文档介绍：A Century of Ideas
Fundamental Theories of Physics
An International Book Series on The Fundamental Theories of Physics:
Their Clarification, Development and Application
Series Editors:
GIANCARLO GHIRARDI, University of Trieste, Italy
VESSELIN PETKOV, Concordia University, Canada
TONY SUDBERY, University of York, UK
ALWYN VAN DER MERWE, University of Denver, CO, USA
Volume 149
A Century of Ideas
Perspectives from Leading Scientists
of the 20th Century
edited by
. Sidharth
. Birla Science Centre,
Adarsh Nagar, Hyderabad, India
Editor
Dr. . Sidharth
. Birla Science Centre
International Institute for Applicable Mathematics
& Information Science
Adarshnagar
Hyderabad
iiamisbgs1@
ISBN: 978-1-4020-4359-8 e-ISBN: 978-1-4020-4360-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008923553
c 2008 Springer Science+Business Media .
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording
or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception
of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered
and executed on puter system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Printed on acid-free paper.
987654321
Dedicated to the memory of
Mr. Braj Mohan and Mrs. Rukmani Birla
Preface
The . Birla Science Centre, inspired by the memory of Mr. and Mrs. .
Birla, has blossomed into India’s premiere institution for the dissemination of
science. Shortly after its inception, it started a series of lectures, most of them
aimed at a general audience or an audience of non-specialist scientists. Some
of the greatest minds in science have delivered these lectures over the years,
most of them under the . Birla Memorial Lecture series and some under
the Distinguished Lecture series.
In fact twenty Nobel Laureates and a number of other scientists of equal
caliber have delivered