Biographical Essay Assignment 10136 최하늘 Richard Feynman Richard Feynman is well-known as a quantum physicist which deals with the most difficult subject of the modern physics. In order to break public’s view of the subject that is difficult, he made a new diagram about the activity of photoelectric particles which could be easily understood. Feynman’s research career was made through his diligence to constantly cope with questions he had toward quantum electrodynamics, spaceship engineering and military warfare engineering. He started his own research by having curiosity about simplifying earlier academic papers written by Bohr, Einstein, and Heisenberg. Feynman’s endless intellectual curiosity was heavily influenced by his father, Melville …show more content…
Sometimes environment those around him refused to answer his questions, but he did not give up asking. He joined the investigation committee of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster though he was seriously ill due to irradiation during Manhattan project, and found out the root cause by having questions about elastic force of the rubber packing band called O-ring. Because of low temperature, the elastic force of O-ring decreased, and it caused the explosion of spaceship. During the public hearing, he did a simple experiment with ice water and a rubber band to simply show O-ring’s problem at the low temperature. In Appendix F – Personal Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle, Feynman points out the base of his question – erosion, “The O-rings of the Solid Rocket Boosters were not designed to erode. Erosion was a clue that something was wrong” (NASA, 1). This simple experiment which started by his mere curiosity affected public’s critics and made NASA answer details of the disaster. James Gleick, the author of Chaos, states in his New York Times article about Feynman’s experiment, “It was a turning point in the investigation - a simple experiment, taking half a minute and no money, that perfectly demonstrated both the vulnerability of the seal and the absolute confidence of the experimenter” (Gleick,