Feynman Diagrams Prank By Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman, a Nobel prize winning physicist, was best known for being a playful thinker. Feynman was a charismatic scientist whose ideas seemed radical at the time, but became mainstream later on. One such idea was Feynman diagrams, introduced in 1948, which is now essential to quantum mechanics.

Prior to Feynman diagrams, physicists generally relied on rigorous mathematical methods to describe particle interactions. Feynman who had an innate ability to make things simpler decided upon the idea of using squiggly lines to represent complex quantum processes. It was unconventional.

That is why, many top physicists of the time did not welcome the initial use of Feynman diagrams. They thought it was a practical joke or an unnecessary addition to the existing syllabus. On the other hand, younger and open minded physicists were amused at the idea.

The Purpose Behind Feynman Diagrams:

1. Understand particle interactions (such as those between electrons and photons),

2. Compute the probabilities of these interactions, and

3. Illustrate the relationships between particles in a way that could be directly tied to physical phenomena.

example of Feynman diagram

The beauty of the diagrams was that they allowed for calculation of probabilities for various particle interactions in a systematic way, and they were tied directly to experimentally measurable quantities.

However, the figures were too cartoonish to be taken seriously at first. In the world of theoretical physics, rigorous mathematical treatments were the gold standard, and Feynman’s diagrams did not fit the bill.

Feynman being a teacher at heart had always this goal of making things simpler and clearer for others. He wasn’t particularly bothered by the initial skepticism, as he was more focused on getting the results right.

By the early 1950s, Feynman diagrams had become mainstream in theoretical physics. By the 1960s, they were integral to many different areas, not just quantum electrodynamics but also in quantum chromodynamics, the study of the strong nuclear force.

Feynman diagram prank

At Caltech, Feynman would sometimes draw completely nonsensical diagrams on blackboards in the middle of discussions. These "diagrams" were visually similar to real Feynman diagrams, with particles and interactions depicted in the standard way, but they had no real physical meaning. It was all non sense.

Feynman would watch his colleagues trying to decipher what he had drawn, as they thought each diagram is a "puzzle" to a new breakthrough. It was a fun way for Feynman to mess with people, as they would overanalyze his absurd drawings, thinking they were part of some complex investigation. Feynman would then reveal that the diagram was just a prank, which caused everyone to laugh and realize they'd been fooled by his playful nature.