Paul Dirac

British theoretical physicist, Nobel laureate.

[ Born: 1902 / Bristol, England. ]

[ Died: 1984 / Florida, USA. ]

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• 1930 - Dirac published "Principles of Quantum Mechanics", which immediately became one of the standard textbooks on the subject. It incorporated the work of Heisenberg and Schrodinger to bring a standard mathematical formalism to the subject.
• 1932- Proposed the Dirac equation as a relativistic equation of motion for the wavefunction of the electron. This allowed Dirac to predict the existence of the positron, the anti-particle of the electron. The equation also contributed to the origin of quantum spin.
• 1933 - Shared Nobel Prize with Schrodinger “for the discovery of new productive forms in atomic theory” and is generally considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
• Gave the modern explanation of charge quantization after the magnetic monopole solutions, (the first topological configuration in physics).
• Dirac’s quantum field analysis of the vibrations of a membrane has proven extremely useful to modern developers of superstring theory.

Trivia - In a recent biography of Dirac, it is suggested that both he and his father were mildly autistic, 'Dirac's traits as a person with autism were crucial to his success as a theoretical physicist: his ability to order information about mathematics and physics in a systematic way, his visual imagination, his self-centredness, his concentration and determination.'

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