Lecture description:

Richard Feynman, Winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, gives us an insightful lecture about computer heuristics: How computers work, how they file information, how they handle data, how they use their information in allocated processing in a finite amount of time to solve problems and how they actually compute values of interest to human beings. These topics are essential in the study of what processes reduce the amount of work done in solving a particular problem in computers, giving them speeds of solving problems that can outmatch humans in certain fields but which have not yet reached the complexity of human driven intelligence. The question if human thought is a series of fixed processes that could be, in principle, imitated by a computer is a major theme of this lecture and, in Feynman's trademark style of teaching, gives us clear and yet very powerful answers for this field which has gone on to consume so much of our lives today. No doubt this lecture will be of crucial interest to anyone who has ever wondered about the process of human or machine thinking and if a synthesis between the two can be made without violating logic.

Lecture description:

Richard Feynman gave his famous talk "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" on December 29th 1959 at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as his vision on how physics and engineering could move in the direction that could eventually create nanotechnology. Really good ideas and strokes of genius are often manifest in the right questions being asked: How small can information be encoded? How can information be written? How can information it be read? All of these important "Hows" were asked by Feynman in a time when computers had to be put in large rooms and when the impending space race was forcing engineers to do some serious strategic thinking in making technology small enough to be lifted by rockets into space to function as serious tools in scientific exploration and defence. Feynman himself may not have invented the technology we see in the development and continuity of the computer age, but the fact that even in the early 1960's nanotechnology was being considered as a serious field of study was definitely a factor contributing to the boom in computer technology seen in the late 20th century and continues to reach more spectacular levels of sophistication in the 21st century. In this lecture, Feynman tries to retell his 1959 lecture from a more modern perspective in that many aspects of his vision have been full filled, particularly with the invention of the electron microscope, the atomic force microscope and experimental manipulation of the atomic scale of matter. Also discussed is the current practical field of photolithography for the manufacture of bipolar transistors and junctions used in computer chips done on an industrial scale and how this process continues with ever decreasing wavelength capabilities of lasers from UV to X-rays. Feynman also discusses the boundaries of miniaturisation and how the scale differences affect the function of certain aspects of technology as well as in nature.

Lecture description:

This is the Physicist Richard Feynman recalling his activities at Los Alamos during the World War II. This track is from an accompanying CD to the book "Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character" by Ralph Leighton, published by W. W. Norton.

Lecture description:

Perhaps the greatest physicist of the second half of the twentieth century, Richard Feynman changed the way we think about quantum mechanics, the most perplexing of all physical theories. Here Lawrence M. Krauss, himself a theoretical physicist and best-selling author, offers a unique scientific biography: a rollicking narrative coupled with clear and novel expositions of science at the limits. An immensely colorful persona in and out of the office, Feynman revolutionized our understanding of nature amid a turbulent life. Krauss presents that life—from the death of Feynman’s childhood sweetheart during the Manhattan Project to his reluctant rise as a scientific icon—as seen through the science, providing a new understanding of the legacy of a man who has fascinated millions. An accessible reflection on the issues that drive physics today, Quantum Man captures the story of a man who was willing to break all the rules to tame a theory that broke all the rules.

Lecture description:

Developing a theory that seamlessly combines relativity and quantum mechanics, the most important conceptual breakthroughs in twentieth century physics, has proved to be a difficult and ongoing challenge. This book details how two distinguished physicists and Nobel laureates have explored this theme in two lectures given in Cambridge, England, in 1986 to commemorate the famous British physicist Paul Dirac. Given for nonspecialists and undergraduates, the talks transcribed in Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics focus on the fundamental problems of physics and the present state of our knowledge. Professor Feynman examines the nature of antiparticles, and in particular the relationship between quantum spin and statistics.

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Hey everyone, this month I've more Richard Feynman video lectures and talks. The talks include: Feynman on Computers, Feynman on Nanotechnology, Feynman on Los Alamos, Lawrence Krauss on Richard Feynman's Life in Science, and Feynman's Dirac Memorial Lecture.