Inspirational Quotes by Hans Bethe (American Physicist)

Hans Albrecht Bethe (1906–2005) was a German-born American theoretical physicist. He made significant contributions to astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics. In addition, this winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics was a leading campaigner for nuclear power and nuclear disarmament.

Born in Strasburg, Alsace-Lorraine, France, then in Imperial Germany, Bethe studied at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He taught at Tubingen and Bristol before moving to Cornell University in 1935. For the rest of his life, he remained there as a professor of physics 1937–75 and later as professor emeritus.

During World War II, Bethe was the head of the Theoretical Division at the secret Los Alamos laboratory that developed the first atomic bombs. There he played a significant role in calculating the critical mass of the weapons and developing the theory behind the implosion method used in both the Trinity test and the “Fat Man” weapon dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.

Returning to Cornell, Bethe helped shape quantum physics and increased the understanding of the atomic processes responsible for the properties of matter and the forces governing atomic nuclei structures. He received the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the production of energy in stars.

Bethe was an influential voice in emphasizing the social responsibility of science. Immediately after World War II, he campaigned with J Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein for international control of all nuclear developments. He also advocated nuclear power.

The theoretical physicist Jeremy Bernstein wrote the biography Hans Bethe, Prophet of Energy (1980.)

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