To listen to more of John Wheeler’s stories, go to the playlist: [ Ссылка ]
American physicist, John Wheeler (1911-2008), made seminal contributions to the theories of quantum gravity and nuclear fission, but is best known for coining the term 'black holes'. A keen teacher and mentor, he was also a key figure in the Manhattan Project. [Listener: Ken Ford]
TRANSCRIPT: But John von Neumann had a marvelous interest in history. He had read the Cambridge Medieval History, [the] Cambridge Ancient History, and he had a phenomenal memory, so he could recite whole paragraphs from the Cambridge Ancient History and tell me about the Council of Nicea, for instance. But to become a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, I'm sure he was very useful, but it was so far removed from making use of this marvelous scientific imagination of his that I keep wondering if we made the best use of him.
