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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's major contribution was to [[quantum electrodynamics]]. He introduced the diagrams, now called [[Feynman diagrams]], which are used to describe the behavior of systems of interacting particles. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.  He worked on the problem from 1939 to 1947, confronting two puzzles that were the source of the difficulties with quantum electrodynamical theories. The first was an infinite energy of interaction of the electron with itself. And this difficulty existed even in the classical theory. The other difficulty came from some infinites which had to do with the infinite numbers of degrees of freedom in the field. His solution, while still an undergraduate, was that electrons cannot act on themselves, they can only act on other electrons. That was not quite right, but as a graduate student, with help from his mentor, Princeton Professor John Wheeler, he did figure it out.<ref> see [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-lecture.html "The Development of the Space-Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics"], his Nobel Prize Lecture, 1965</ref>

Feynman's major contribution was to [[quantum electrodynamics]]. He introduced the diagrams, now called [[Feynman diagrams]], which are used to describe the behavior of systems of interacting particles. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.  He worked on the problem from 1939 to 1947, confronting two puzzles that were the source of the difficulties with quantum electrodynamical theories. The first was an infinite energy of interaction of the electron with itself. And this difficulty existed even in the classical theory. The other difficulty came from some infinities which had to do with the infinite numbers of degrees of freedom in the field. His solution, while still an undergraduate, was that electrons cannot act on themselves, they can only act on other electrons. That was not quite right, but as a graduate student, with help from his mentor, Princeton Professor John Wheeler, he did figure it out.<ref> see [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-lecture.html "The Development of the Space-Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics"], his Nobel Prize Lecture, 1965</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]].

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]].

==Manhatten Project==

==Manhattan Project==

Feynman worked on the Manhatten 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.

==Challenger investigation==

==Challenger investigation==