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Paul Dirac

British theoretical physicist (1902-1984) · United Kingdom · Scientists · Died at 82

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He wrote down an equation in 1928 that married relativity to quantum mechanics and predicted antimatter before anyone had seen it - a leap so clean that physics has been working out the implications ever since.

ScientistsAcademicMathematicsPhysicsScienceUnited KingdomEurope20th Century

A life in dates

1984Died20 October 19841978“I want to emphasize the necessity for a sound mathematical basis for any fundamental physical theory. Any philosophical ideas that one may have play only a subordinate role.”In their wordsThe Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Theory (1978)

1973Order of MeritAward1972“My research work was based in pictures. I needed to visualise things and projective geometry was often most useful e.g.”In their words5 August 1972"Recollections of an Exciting Era," three lectures given at Varenna, 5 August 1972, quoted in Peter Galison, "The Suppressed Drawing: Paul

1969J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial PrizeAward1964Helmholtz MedalAward1963“If there is no complete agreement between the results of one's work and the experiment, one should not allow oneself to be too discouraged.”In their wordsMay 1963"The Evolution of the Physicist's Picture of Nature," Scientific American (May, 1963)

1961“With my assumption... life need never end. There is no decisive argument for deciding between [certain] assumptions. I prefer the one that allows the possibility of endless life.”In their wordsUntitled, Nature (1961) Vol. 192, p. 441, as quoted by , The Physics of Immortality (1994) p. 11. Described as Dirac's Postulate of Eternal

1955“One possibility in this direction is to regard, classically, an electron as the end of a single Faraday line of force.”In their wordsBombay Lectures (1955)

1952Copley MedalAwardMax Planck MedalAward1946Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of ParisAward1941Royal Society Bakerian MedalAward1939Royal MedalAward1933Nobel Prize in PhysicsAward1932Lucasian Professor of MathematicsOffice1932-19691930Fellow of the Royal SocietyAward1927“If we are honest - and scientists have to be - we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality.”In their wordsOctober 1927Remarks made during the Fifth Solvay International Conference (October 1927), as quoted in Physics and Beyond: Encounters and Conversations

1902Born8 August 1902

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Paul Dirac, 1933Paul Dirac, 193315. Tagung 1965 Physiker Paul Dirac an der Tafel - W134Nr.078945 - Willy Pragher15. Tagung 1965 Physiker Paul Dirac an der Tafel - W134Nr.078945 - Willy Pragher15. Tagung 1965 Physiker; Maikäferrede Paul Dirac - W134Nr.078981 - Willy Pragher15. Tagung 1965 Physiker; Maikäferrede Paul Dirac - W134Nr.078981 - Willy PragherLeiden Kamerlingh-Onnes LabLeiden Kamerlingh-Onnes LabSolvay conference 1927 (group photograph) bwSolvay conference 1927 (group photograph) bwSolvay conference 1927 (group photograph) with frameSolvay conference 1927 (group photograph) with frameSolvay conference 1927 (group photograph)Solvay conference 1927 (group photograph)Solvay conference 1927 restored sourceSolvay conference 1927 restored source

In their own words 10

,
Paul Dirac
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. It was a good description to say that it was a game, a very interesting game one could play. Whenever one solved one of the little problems, one could write a paper about it.

    1978, Describing the state of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. From Directions in Physics (New York: John Wiley, 1978), p. 7., Own words

  2. I want to emphasize the necessity for a sound mathematical basis for any fundamental physical theory. Any philosophical ideas that one may have play only a subordinate role.

    1978, The Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Theory (1978), Own words

  3. My research work was based in pictures. I needed to visualise things and projective geometry was often most useful e.g.

    Aug 5, 1972, "Recollections of an Exciting Era," three lectures given at Varenna, 5 August 1972, quoted in Peter Galison, "The Suppressed Drawing: Paul, Own words

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Awards

Order of Merit1973
J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize1969
Helmholtz Medal1964
Copley Medal1952
Max Planck Medal1952
Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris1946
Royal Society Bakerian Medal1941
Royal Medal1939
Nobel Prize in Physics1933
Fellow of the Royal Society1930

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Paul Dirac

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About this person

Dirac came up through electrical engineering at Bristol, then mathematics, then arrived at Cambridge in 1926 to write the first doctoral thesis on quantum mechanics. Two years later he formulated the Dirac equation, connecting special relativity and quantum mechanics in a way that predicted the existence of antimatter. A 1931 paper sharpened that prediction. He contributed to Fermi-Dirac statistics, which describes particles with half-integer spin, and worked to reconcile general relativity with quantum mechanics. His 1930 monograph, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics, became one of the field's foundational texts. He shared the 1933 Nobel Prize with Schrödinger, held the Lucasian chair at Cambridge from 1932 to 1969, then taught at Florida State until his death in 1984. Hawking later said Dirac had done more than anyone but Einstein to advance physics that century.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1902 to 1984 · aged 82

In common with Paul

Max BornBoth received Max Planck MedalWolfgang PauliBoth received Max Planck MedalSteven WeinbergBoth received J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial PrizeWerner HeisenbergBoth received Max Planck MedalLev LandauBoth received Max Planck MedalAbdus SalamBoth received J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize

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