Hans Bethe (1906-2005) won the Nobel Prize in 1967 for his research into how the sun generates its energy by converting hydrogen to helium using carbon as a nuclear catalyst. He was the last of the giants of 20th century physicists who changed the world by discovering quantum mechanics and by creating the atomic bomb. Highly respected as an exemplary citizen-advocate, he sought to stem the arms race over the decades after World War II.
Hans Bethe had asked his long-time collaborator, Gerry Brown, to edit a book explaining his physics. Brown and Chang-Hwan Lee, also a Bethe collaborator, are putting together reviews by experts, including:
- The Bethe Ansatz, by C N Yang, who gave it that name
- Hans Bethe and Quantum Electrodynamics by Freeman Dyson
- Hans Bethe and Condensed Matter Physics by Neil Ashcroft and David Mermin
- Hans Bethe and the Supernova Problem by Gerry Brown
- Hans Bethe and the Nuclear Many Body Problem by Jeremy Holt and Gerry Brown
- Hans Bethe and the Global Energy Problems by Boris Ioffe
- Hans Bethe and Arms Control will be discussed by several experts