User:Aamri2/Hideki Yukawa

Hideki Yukawa
Hideki Yukawa in Japan (The Asahi Shimbaun, circa April 1951).
Born	(1907-01-23)January 23, 1907 Tokyo, Japan
Died	September 8, 1981(1981-09-08) (aged 74) Kyoto, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Physicist
Notable work	On the Interaction of Elementary Particles. I and II Introduction to Quantum Mechanics Introduction to the Theory of Elementary Particles

Hideki Yukawa (23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was a Japanese physicist. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949.

Notable Works

In 1935, following sleepless nights working out equations, Yukawa published On the Interaction of Elementary Particles. I. The paper contained a new theory based on the existence of the meson, a particle with a mass between that of an electron and that of a proton, acting as the carrier particle of the strong and weak nuclear forces. He continued to refine this theory until 1947, when experimental evidence demonstrated that while the predicted particle exists, it is not the carrier particle of the strong and weak nuclear forces. While meson theory was replaced by quantum chromodynamics, Yukawa continued to work on developing a comprehensive theory of elementary parks based on what he called the "non-local field." He published Introduction to Quantum Mechanics in 1946 and Introduction to the Theory of Elementary Particles in 1948, along with a large number of other scientific works.

History

Yukawa was the third son of Takuji Ogawa, who became a professor of geology at Kyoto University. Raised in Kyoto, Yukawa graduated and then became a lecturer at Kyoto University in 1929. He married a classical dancer, Sumi, in 1932, with whom he went on to have two sons. In 1938, he earned his D.Sc. from Osaka University, and then rejoined Kyoto University as a professor of theoretical physics.

Having been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and Columbia University in New York, he then became the director of the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics in Kyoto. He rejected Columbia University's offer for him to return to New York, saying he wanted to stay in Japan to train newcomers to the field, then having few Japanese specialists. By 1954, he became notable in the fight against nuclear armaments and for peace, denouncing atomic bomb tests saying "This is a a problem of energy versus mankind." He retired in 1970, and then died at his home in Kyoto in 1981.

Lack of Recognition

There are two main reasons I believe he may not be as well known as some other scientific figures. Firstly, he stayed in Japan for most of his life, contributing to the development of the field of theoretical physics and helping to increase Japanese presence. The other main reason is that his contributions to the field, the meson and the strong and weak nuclear forces, are not included in the Ontario curriculum, and his theory of the mechanism of the strong and weak nuclear forces is not the one adopted by modern quantum theory. I do not believe his inclusion in the Ontario curriculum is strictly necessary, as his contributions are beyond the scope of what is covered. It may be worth mentioning him, however, to demonstrate the influence of Japanese scientists on the field of theoretical physics.

References

Britannica, T. Editors of Encylopedia. (2022, January 19). Yukawa Hideki. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yukawa-Hideki

Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. (2022, June 4). Hideki Yukawa – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1949/yukawa/biographical/

Saxon, W. (1981, September 10). Hideki Yukawa, Physicist, Dies At 74. The New York Times, p. 23.

See Also

• Hertha Sponer
• James A. Harris
• Satyendra Nath Bose
• Lise Meitner
• Mohammad Abdus Salam