RICHARD FEYNMAN'S ANNOTATED COPY, WITH TWO EARLY FEYNMAN AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPTS. UREY, HAROLD CLA...

RICHARD FEYNMAN'S ANNOTATED COPY, WITH TWO EARLY FEYNMAN AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPTS. UREY, HAROLD CLAYTON; and ARTHUR EDWARD RUARK. Atoms, Molecules, and Quanta. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1930. 8vo. Publisher's green cloth, worn, with some inoffensive staining to the cloth, annotated throughout by Feynman. WITH: FEYNMAN, RICHARD P. 1918-1988. Autograph Manuscript, headed 'Time-Energy' with notes and references to specific pages/equations throughout the book, 1 p, MIT, c.1936-7, clean, offsetting to leaves where the sheet was laid-in. WITH: --. Autograph Manuscript with scientific equations, apparently beginning with an integral, on consistency conditions and the uncertainty principle, 1 p, 130 x 218 mm, the upper portion of an A4 sheet, undated, 1941-1948?. Provenance: Richard P. Feynman (presentation inscription from 'Horst,' Christmas, 1936; Feynman's hand-drawn bookplate and block signature below); by descent to Joan Feynman, his sister; purchased by our consignor. FEYNMAN BEGINS TO STUDY QUANTUM PHYSICS – AN IMPORTANT ARTIFACT FROM THE INCEPTION OF FEYNMAN'S SCIENTIFIC CAREER. Having entered M.I.T. in 1935, Feynman quickly realized that his true interest lay in quantum physics. MIT did not yet offer classes in quantum physics at that point in time—so Feynman undertook to teach it to himself. Working with another student (T.A. Welton), Feynman spent an intensive year learning the essentials of the field from a small number of textbooks, including the present: 'With guidance from just a few texts they [Feynman and Welton] embarked on a program of self-study ... They filled a notebook, mailing it back and forth, and in a period of months they recapitulated nearly the full sweep of the 1925–27 revolution' (Gleick, Genius, p 74). Feynman, the great American superstar of 20th-century physics, was famous for relying on his intuition in solving difficult physics problems. He continually sought to invent new concepts and techniques to simplify our epistemological tools for understanding quantum physics. His conception of the path integral as applied to quantum movement, and by extension the Feynman diagram, revolutionized our understanding of space and time in physics, securing him the 1965 Nobel Prize for his work. The Feynman Path Integral has been called 'the most powerful formula in physics,' and we are now witnessing the flowering of Feynman's concept in the increasingly popular 'many worlds' interpretation of quantum physics. The two Feynman scientific manuscripts laid into this book both directly address his work with quantum mechanics. The earlier manuscript headed 'Time-Energy' are Feynman's study notes referencing direct pages and formulas throughout Urey's book. Combined with Feynman's annotations throughout the book, the manuscript represents some of Feynman's earliest efforts in his self-taught exploration of quantum physics. In the second manuscript, Feynman appears to begin with an integral, followed by two quantum equations related to probability amplitudes. Feynman concludes : 'The problem is. given p(x)what Ⅱ(p) are consistent with this (and with the transformation equation). These consistency conditions are a mathematical question, whose answer is a complete, & accurate & general statement of the uncertainty principle.' The manuscript seems to be related to a concise mathematical encapsulation of Feynman's profound insight into the power of the path integral, which he first expressed in 1947, as well as an important extension of the first manuscript exploring space and time in quantum theory. While Feynman famously said, 'I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics,' this annotated volume and the accompanying manuscripts remain as a testament to Feynman's early efforts to explore and understand a universe that would define his life. An exceptional and highly resonant piece of scientific history. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing