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'''Richard Feynman''' (1918-1988) was a leading American [[physicist]] and educator based at California Institute of Technology. He played a major role in shaping modern quantum physics, computer design, and nanotechnology.  He attracted a following for his college lectures on physics, which he published, and for his iconoclastic personality. He popularized physics with many short essays and talks, often talking about the pranks he loved to play.  

'''Richard Feynman''' (1918-1988) was a leading American [[physicist]] and educator based at California Institute of Technology. He played a major role in shaping modern [[quantum mechanics|quantum physics]], computer design, and nanotechnology.  He attracted a following for his college lectures on physics, which he published, and for his iconoclastic personality. He popularized physics with many short essays and talks, often talking about the pranks he loved to play.  

He credits his education in reading an encyclopedia when he was young, at the insistence of his father.<ref>Review of ''Classic Feynman:  All the Adventures of a Curious Character, by R.P. Feynman'' by Robert Matthews [http://jnm.snmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/47/8/1391.pdf]</ref> After studying at [[M.I.T.]] and [[Princeton University]], he assisted in the development of the [[atomic bomb]] at [[Los Alamos]].   

He credits his education in reading an encyclopedia when he was young, at the insistence of his father.<ref>Review of ''Classic Feynman:  All the Adventures of a Curious Character, by R.P. Feynman'' by Robert Matthews [http://jnm.snmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/47/8/1391.pdf]</ref> After studying at [[M.I.T.]] and [[Princeton University]], he assisted in the development of the [[atomic bomb]] at [[Los Alamos]].   

Feynman married three times.  His wed his first wife, Arlene Greenbaum, while studying for his PhD.  It was a sadly foreshortened marriage: she had tuberculosis and he devoted himself to her during her illness.

Feynman married three times.  His wed his first wife, Arlene Greenbaum, while studying for his PhD.  It was a sadly foreshortened marriage: she had tuberculosis and he devoted himself to her during her illness.

He married Mary Louise Bell in 1952 and was divorced quickly afterwards. Feyman was divorced at a time when divorce was frowned upon. His wife complained to the divorce judge: "He begins working calculus problems in his head as soon as he awakens. He did calculus while driving, while sitting in the living room and while lying in bed at night."<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/may/15/quantum-man-richard-feynman-review</ref>

He married Mary Louise Bell in 1952 and was divorced quickly afterwards. Feynman was divorced at a time when divorce was frowned upon. His wife complained to the divorce judge: "He begins working calculus problems in his head as soon as he awakens. He did calculus while driving, while sitting in the living room and while lying in bed at night."<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/may/15/quantum-man-richard-feynman-review</ref>

The Guardian reports concerning his second marriage:

The Guardian reports concerning his second marriage:

Feynman was famed for his uncanny ability to cut to the heart of a problem with novel approaches. Feynman liked to tell a story about how when he was a little kid, he asked his father, "Why do things fall?" As an adult, he praised his father for answering, "Nobody knows why things fall. It's a deep mystery, and the smartest people in the world don't know the basic reason for it." Contrast that with the average person's off-the-cuff answer, "Oh, it's because of gravity." Feynman liked his father's answer, because his father realized that simply giving a name to something didn't mean that you understood it.<ref>Lectures in Physics:  The Motion of Falling Objects.  Lectures on Physics is based on the series by Benjamin Crowell, "Light and Matter". (This is a secondary source.) [http://www.vias.org/physics/bk1_05_01.html]</ref>

Feynman was famed for his uncanny ability to cut to the heart of a problem with novel approaches. Feynman liked to tell a story about how when he was a little kid, he asked his father, "Why do things fall?" As an adult, he praised his father for answering, "Nobody knows why things fall. It's a deep mystery, and the smartest people in the world don't know the basic reason for it." Contrast that with the average person's off-the-cuff answer, "Oh, it's because of gravity." Feynman liked his father's answer, because his father realized that simply giving a name to something didn't mean that you understood it.<ref>Lectures in Physics:  The Motion of Falling Objects.  Lectures on Physics is based on the series by Benjamin Crowell, "Light and Matter". (This is a secondary source.) [http://www.vias.org/physics/bk1_05_01.html]</ref>

This approach to problem solving was utterly at odds with the culture at NASA during the 1980s.<ref>"... his independent intellect and direct methods were at odds with the commission’s formal approach." [http://duartes.org/gustavo/blog/post/richard-feynman-challenger-disaster-software-engineering Richard Feynman, the Challenger Disaster, and Software Engineering]</ref>

This approach to problem solving was utterly at odds with the culture at [[NASA]] during the 1980s.<ref>"... his independent intellect and direct methods were at odds with the commission’s formal approach." [http://duartes.org/gustavo/blog/post/richard-feynman-challenger-disaster-software-engineering Richard Feynman, the Challenger Disaster, and Software Engineering]</ref>

NASA had decided that the space shuttle ought to be so reliable that each mission had only a 1 in 100,000 chance of failure. They fudged safety figures for parts such as the infamous O-rings whose failure at unusually low launch temperatures destroyed [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']].

NASA had decided that the space shuttle ought to be so reliable that each mission had only a 1 in 100,000 chance of failure. They fudged safety figures for parts such as the infamous O-rings, whose failure at unusually low launch temperatures destroyed [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']].

==Manhattan Project==

==Manhattan Project==

Feynman worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb, assigned to the nuclear engineering section, designing some of the water shielding that protected the early reactors.

Feynman worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb, assigned to the nuclear engineering section, designing some of the water shielding that protected the early reactors. Concerned more about UV  radiation than brightness, Feynman courageously chose to view the atomic bomb test called "Trinity" by viewing it through a car windshield rather than with the eye protection recommended by others.  

==Challenger investigation==

==Challenger investigation==

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==Books==

==Books==

*''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' - his personal and academic life up to the 1960s

*''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' - his personal and academic life up to the 1960s

* [[Edward Teller]]

* [[Edward Teller]]

* [[Enrico Fermi]]

* [[Enrico Fermi]]

==References==

==References==

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Feynman, Richard}}

[[Category:Nobel Laureates in Physics]]

[[Category:Nobel Laureates in Physics]]