The Genius of John Bardeen

Genius is more often than non measured by watchword Quotient (I. Q. ). This should non be the case. It would be better to attri besidese the label mental capacity to some iodin who was fitted to beat the odds and used allthing in his government agency to contri al ch axerophtholione to progress and in making life a oft more blessed experience. The distinction of being a thaumaturge must(prenominal) only be given to those whose body of acidulate has surpassed the test of time. If and so achievements and great works is the trademark of a man of great parole then it would non be difficult to heap accolades and to celebrate the genius of washbasin Bardeen.Not only is he brilliant and possessing a mind that lowlife beat a roomful of supercomputers but he is as well as self-effacing and non one to tell the world of his exploits. In fact it will be telln later that when he learned that he was one of the recipients of 1957 Nobel Prize for physics, he could non believe he deserved to receive such a life changing award. If this was non enough, Bardeen won the Nobel Prize in Physics less than cardinal decades later. His conjecture about superconductivity assured him of a identify among the greatest scientists who ever lived.Without prat Bardeens pioneering work on electronic junction transistors and superconductivity, in that respect would never have been a world wide web, interconnectedness in the blink of an eye and an ultra-efficient and comfort equal lifestyle available for those living in the 21st century. The world today may very well be a different place if Bardeen was not born and allowed to develop into a formidable intellectual force. The following pages will provide a canonic lowstanding of how one man help change the world. Building a CareerA great foundation is the assurance of a solid structure with an fairness that can withstand tremors and other pressures. If this analogy of building structures can be apply to life then it ca n be express that John Bardeen prepared a secure foundation for a great biography that would change the course of history. All great careers especially in applied science must start with great education. Mr. Bardeen went to the University High School in Madison, Wisconsin for a number of years and then went on to graduate from Madison substitution High School in the year 1923.Then he took up a course in galvanic engineering at the University of Wisconsin. In the said university, Bardeen took up the extra challenge of adding in extra work in mathematics and physics. If this is not enough he went to work while hush an undergraduate student in the engineering department of the Western galvanic Company at Chicago. He graduated with a B. S. in electrical engineering in 1928. But he did not leave his honey university just yet and he continued on as a graduate research assistant in electrical engineering, a assign which he focused on for the next two years of his life.In this two years he devoted himself to the study of mathematical problems in applied geophysics and also the phenomenon of radiation in antennas (see Nobelprize. org). After serving under the U. S. Navy in World War II, Bardeen, was hired by chime Laboratories, a high-tech communications and electronics research plant (Haven & deoxyadenosine monophosphate Clark, 1999, p. 22). It is in this environment and in this scientific community where Bardeen was able to showcase his gifts.But Bardeen was not only keen in showing the what he can do he is also very much willing to grant what he knows to others. He served as a Junior Fellow at Harvard University and also worked as assistant professor of physics at the University of Minnesota (Haven & deoxyadenosine monophosphate Clark, 1999, p. 24). Contributions In the beginning of this study the proponent submitted the idea that genius should not be only measured through intelligence quotient alone but also on the ability of the person to create so mething worthwhile in other words to contribute to the forward progress of mankind.This will show that the high IQ person is not simply a mechanism able to crunch complicated sets of numbers but also a complete human being able to touch lives and to work with others. In this category of super achievers one can include John Bardeen not only because he has the machinelike prowess to solve complicated problems but also because he was well regarded by his peers and well respected beyond the community where he first nurtured his genius in Wisconsin. The first study theatrical role of Bardeen was to crack the transistor puzzle.Together with a team of scientists Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley he was able to explain semiconductors and the transistor effect (see Nobelprize. org). Just to show a basal idea of what this discovery has meant to human history here is Bardeens contribution in a nutshell, The transistor has been the backbone of every computing, calculating, communic ating and logic electronics circuit build in the last 50 years (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 21). For his work he shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.His second major contribution was to provide for a very enlightening explanation of superconductivity. In the words of Haven and Clark, Bardeen won his second Nobel Prize for elucidating the theory of superconductivity, which has been called one of the most important achievements in the theoretical physics since the development of quantum theory (1999, p. 21). Thus, in 1972 Bardeen became a double Nobel laureate. He shared the award with Leon N. barrel maker and J. Robert Schrieffer for the theory of superconductivity.From then on others were able to build on this bare-assed understanding and at present allowed many to experience that, Superconductivity at higher(prenominal) temperatures has led to such feats as frictionless, ultrafast trains lifted magnetically above their path (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 21). Conflicts In every m ajor endeavor and in every significant discovery, controversy and conflicts are near inevitable as darkness follows day. More often than not conflicts are coming from the outside as people unable to fully grasp the new scientific discovery would question its relevance to society.In the case of John Bardeen the conflicts he experienced did not come from his external environment but surprisingly it came from inwardly from within himself and from within their own community of scientists. This inner turmoil was explained by Hoddeson and Daitch (2002, p. 2-3) as follows 1. Bardeen was unsure of the straightforward worth of transistors in the larger scheme of things. 2. Bardeen was not agreeable to the fact that William Shockley was considered as the co-inventor of the transistor and share the Nobel Prize in 1956.It is interesting to expound on the second statement for it would strengthen the dissertation that a true man of genius must be able to work harmoniously within a community, within a group of individuals to be considered as a man of great intellectual pinnacle and not merely a flash in the pan talent that would prove useless in real life situations. A deeper font at the issue would reveal that Shockley was not able to contribute a significant theory or solution that led to the discovery of the transistor action. It was purely the work of Bardeen and Brattain.Hoddeson and Daitch reveal that, it was Shockley, rather than Bardeen and Brattain, who received wide erudition for the discovery. hitherto today, popular magazines sometimes credit Shockley alone with the invention (2002, p. 2). Even if Bardeen knew the inside information as to what really happened within the Bell laboratories where the transistor phenomena was fully understood, it was a testament to his great character that he did not make a scandal out of it and at the end allowed Shockley to share the fame and the glory together with Brattain. LegacyAside from having great mind and the cap acity to touch lives, one of the standards upon which true genius must be measured against is legacy. Legacy is what is left(p) when the hype dies down and when the passage of time has truly tested the apprize of a persons work. With regards to the legacy left behind by Bardeen this is what Jim Turley has to say Few things have altered modern life as much as the discovery of semiconductors Modern electronics have completely changed the office we talk with each other It has changed medical research, entertainment, record keeping, travel, and exploration.Theres almost no business, profession, or industry that hasnt changed since the introduction of solid-state electronics in the last 50 years (2003, p. 2). If having a brilliant mind, capacity to work under pressure and to share recognition with a group of every bit talented personnel, and a body of work that has changed history is the measure of true genius then there are only a fewer who can match John Bardeen in this respect. Works Cited Haven, Kendall & Donna Clark. degree Celsius Most Popular Scientists for Young Adults Biographical Sketches and Professional Paths.Englewood, CO Libraries Unlimited, Inc. , 1999. Hoddeson, Lilian & Vicki Daitch. True Genius The Life and Science of John Bardeen. Washington, D. C. Joseph Henry Press, 2002. Nobelprize. org. John Bardeen The Nobel Prize in Physics 1972. Available from <http//nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1972/bardeen-bio. html> Accessed 20 July 2007. Samuelson, Bengt & Michael Sohlman. Nobel Lectures in Physics. New Jersey World Scientific publication Co. , 1998 Turley, Jim. The Essential Guide to Semiconductors. New Jersey Pearson Education, Inc. , 2003.