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Hugh Everett letter to Boris Podolsky, 12-March-1959

Hugh Everett

Published May 19, 2011• 0 citations
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Abstract

Boris Podolsky was a physicist who, as one of the authors on the original EPR paper, made seminal early contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics. Later, in 1962, he would be one of the principal organizers of a conference at Xavier University at which Hugh Everett's work was discussed. He and Everett met in New York some time in late 1958 or early 1959; this letter from Everett apologizes for not sending a copy of the long thesis, as presumably Everett promised to do at that meeting.

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Transcript of Conference on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Xavier University Cincinnati, 1-October-1962, with Everett's remarks

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In early 1959, Hugh Everett discussed his theory with Xavier University physics professor Boris Podolsky in New York City. Podolsky asked Everett for a copy of his long thesis. In 1962, Everett was invited to explain his interpretation of quantum mechanics to a panel of physicists convened at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio to discuss the quantum measurement problem. The conference was chaired by Podolsky. A transcript of the five day proceeding was made public forty years later (in 2002). It documents an intimate, sometimes angry, sometimes mirthful colloquy between several leading physicists of the day, including Eugene Wigner, Paul Dirac, Yakir Aharonov, Wendell Furry, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen. They explored several possible solutions to the measurement problem, ranging from Bohm's hidden variable theory to non-physical explanations of collapse that had been proposed by Wigner. Everett despised public speaking, but he could not have asked for a smarter, better informed group of physicists to address. It was the first of only two known occasions in which he explained his theory of pure wave mechanics to a public gathering of his peers.

•May 20, 2011•2 citations

Hugh Everett handwritten comments on Alexander Stern letter, circa 1956

Hugh Everett

Alexander Stern was an American physicist and engineer who spent many years during the 1950s and 1960s is residence at Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Soon after he left, Stern held a seminar on Everett's work, during which he recorded some of the reactions of members of the Institute to Everett's ideas. After the seminar, Stern wrote a long letter to Wheeler describing his own (and reporting on his colleagues') dissatisfaction with Everett's theory. In this document, Everett sketches responses to each of Stern's principal arguments.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

Hugh Everett letter to the American Institute of Physics, 1-June-1957

Hugh Everett

In June of 1957, shortly after defending his thesis, Hugh Everett III wrote to the AIP in search of David Bohm, a former professor at Princeton who had made important contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics. He was suspended by Princeton in 1951 because he refused to testify for the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1955, he moved to Israel, where he taught in Haifa; in 1957, he became a research fellow at the University of Bristol in the UK. Bohm appeared on the list of physicists that Wheeler thought should see the thesis before publication, but Wheeler did not know how to reach him.

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Hugh Everett letter to Max Jammer, 19-September-1973

Hugh Everett

In the early 1970s, physicist and philosopher of physics Max Jammer began working on a follow up to his classic 1966 book, The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics. Jammer hoped that the new book, The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: The Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics in Historical Perspective (1974), could contain some additional information on the Hugh Everett interpretation. He wrote to Everett of August of 1973; here, Everett responds in some detail to Jammer's questions about his intellectual development and the origins of his thesis.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

Mailing list for Hugh Everett's preprint thesis, 10-March-1957

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

By March of 1957, Hugh Everett and John Wheeler had already completed the extensive revisions that cut the long thesis down to the final, short version that was ultimately accepted. It was now time to distribute the preprint to various prominent physicists for their feedback before publication. This document is the form letter to accompany the preprints, which Wheeler asked Everett to send in a letter a few days later. Also included here is the list of physicists, with addresses, that Wheeler recommended Everett send the thesis and accompanying article to.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 25-May-1956

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Shortly after he left, Alexander Stern, an American physicist in residence in Copenhagen, held a seminar on Everett's thesis, and then forwarded his and others' ciriticisms in a long letter to Wheeler. Based on Stern's letter and on his own conversations with Bohr, Wheeler determined that Everett needed to make significant revisions to the framing and argumentation of his thesis.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations
Boris Podolsky was a physicist who, as one of the authors on the original EPR paper, made seminal early contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics. Later, in 1962, he would be one of the principal organizers of a conference at Xavier University at which Hugh Everett's work was discussed. He and Everett met in New York some time in late 1958 or early 1959; this letter from Everett apologizes for not sending a copy of the long thesis, as presumably Everett promised to do at that meeting.
In early 1959, Hugh Everett discussed his theory with Xavier University physics professor Boris Podolsky in New York City. Podolsky asked Everett for a copy of his long thesis. In 1962, Everett was invited to explain his interpretation of quantum mechanics to a panel of physicists convened at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio to discuss the quantum measurement problem. The conference was chaired by Podolsky. A transcript of the five day proceeding was made public forty years later (in 2002). It documents an intimate, sometimes angry, sometimes mirthful colloquy between several leading physicists of the day, including Eugene Wigner, Paul Dirac, Yakir Aharonov, Wendell Furry, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen. They explored several possible solutions to the measurement problem, ranging from Bohm's hidden variable theory to non-physical explanations of collapse that had been proposed by Wigner. Everett despised public speaking, but he could not have asked for a smarter, better informed group of physicists to address. It was the first of only two known occasions in which he explained his theory of pure wave mechanics to a public gathering of his peers.
Alexander Stern was an American physicist and engineer who spent many years during the 1950s and 1960s is residence at Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Soon after he left, Stern held a seminar on Everett's work, during which he recorded some of the reactions of members of the Institute to Everett's ideas. After the seminar, Stern wrote a long letter to Wheeler describing his own (and reporting on his colleagues') dissatisfaction with Everett's theory. In this document, Everett sketches responses to each of Stern's principal arguments.
In June of 1957, shortly after defending his thesis, Hugh Everett III wrote to the AIP in search of David Bohm, a former professor at Princeton who had made important contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics. He was suspended by Princeton in 1951 because he refused to testify for the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1955, he moved to Israel, where he taught in Haifa; in 1957, he became a research fellow at the University of Bristol in the UK. Bohm appeared on the list of physicists that Wheeler thought should see the thesis before publication, but Wheeler did not know how to reach him.
In the early 1970s, physicist and philosopher of physics Max Jammer began working on a follow up to his classic 1966 book, The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics. Jammer hoped that the new book, The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: The Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics in Historical Perspective (1974), could contain some additional information on the Hugh Everett interpretation. He wrote to Everett of August of 1973; here, Everett responds in some detail to Jammer's questions about his intellectual development and the origins of his thesis.
By March of 1957, Hugh Everett and John Wheeler had already completed the extensive revisions that cut the long thesis down to the final, short version that was ultimately accepted. It was now time to distribute the preprint to various prominent physicists for their feedback before publication. This document is the form letter to accompany the preprints, which Wheeler asked Everett to send in a letter a few days later. Also included here is the list of physicists, with addresses, that Wheeler recommended Everett send the thesis and accompanying article to.
In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Shortly after he left, Alexander Stern, an American physicist in residence in Copenhagen, held a seminar on Everett's thesis, and then forwarded his and others' ciriticisms in a long letter to Wheeler. Based on Stern's letter and on his own conversations with Bohr, Wheeler determined that Everett needed to make significant revisions to the framing and argumentation of his thesis.