Jocular Physics: A Tribute to Bohr in Humor
Paul Halpern
Copenhagen, starting in the 1920s and 1930s and continuing after the Second World War, was not just a center for extraordinary developments in quantum and nuclear physics; it also provided a perfect stage for physicists' abundant humor. We will examine the Journal of Jocular Physics, a humorous tribute to Bohr published on the occasions of his 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays. We will discuss how the articles in the journal reflected attempts by the contributors, such as Leon Rosenfeld, Victor Weisskopf and others, to interpret and explain aspects of Bohr’s philosophy, such as complementarity and the abandonment of pure Laplacian determinism. This talk (its title loosely translated in German to ‘lustige Physik’) is dedicated to the memory of the inspiring physicist and historian of physics Harry Lustig Journal of Jocular Physics • Tribute to Bohr on his 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays (October 7 -1935, 1945, 1955) • Alternative to “Festschrift:” otherwise Bohr would “feel it as his duty to read the contents and even try to learn something.” • Written by those who had research visits or associations with the Institute of Theoretical Physics (now Niels Bohr Institute) • Reprinted by Niels Bohr Archive during Bohr’s centenary in 1985 along with the much more widelyknown Copenhagen Faust • Shares much with CF in terms of rich veins of cynical humor Gamow’s description of humorous plays that proceeded and inspired the journal: “It became customary at the end of each spring conference at Blegdamsvej 15 (the street address of Bohr's Institute of Theoretical Physics) to produce a stunt pertaining to recent developments in physics. (Gamow, Thirty Years that Shook Physics, p. 167). Cover of the reprint version of the Journal of Jocular Physics Cover of Journal of Jocular Physics, Volume I, October 7, 1935 (Caricature of Bohr kneeling on the Earth, right hand on forehead, & pondering deep thoughts, like Rodin’s “The Thinker”) First piece: “Niels Bohr on His Fiftieth Birthday” by Kanetaka Ariyama. Sentimental ode to Bohr’s excellent teaching. Discusses progress in physics, including particles known and speculated about at the time: neutron, neutrino, positron. Written in Japanese translated into German Role of neutrino plays a central, humorous role throughout series • Prominent role in Copenhagen Faust • Association with Pauli, a much-satirized (and admired) physicist • “La Plainte du Neutrino” (The neutrino’s complaint) a parody of “Un secret” by Felix Arvers that compares the neutrino’s elusiveness to a secret unrequited love. Languages used in the first volume
Bulletin of the American Physical Society•May 1, 2011•0 citations