InThePipeline

Comments

Carbonbased
Curiosities
Chembark

PreviousPosts

JustLikeCooking
BiochemBelle

Whyfoxesaremore
importantthan
hedgehogsindrug
discovery
AwhileagoIwroteabout
thedominanceoffoxes
overhedgehogsin
chemistry.Hedgehogs
lovetodrilldeepintoone
topicfoxeslovetoleap
overinterdisciplinary
fences.Bothcreatures
havebeenkeytothe
progressof...
Onlivetweetingat
conferences
NatureNewshasan
interestingpieceon
anothernovelaspectof
thecollisionof21st
centurysocialmediawith
20thcenturyscientific
culture,thistimerelated
tothephenomenonof
livetweetingfrom
scientificconfer...
Whatwouldbea"non
intuitive"predictionin
medicinalchemistry?
Overthelasttwodecades
whencomputeraided
drugdesignwasin
development,oneofthe
mostcommonrefrains
youheardfrommedicinal
chemistsaboutitsutility
wasthatitdidapoorjob
predicting?non

Sciencegeist
MasterOrganic
Chemistry

CultureofChemistr
BoscoHo
HenryRzepa
TheStoichiometric
Equivalent

SecondMessenger
C&ENblog
BunsenBoerner
Chemjobber

ChemicalCrystallin
InVivoBlog
SoftMachines

ALifeintheBiophy
Lab
KinasePro
CompOrgChem

InterfacialDigressio
EverydayScientist
Lamentationson
Chemistry
DiscountThoughts
TotallySynthetic
Andrew

Homebrew&Chem
WaterInBiology

1/4

9/10/2015

TheCuriousWavefunction:TheclearestessayonphysicsIhaveread:ThebeautyandclarityofPaulDirac'sprose
experimentalevidenceandclassifiesit".

AsanexampleDiracaccuratelynotesthedevelopmentoftheperiodictableatfirstwecouldonlybuildupa
collectionoffactsbasedonexistingdata,butthenitbecamepossibleforabrilliantscientistlikeMendeleevto
actuallymakepredictionsbasedonthesefacts.
Ontheotherhand,whentheexperimentalevidenceiswellestablished,thenthetheoreticiancanproceedto
organizeitinanoverarchingtheoreticalframework.Hereastrikingnewcriterionentersthegame,andnoother
physicistuseditasfruitfully.Itisbeauty.
"Withincreasingknowledgeofasubject,whenonehasagreatdealofsupporttoworkfrom,one
cangoovermoreandmoretowardsthemathematicalprocedure.Onethenhasasone'sunderlying
motivationthestrivingformathematicalbeauty.Theoreticalphysicistsaccepttheneedfor
mathematicalbeautyasanactoffaith.Thereisnocompellingreasonforit,butithasproveda
veryprofitableobjectiveinthepast.Forexample,themainreasonwhythetheoryofrelativityisso
universallyacceptedisitsmathematicalbeauty."
Iwouldactuallydisagreewiththatlaststatement:Themainreasonwhythetheoryofrelativityhadbeenso
wellacceptedby1968wasbecauseofitsunerringagreementwithexperiment.ButinDirac'swordsyoucan
clearlyseethetortuouspaththatatheoreticalphysicistexploringanewfieldtreadsheisunsureoftheexact
direction,andsincebeautycanoftenbesubjective,healwaysrunstheriskoflosinghiswayandfallingintoa
deepabyss.OnlyamindasconfidentandaccomplishedasDirac'scannavigatethislabyrinthinemaze.
Thereareotherpithygemsintheessay.InoneofthemDiracdescribeshowSchrodingertriedtoapplywave
mechanicstothehydrogenatomandfailedbecausehedidnottakespinapurelyquantummechanical
variableyettobediscoveredintoaccount.Schrodinger'sfailureleadstoanotherDiracaphorism:
"Themoralofthisstoryisthatoneshouldnottrytoaccomplishtoomuchinonestage.Oneshould
separatethedifficultiesinphysicsonefromanotherasfaraspossible,andthendisposeofthem
onebyone".
Wisewords,notjustforphysicistsbutforeveryone.
AnotheraphorismariseswhenDiractalksabouttherecalcitranceofmanyphysiciststoswitchfromtensorsto
spinorsindealingwithrelativisticquantummechanics.BeingmathematicallyorientedDiracdid,andwas
successful.MoreZenlikewisdomfollows:
"Oneshouldalwaysguardagainstgettingtooattachedtooneparticularlineofthought".
Therestoftheessayconcernsthetheoryofquantumelectrodynamics.DiracwasneverhappywithQEDsince
itsartificialcutoffsandtheprocedureofrenormalizationdidnotfitwithhisnotionofbeautyandelegance.As
hecharacteristicallyputit:"Inmathematicsonerejectsaquantitybecauseitisverysmall,notbecauseitistoo
largeandonedoesnotwantit".AsfarasIknow,QEDandotherrelatedtheoriesarestillbasedonthesame
principles,andDiracprobablywouldn'thavebeenanyhappierwiththemtodaythanwhathewasthen.
ButhereinthisessayDiracdemonstrateswhyhewassuchamasterofclarityandelegantexpressionIthinkat
leastthefirstpartoftheessayshouldberequiredreadingforbeginningstudentsinscience.Inconveyingthe
essentialsofphysicaltheoryinsuchclearprose,Diracisfollowingsomeequallywisewordsfromanotherfamous
physicisttoafault:
"Everythingshouldbemadeassimpleaspossible,butnosimpler."

