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Richard Feynman

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Additional Information (as of 30-JUL-2004)

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From:  Paul Whatton, G4DCV (email 28-MAY-2004):

Hi Gerry

I looked up your site tonight after an inter-club quiz which included
some questions about famous hams. I see you have Richard Feynman down as
a possible.

There is some evidence that he used ham radio although I don't know if
he was actually licensed. In James Gleick's autobiography of Richard
Feynman, "Genius" pub. Abacus 1992 the following appears. "He was still
working in Kellog in the winter of 1951, when oracular messages started
coming in by ham radio. A blind operator in Brazil would establish a
link every week or so with a student at Caltech". And later, "He had
heard some news via the ham radio link".

So it looks like this may be where the idea that he was licensed came
from, when it was in fact a Caltech student. Having said that, the early
part of Gleick's book does talk about how Feynman spent hours as a kid
tinkering with radios and how formative that was.

I have several books here by, or about, Feynman and I do have the
feeling that I have seen mention of ham radio, and of Feynman actually
operating, in another one. If I can find the reference I'll of course
let you know.

Regards

Paul G4DCV

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From:  Paul Whatton, G4DCV (email 30-MAY-2004):

Hi Gerry

Glad to help. Attribute finding it to me if you wish, but it's just luck
that I read a lot about Feynman when studying Physics. Got really
interested in him as a character. When I spotted his name on your pages
I knew I had seen something somewhere about the ham radio connection and
hunted around the bookshelves until I found Gleick's book on him. That's
all I have for the moment until I find my other Feynman books. I know
one is with a friend so it may be some time before I can tell you any more.

By the way the line where I said James Gleick's autobiography should of
course have read, Jame's Gleick's BIOGRAPHY of Feynman... That's what
happens when you whizz off emails late at night with a beer in the other
hand!

Here's the correct  format Harvard reference for the quote:

Gleick (1992) says of Feynman, "He was still working in Kellog in the
winter of 1951, when oracular messages started coming in by ham radio. A
blind operator in Brazil would establish a link every week or so with a
student at Caltech" and later, "He had heard some news via the ham radio
link"  (p.282).

Gleick J. (1992)  Genius, Richard Feynman and Modern Physics. London,
Abacus.

Regards

Paul G4DCV

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From:  Paul Whatton, G4DCV (email 26-MAY-2004):

Hi Gerry

Glad to have been of help. I'll do my best soon to actually "pin" a ham
licence on Feynman. By the way Richard Feynman got the Nobel Prize for
Physics in the 60s, but may be best known to the general public as the
guy who discovered the O-Ring problem as the cause of the first Shuttle
accident.

Regards

Paul G4DCV