The Quantum Labyrinth

The story of the unlikely friendship between the two physicists who fundamentally recast the notion of time and history
In 1939, Richard Feynman, a brilliant graduate of MIT, arrived in John Wheeler's Princeton office to report for duty as his teaching assistant. A lifelong friendship and enormously productive collaboration was born, despite sharp differences in personality. The soft-spoken Wheeler, though conservative in appearance, was a raging nonconformist full of wild ideas about the universe. The boisterous Feynman was a cautious physicist who believed only what could be tested. Yet they were complementary spirits. Their collaboration led to a complete rethinking of the nature of time and reality. It enabled Feynman to show how quantum reality is a combination of alternative, contradictory possibilities, and inspired Wheeler to develop his landmark concept of wormholes, portals to the future and past. Together, Feynman and Wheeler made sure that quantum physics would never be the same again.

Povestea prieteniei improbabile dintre cei doi fizicieni care reformeaza in mod fundamental notiunea de timp si istorie In 1939, Richard Feynman, un genial absolvent al MIT, a sosit in biroul lui John Wheeler din Princeton pentru a se prezenta in functia de asistent didactic. S-a nascut o prietenie pe tot parcursul vietii si o colaborare extrem de productiva, in ciuda diferentelor accentuate de personalitate.