Labels:historyofphysics,PaulDirac,physics,quantummechanics

7comments:
Anonymous 2:12PM,July28,2014
"Thelawsofnatureshouldbeexpressedinbeautifulequations."
JohnPolkinghorne,oneofDiracsstudents,saysDiracwrotethisontheboardwhenasked,Whatisyourfundamentalbelief?
ManyconsidertheDiracequationthemostbeautifulequationinphysics.ThatdoesnotseemtobeauniversalsentimentbutIthinkitis
wonderful that the equation is memorialized in a slate tile in Westminster Abby near the memorials to Newton and Darwin. Dirac is
howeverburiedinTallahassee,Florida.
IhaveaddedFromaLifeinPhysicstomyreadinglist.ThanksforthepostAsh!
MTucker
Reply
Replies
Wavefunction

2:49PM,July28,2014

TheDiracequationisindeedaprimecandidatefor"mostbeautifulequationintheworld".WhenIvisitedLondonImadeita
pointtovisitDirac'smemorialinWestminsterAbbey,alongwithDarwinandNewton'sgraves.

http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/theclearestessayonphysicsihave.html

intuitive...

CurlyArrow

RobertOppenheimer,
HansBetheandthe
valueofbalanceand
compromise
Shouldyoubeinvolved
inpoliticalcausesand
activismasascientist?
Thiswasaquestionthat
squarelyconfronted
manyofthetwentieth
century'sscientists,andit
heraldedameldof
politicsandsciencethat
c...

Chemicalblogspac

Theenduringlegacyof
LeoSzilard,fatherofthe
atomicage
70yearsagoonthisday,
aflashaboveHiroshima
silencedahundred
thousandvoicesand
heraldedthebeginningof
anewFaustian
relationshipbetween
manandhismachines.
Butonemanhadseen
theflash12yearsbefore
...

ChemistryBlog
GMCrapshoot

MakingGraphiteW
OrgPrepDaily
SkepticalChymist
QuantumPontiff

ChemicalQuantum
Images

Journalsand
Magazines
Nature
Science
JACS

AngewandteChem
J.Med.Chem.
OrganicLetters
J.Org.Chem.
ChemComm

PopularPosts

ChemBioChem
Chem.&Biol.
Chem.Eur.Jour.

Whyfoxes
aremore
important
than

ChemMedChem
Structure
J.Comp.Chem.
J.Phys.Chem.A

hedgehogsindrug
discovery
AwhileagoIwroteabout
thedominanceoffoxes
overhedgehogsin
chemistry.Hedgehogs
lovetodrilldeepintoone
topicfoxesloveto...
TheTimHuntaffairis
destroyingourcommunity
fromwithin.Weneedto
notletthathappen.
Somuchinkhasbeen
andcontinuestobe
spiltovertheTimHunt
affairthatIhavenothing
toaddtoit.Theonlything
thatsclearb...
Robert

J.Phys.Chem.B
Biophys.J.
Biochemistry
J.Biol.Chem
J.Mol.Bio.
Nat.Chem.Biol.
ACSChem.Biol.
Proteins
Cell
Br.J.Pharmacol.
Mol.Pharm.
JAMA
Lancet
NEJM
CancerRes.
J.Neurochem.

