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The true story that inspired the 2020 film.
The autobiography of mathematician Stanislaw Ulam, one of the great scientific minds of the twentieth century, tells a story rich with amazingly prophetic speculations and peppered with lively anecdotes. As a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1944 on, Ulam helped to precipitate some of the most dramatic changes of the postwar world. He was among the first to use and advocate computers for scientific research, originated ideas for the nuclear propulsion of space vehicles, and made fundamental contributions to many of today's most challenging mathematical projects.
With his wide-ranging interests, Ulam never emphasized the importance of his contributions to the research that resulted in the hydrogen bomb. Now Daniel Hirsch and William Mathews reveal the true story of Ulam's pivotal role in the making of the "Super," in their historical introduction to this behind-the-scenes look at the minds and ideas that ushered in the nuclear age. An epilogue by Françoise Ulam and Jan Mycielski sheds new light on Ulam's character and mathematical originality.
The autobiography of mathematician Stanislaw Ulam, one of the great scientific minds of the twentieth century, tells a story rich with amazingly prophetic speculations and peppered with lively anecdotes. As a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1944 on, Ulam helped to precipitate some of the most dramatic changes of the postwar world. He was among the first to use and advocate computers for scientific research, originated ideas for the nuclear propulsion of space vehicles, and made fundamental contributions to many of today's most challenging mathematical projects.
With his wide-ranging interests, Ulam never emphasized the importance of his contributions to the research that resulted in the hydrogen bomb. Now Daniel Hirsch and William Mathews reveal the true story of Ulam's pivotal role in the making of the "Super," in their historical introduction to this behind-the-scenes look at the minds and ideas that ushered in the nuclear age. An epilogue by Françoise Ulam and Jan Mycielski sheds new light on Ulam's character and mathematical originality.
Price: $24.95
Pages: 384
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
23 July 1991
Trim Size: 8.25 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9780520071544
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
"Who invented the H‐bomb? Fermi? Oppenheimer? Teller? General Groves? No, it was a Polish mathematician named Stanislaw Ulam. To this day we don't know what came into Ulam's head because it's still top secret. The most he says about it in his autobiography is that it was an “iterative scheme” which modified a previous and unworkable plan of Teller's. Well—the “adventures” (even though they take place mostly under his hat) of a man who invented the H‐bomb are surely no less worth reading about than the adventures of the man who ordered the first atom bomb dropped on a city."
S. M. Ulam (1909-1984) was born in Poland and was a key member of the now legendary Polish School of Mathematics. In the United States from 1935 on, he received many academic appointments and honors and authored many articles, essays, and mathematical books, including Analogies between Analogies (California, 1990). Daniel Hirsch is President of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, located in Los Angeles. William G. Mathews is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Françoise Ulam is a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jan Mycielski is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado.
Preface to the 1991 edition by
William G. Mathews and Daniel Hirsch
Preface to the 1983 edition
Acknowledgments
A Note on S. M. Ulam's Mathematics
by Jan Mycielski
Prologue
PART 1: Becoming a Mathematician in Poland
1 . Childhood
2. Student Years
3. Travels Abroad
PART II: A Working Mathematician in America
4. Princeton Days
5. Harvard Years
6. Transition and Crisis
7. The University of Wisconsin
PART III: Life among the Physicists
8. Los Alamos
9. Southern California
10. Back at Los Alamos
11. The "Super"
12. The Death of Two Pioneers
PART IV: The Past Fifteen Years
13. Government Science
14. Professor Again
15. Random Reflections
Postscript to Adventures
by Fran9oise Ulam
Bibliography
Index
William G. Mathews and Daniel Hirsch
Preface to the 1983 edition
Acknowledgments
A Note on S. M. Ulam's Mathematics
by Jan Mycielski
Prologue
PART 1: Becoming a Mathematician in Poland
1 . Childhood
2. Student Years
3. Travels Abroad
PART II: A Working Mathematician in America
4. Princeton Days
5. Harvard Years
6. Transition and Crisis
7. The University of Wisconsin
PART III: Life among the Physicists
8. Los Alamos
9. Southern California
10. Back at Los Alamos
11. The "Super"
12. The Death of Two Pioneers
PART IV: The Past Fifteen Years
13. Government Science
14. Professor Again
15. Random Reflections
Postscript to Adventures
by Fran9oise Ulam
Bibliography
Index