Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Poem: "Room at the Bottom"

This poem came out of the May 6, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Anthony Barrette. Read more about Richard Feynman.


"Room at the Bottom"


Richard Feynman
pioneered quantum mechanics,
developed the Feynman diagrams, and
introduced the concept of nanotechnology.

He participated in
the invention of the atomic bomb,
including the Bethe-Feynman formula
for calculating the yield of a fission bomb.

He was fascinated by
the nature of tiny things,
the way that a pyramid
is always wider at the base,
observing that there is
plenty of room at the bottom.

He never cared
what other people thought,
and he was often joking
whether or not
anyone else got it.

Despite their mother's disapproval,
Richard encouraged his sister Joan
to study astrophysics,
and eventually she specialized
in studying the Earth's interactions
with the solar wind.

The greatest scientists
are not jealous of their position,
but eager to share it.


Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, history, poem, poetry, reading, science, weblit, writing
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  • 4 comments
technoshaman

technoshaman

May 11 2014, 22:30:52 UTC 7 years ago

Yeahhhh. Hawking. Tyson. Nye. There were a few jealous ones like Kepler, but most of them wanted to share, some even despite the church's best efforts... It was *Edison* who was the greedy bastard that bankrupted Tesla... but Edison, really really, was in the end a manager of engineers, not a scientist. (I think it just desserts that ultimately the pioneering pure electric car of today - even though it's powered by DC - is named for the underdog master of AC. :)
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

May 11 2014, 22:32:21 UTC 7 years ago

People who share wind up making more discoveries than people who hide.
mdlbear

+1

mdlbear

May 12 2014, 01:27:09 UTC 7 years ago

Agree about Tesla and Edison. Also add Westinghouse and Steinmetz.

Feynman is one of my heroes, too. I've read almost everything he's written, and the rest is on my "read me" shelf. His Lectures in Physics (3 volumes) are fascinating, though tough going in spots.
siege

siege

May 12 2014, 23:45:56 UTC 7 years ago Edited:  May 12 2014, 23:46:32 UTC

Tangentially, I think the reason Tesla worked with AC current is because he was all about resonance, and AC is a resonance wave. DC is easier to figure out, but it's not necessarily safer to handle at high power, and it doesn't travel as far because you have to push the whole distance (and deal with resistance the whole length of a cable) instead of just vibrate the medium.