Hans Bethe Case

In 1967 Hans Bethe was granted the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on the nuclear reactions that take place in stars. At his speech in Stockholm, he said "You have given me the Prize I believe for a lifetime of quiet work in physics rather than for any spectacular single contribution." [1] Hans Bethe was certainly a prolific scientist but his most significant works were a product of his time period and those around him. Bethe ended his banquet speech lamenting, "I believe I express the hope of all of us that a Peace Prize can be given next year." [1] The times in which Hans Bethe prospered as a scientist were turbulent ones, and the focus of a significant part of his later life was on nuclear weapons. Earlier on though Bethe discovered the way in which the sun illuminates, the discovery for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. In a video that Cornell University published, Bethe's friends joke that the Nobel Prize judges knew they had to award Bethe for something. It was just a matter of what. [4]

Hans Bethe was born in Strasbourg. The Rhine River, which divides German and France flows through Strasbourg. When Bethe was born, the city was German. Now it is French. The turbulence then of Strasbourg bears much resemblance to the environment into which Hans grew up. Yet despite, or perhaps as a result of this turbulence, Hans was also exposed to a variety of brilliant scientists and teachers, all of whom had an influence on what he would ultimately accomplish. Two particularly influential individuals were Arnold Sommerfeld and Enrico Fermi.

While at University of Munich in 1926, Hans Bethe began working with Arnold Sommerfeld, a well known professor of theoretical physics. Sommerfeld, as Hans Bethe later described, was a brilliant mathematician who strived for rigorous solutions in his work. Hans Bethe had flirted with the idea of becoming a mathematician himself, and math fascinated him (Bethe said that he found math alone "too dry" and therefore opted for theoretical physics, a much more applied field when compared to pure mathematics). [3] Hans developed a close relationship with Sommerfeld, a relationship that would later prove crucial when the Nazis took over Germany. Sommerfeld's theoretical physics courses were also instrumental in exposing Bethe to a variety of scientific research and cutting-edge developments. A part of Sommerfeld also rubbed of on Bethe - a dedication to crafting rigorous solutions to problems.

One of the students also enrolled in Sommerfeld's classes was Albrecht Unsöld. Unsöld did research on astrophysics. Many physicists at the time assumed that the sun and stars contained roughly similar elements to earth but Unsöld disproved this belief, showing that the sun and other stars mostly consist of hydrogen. Respected physicists at the time, independently reached the same conclusion, confirming Unsöld's work. This discovery would prove valuable to work Bethe later did.

Another influential scientist in Bethe's life was Enrico Fermi. It was because of a Rockefeller fellowship, set up by Sommerfeld, that Bethe had the opportunity to visit Enrico Fermi in Rome. Sommerfeld had once again proven instrumental in Bethe's career. Fermi's approach to physics was quite different from Sommerfeld's. When given a problem, Bethe described how Fermi would sit for fifteen minutes and just ponder the question. [3] He would think of basic principals relevant to the problem, and then come up with a general outline which you could ultimately use to find a solution. For Fermi, the mathematics came later, well after conceptualization. Bethe liked this approach too, and described it as a very efficient way to come to approach a problem. Perhaps this model for answering questions was the reason Hans Bethe was able to accomplish so much. Fermi also stressed simplicity and elegance in his approach and solutions, qualities Bethe appreciated.

When Hans returned to Germany he continued his studies and was soon granted a position as acting professor at the University of Tübingen. After a short while, the Nazis took control of Germany. Being half Jewish (on his mother's side), Bethe became a bit startled when students started entering his classroom wearing swastika symbols. Bethe was soon dismissed from his position. He returned to Arnold Sommerfeld and was planning some lectures, when he was advised not to do that either. It was clear to Bethe that he was no longer welcome in Germany but Bethe had other places to go. On a previous visit to England, Hans had met many scientists and interesting people. In fact he said it was much easier to make friends in England than in Germany, despite the fact that his English was not perfect. It was lucky for Bethe then that Sommerfeld was able to secure work for Bethe in Manchester.

But Bethe's stay in England was short too. After only a year and a half Hans was delighted to receive an offer from Cornell, where he subsequently taught and worked for the most of his life. Hans in fact, would later die, at age 98, in Ithaca. Cornell was where Hans would make his Nobel Prize winning discovery.

Bethe was a skilled synthesizer. He would read the latest research, theorize, and then publish new interpretations that combined the information from various sources. In this way, though Bethe was a theoretical physicist, his work was based on experimental research combined with his Bethe's powerful insight. Bethe published a series of articles on nuclear physics, which collectively became known as "Bethe's Bible". This referred to the fact that these articles summarized most of the work on nuclear physics up until that time, including some of Bethe's own work. Bethe was becoming well known in his field, and at the same time increasing the prestige of the Cornell Physics Department. In fact when Hans had arrived at Cornell, the university was not known for physics, but by the time World War II started Cornell's physics department had become well known internationally. [4]

In 1935 (and again in 1937) Hans attended a conference in Washington where there were discussions on how energy was generated in stars. In fact Hans had not planned on attending these conferences, but luckily he listened to Edward Teller who urged him to attend. It was a complicated subject, but the conferences inspired Bethe to investigate.