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Remembering Hans Bethe

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"Hans A. Bethe, who discovered the violent reactions behind sunlight helped devise the atom bomb and eventually cried out against the military excesses of the cold war, died late Sunday. He was 98, among the last of the giants who inaugurated the nuclear age." William J. Broad, New York Times, March 8, 2005.

Remembering Hans Bethe makes available a collection of more than five and one half hours of videos of one of the legendary figures of physics of the past century. He interprets the transcripts of secretly recorded conversations of interned German atomic scientists when they first heard of the use of the atomic bomb. Hans Bethe (pronounced BAY-tah) and Robert Wilson, a co-participant in the Manhattan Project discuss the development of the bomb. In 1993 he and friend, Victor Weisskopf, fondly reminisce about their early years as immigrants to upstate New York. Kurt Gottfried, Physics Department Chair, moderates these discussions. In 1994 Bethe describes the Manhattan Project for Cornell students, after being introduced by Carl Sagan, and entertains their questions.

This '...unpretentious man of uncommon gifts', as the New York Times described him, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 for his work explaining how stars shine. In 1995 his friends and colleagues celebrate his influence and the 60 years he had been at Cornell. He continued as an active and productive researcher and published original scholarship for many additional years beyond his 'official' retirement. A complete list of his publications is included.

At the age of 96 (!!) he discusses with a Physics faculty colleague, David Mermin, the early history of solid state physics.

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    Frank Rhodes, President of the American Philosophical Society, Presents the Benjamin Franklin Medal
    Rhodes, Frank H. T. (Internet-First University Press, 2005)
    Frank Rhodes, President of the American Philosophical Society, Presents the Benjamin Franklin Medal [0:06:10] Three days after his death at the age of 98, Hans Bethe, one of the most honored scientists ever to grace Cornell, received a final tribute -- the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society (APS). "It is a day of sadness, but it is also a day of pride," said Rhodes, the APS president, in making the award.
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    Hans Bethe Discusses the Manhattan Project, with Introduction by Carl Sagan
    Sagan, Carl (2005)
    Hans Bethe Discusses the Manhattan Project, with Introduction by Carl Sagan [1:15:03]. On April 6, 1994 Hans Bethe described the Manhattan Project for Cornell students and, with Carl Sagan serving as moderator, entertained questions.
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    Hans Bethe and David Mermin Discuss the Early History of Solid State Physics
    Bethe, Hans (2005)
    Hans Bethe and David Mermin Discuss the Early History of Solid State Physics [0:31:46]. February 25, 2003. In 2003 Hans Bethe at age 96 (plus 238 days) discussed the early history of solid state physics with David Mermin, a colleague on the Physics Faculty of Cornell University.
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    A Conversation with Emeriti Professors Hans Bethe and Victor Weisskopf
    Gottfried, Kurt (2005)
    A Conversation with Emeriti Professors Hans Bethe and Victor Weisskopf [0:56:33]. In 1993 reflections are shared by two of the most prominent emigres from Europe on how they saw upstate New York when they came to the United States in the mid-thirties, just prior to World War II. Kurt Gottfried moderated.
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    A Conversation with Emeriti Professors Hans Bethe and Robert Wilson
    Bethe, Hans (2005)
    A Conversation with Emeriti Professors Hans Bethe and Robert Wilson [1:03:24]. In 1993 Hans Bethe and Robert Wilson, both of whom were participants in the Manhattan Project, continue discussion of the atomic bomb projects.
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    Remembering Hans Bethe DVD Overview and Table of Contents
    (2005)
    This is the table of Contents to the DVD "Remembering Hans Bethe" published by The Internet-First University Press (c)2005 Cornell University, all rights reserved. To order additional copies of this DVD, or to order Five Lectures by Hans Bethe DVD or Quantum Physics Made Relatively Simple DVD, please e-mail digital@cornell.edu.
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    An Evening with Hans Bethe: The German Atomic Bomb Project
    Gottfried, Kurt; Powers, Thomas (2005)
    An Evening with Hans Bethe: The German Atomic Bomb Project [1:29:56] On November 9, 1992 Hans Bethe interpreted the transcripts made of captured German atomic scientists when they first learned that atomic bombs had been used. Thomas Powers is discussant; Kurt Gottfried is moderator.
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    "I Can Do That!" Hans Bethe's First 60 Years at Cornell
    Hershey, Edward (Department of Physics, Cornell University, 1995)
    This video provides a brief overview of Hans Bethe's life and career, from his childhood and early career in Germany to his 60 years at Cornell. Colleagues Dale Corson, Robert Wilson, John Bachall, Sylvan Schweber, and Edwin Salpeter reflect on Bethe's role in putting Cornell's Physics Department on the international physics scene, his Nobel Prize, his days at Los Alamos and later anti-weapons stance, his involvement in Cornell politics, and his remarkable productivity that continued well into his 80s. A streaming video version of this file, designed for high speed networks, is available at http://streaming1.video.cornell.edu:8080/ramgen/bethe/can_do.rm. Copyright (1995) Department of Physics, Cornell University