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Feynman Stamp

A new postage stamp features the late physicist Richard Feynman along with some of Feynman's diagrams, drawings that "offered a means for visualizing the unfamiliar entities and their interactions," according to Science News.

Because these cartoonish sketches seemed to depict subatomic particles breaking the established rules of quantum physics, many eminent physicists were initially reluctant to adopt them. In the 1940s, some young theorists who embraced the tool had to meet in secret to learn how to use it to tackle formidable calculations.

After only a few years, however, the approach caught on. "Feynman diagrams ... revolutionized nearly every aspect of theoretical physics," [MIT physicist and historian David I.] Kaiser says.

jon posted this at 7:55 AM
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