Contents
Hans Bethe
Explaining the nuclear reactions that power stars.
Bethe ansatz · Energy Production in Stars
- Born
- 2 July 1906
- Birthplace
- Strasbourg, German Empire
- Died
- 6 March 2005
More people
Hans Bethe
Hans Bethe was a German-American physicist whose work ranged from stellar energy to quantum theory. He directed theoretical work at Los Alamos during the development of the first atomic bombs.
Early life
Scientific education
Studied in Frankfurt and Munich, earning his doctorate under Arnold Sommerfeld in 1928.
European research
Worked in Germany, England and Italy before Nazi rule forced him to leave Germany.
Career
- 1933
Exile
Lost his German post and moved to England.
- 1935
Cornell
Joined the university that became his long-term academic home.
- 1943–1945
Los Alamos
Headed the theoretical division of the atomic-bomb laboratory.
- 1967
Nobel Prize
Received the physics prize for nuclear-reaction theory and stellar energy.
Contributions
Bethe ansatz
Introduced a method for solving certain interacting-particle models.
Energy Production in Stars
Explained important nuclear processes behind starlight.
Lamb shift
Calculated a small shift in hydrogen's energy levels, advancing quantum electrodynamics.
Beyond physics
Family
Married Rose Ewald; they had two children.
Outdoors
Was an enthusiastic hiker who explored the Alps and Rocky Mountains.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel biography ↗Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory. Attribution · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
