Audio
His Master's Voice
A one hour radio play by David Peat. An author lies on his bed thinking about the radio play he is going to write and the various characters that will appear. He also ponders on the nature of sound and reality.
Epiphany for Order
A one hour exploration of the nature of order in physics with David Peat
"Daddy what is an instinct?"
A metalogue with Gregory Bateson and Nancy Norris (written by Gregory Bateson)
A metalogue, according to Bateson, is a dialogue in which form and content complement each other. This metalogue runs for 46 minutes and the file size is 21,000KB. Click Here
Historic interviews with some of the key figures in the development of modern physics.
| Werner Heisenberg | Type | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Werner Heisenberg (1901-1975) was one of the key players in the development of modern quantum theory. Heisenberg studied under Sommerfeld in Munch where he also met Neils Bohr and discussed the failure of existing theories to explain the new experimental results. One night, while on vacation in Helgoland, Heisenberg had the sensation of looking into the heart of nature and in those hours concieved the theory of quantum mechanics. The discusions held between Heisenberg, Bohr, Pauli and others became know as the "Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum theory. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1932. | ||
| Werner Heisenberg on the development of quantum theory |  |
900 kb |
| Werner Heisenberg on language in quantum theory | |
800 kb |
| P.A.M Dirac | ||
| Following Heisenberg's discovery of quantum mechanics, Erwin Schrodinger provided a different approach know as "wave mechanics". Dirac was able to demonstrate that the two theories are equivalent and went on to place quantum theory on a firm mathematical footing. | ||
| P. A. M Dirac on the Large Number hypothesis | |
1.4 Mb |
| David Bohm | ||
| Bohm studied under Oppenheimer and, after moving to Princeton struck up a friendship with Einstein. Bohm never fully accepted the Copenhagen Interpretation and sought to establish a "realistic" or "ontological" interpretations of quantum theory. He also went on to develop notions of the implicate and explicate order and the relationship between mind and matter. Bohm's other scientific work included the theory of plasmas in metals and the Ahranov-Bohm effect. | ||
| David Bohm critiques quantum theory and discusses understanding in science | |
1.6 Mb |
| David Bohm on understanding and on science as a work of art | |
500 Kb |
| David Bohm on the Implicate Order | |
600Kb |
| David Bohm on a deeper approach that would unify quantum theory and relativity | |
3 Mb |
| Leon Rosenfeld | ||
| For many years Leon Rosenfeld was assistant to Neils Bohr and participated first hand in the development of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. In these interviews Rosefled also touches on the differences in the approaches and philosophies of Bohr and of Heisenberg. | ||
| Leon Rosenfeld discusses the early days of quantum theory and the philosophical backgrounds of Bohr and Heisenberg | |
900 Kb |
| Leon Rosenfeld discusses Heisenberg, Bohr and Schrodingers views on observables in quantum theory | |
700 Kb |
| Leon Rosenfeld on the development of the uncertainty principle | |
600Kb |
| Sir Roger Penrose | ||
| Penrose and Hawking worked together to develop a number of important theorems concerning the nature of Black Holes. During the early 1970s Penrose also developed an approach knows as "twistors" from which he hoped to derive space-time, the elementary particles and quantum theory. Later, in books such as The Emperor's New Mind, he became known for his discussions of what he believed to be the inherent limitations of artificial intelligence | ||
| Roger Penrose answers the question "What is beauty in mathematics?" | |
300 Kb |
| Roger Penrose discusses Black Holes | |
1 Mb |
| Abus Salam | ||
| Salam is probably best know for his work on elementary particle symmetries. | ||
| Abus Salam on elementary particle symmetries | |
1 Mb |
| John Wheeler | ||
| John Wheeler is sometimes known as "the father of the Black Hole". Wheeler worked with both Bohr and Einstein and numbered Richard Feynmann amonst his students. | ||
| John Wheeler on "Einstein's vision" | |
700 Kb |
| John Wheeler discusses Einstein's objections to quantum theory | |
600 Kb |
| John Wheeler on the unification of quantum theory and general relativity | |
500 Kb |
| Ilya Prigogine | ||
| Reversibility and irreversibility | |
1.2 Mb |
| The Laws of nature | |
900 Kb |
| Art, Science and Nauture | |
800 Kb |
| Sir John Eccles | ||
| Brain and mind | |
1.7 Mb |
| Robert Rosen and Howard Pattee | ||
| What is life? | |
1.2 Mb |
| Life and feedforward | |
1.9 Mb |
| Construction-Description Systems | |
700 kb |
| Construction-Description systems (2) | |
1.3Mb |
|
G. Uhlenbeck |
||
| The Old Quantum Theory and the discovery of electron spin | |
1.6 Mb |
| Birth of modern quantum theory | |
800 Kb |