Bioorg.Med.Chem
PNAS
Oppenheimer,Hans
Betheandthevalueof
balanceandcompromise
Shouldyoubeinvolved
inpoliticalcausesand
activismasascientist?
Thiswasaquestionthat
squarelyconfronted
manyof...
The
enduring
legacyof
Leo
Szilard,
fatherof
theatomicage
70yearsagoonthisday,
aflashaboveHiroshima
silencedahundred
thousandvoicesand
heraldedthebeginningof
anewFaustianrelation...
The
simple
physics
behinda
horrible
tragedy:A
tapemeasurewiththe
energyofa0.45Colt
bullet
FromtheNYTcomesthis
reallytragicstoryofa

PLOS

Archives
2015(68)
2014(66)
December
November
October
September
August
July(6)

Thecomplextrut
about"smart"

Theclearestess
physicsIhave
Thebea...

GeniusandEins
From'GreatM
'EveryMa...

Theproblemwith
FoodBabe

Aresponsetore
eventsonSci
Blogs

RichardFeynma

2/4

9/10/2015

TheCuriousWavefunction:TheclearestessayonphysicsIhaveread:ThebeautyandclarityofPaulDirac'sprose
Ultimatelyasyouindicatetheperceptionissubjective.Afewofmyotherfavoritesforthesametitle:E=mc^2,p=h/2*pi*lambda,
S=klnW,andG=RTlnK

manwhowaskilledwhen
atapemeasurefroma
constructionsitefelldown
50floorsand...

sexismand
changing
perceptionso
June

Reply

Onlive
tweeting
at

April(6)
March

MJ 5:42PM,July31,2014
"Themoralofthisstoryisthatoneshouldnottrytoaccomplishtoomuchinonestage.Oneshouldseparatethedifficultiesinphysicsone
fromanotherasfaraspossible,andthendisposeofthemonebyone."
PrettysurethatmygraduateandpostdoctoraladvisorswouldaccuseDiracofcowardiceinresearchforthisquote."Whywasteone'stime
doingthingsinalogicalorderwhenit'sobviousyoucansolvemultipleproblemsinonefellswoop?"AndpeoplewonderwhyIgotoutof
researchandwhymypublicationlistisaspaltryasitis....

conferences
NatureNewshasan
interestingpieceon
anothernovelaspectof
thecollisionof21st
centurysocialmediawith
20thcenturyscientificc...
What
wouldbe
a"non
intuitive"
prediction
in
medicinalchemistry?
Overthelasttwodecades
whencomputeraided
drugdesignwasin
development,oneofthe
mostcommonrefrains
youheardfrommedicinal
ch...

Hopeyoursummerisgoingwell!
Reply
Replies
Wavefunction

May(2)

10:13AM,August13,2014

IsuspectDiracwouldhavebeenanothercasualtyoftoday'sgraduateschoolsystem.Hopeyoursisgoingwelltoo!
Reply

February
January
2013(51)
2012(78)
2011(82)
2010(95)
2009(112)
2008(77)
2007(133)
2006(59)
2005(19)
2004(3)

TargetingearlyAD
oligomerswithasimple
dipeptide
Acoupleofdaysago,an
Americanmanin
Switzerlandbecamethe
firsthumanbeingtohave
hisassistedsuicide
filmedandbroadcasted
on...

Anonymous 11:27AM,August12,2014
Sir,youressayisbeautifultoo,thankyouverymuch.
And"Ithinkatleastthefirstpartoftheessayshouldberequiredreadingforbeginningstudentsinscience."
Reply
Replies
Anonymous 11:32AM,August12,2014
"Ithinkatleastthefirstpartoftheessayshouldberequiredreadingforbeginningstudentsinscience."Andthisarticle,also.
Best,L.

Wavefunction

10:12AM,August13,2014

reader
Anaerogel,oneofthe
wondersofmodern
chemistrydescribedby
MarkMiodownikin"Stuff
Matters"Steven
Weinbergwithwh...

Thankyou!
Reply

Thedifferencebetween
chemistryandphysics
Icameacrossthe
followingquotebythe
NobelPrizewinning
chemistWilliam
Lipscomb(think
diborane,carbonic
anhydrase)withwhichI
gene...

Enteryourcomment...

Commentas:

Publish

Top10
popular
chemistry
booksfor
the
general

GoogleAccount

Preview

MarkupKey:
<b>bold</b>=bold
<i>italic</i>=italic
<ahref="http://www.fieldofscience.com/">FoS</a>=FoS

Linkstothispost
CreateaLink
NewerPost

Home

OlderPost

Subscribeto:PostComments(Atom)

http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/theclearestessayonphysicsihave.html

3/4

9/10/2015

TheCuriousWavefunction:TheclearestessayonphysicsIhaveread:ThebeautyandclarityofPaulDirac'sprose

http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/theclearestessayonphysicsihave.html

4/4