Quantum
Dimensions: 18” H X 24” W X 1.5” D. Landscape orientation.
Acrylic paint, open-sourced printed materials overlaid with high gloss varnish.
Original Artwork $750 + shipping.
Contact artist for purchase.
Richard P. Feynman
This collage highlights the work of Richard Phillips Feynman, who was born in Queens, New York, on May 11, 1918. On the top-right quadrant are examples of "Feynman Diagrams," which are graphic representations of complex mathematical expressions needed to describe interacting subatomic particles such as electrons and positrons (positive electrons). He was famous for these diagrams because they revolutionize how physicists could predict particle interactions. The red quadrant shows a depiction of two protons colliding on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. These interactions could be predicted and therefore recognized because of Feynman diagrams. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, which is the study of the interactions of charged particles (matter) with the electromagnetic field (light). The Nobel Prize and significant year are shown, along with the van he had detailed with his diagrams and his relevant license plate on the collage. I chose the picture of him in a classroom with arms wide open to convey his rebellious nature, the genuine affection he had toward his students, and the gift he possessed of simplifying complex material when teaching. Feynman had always been precocious. By fifteen, he taught himself trigonometry, advanced algebra, infinite series, analytic geometry, and differential and integral calculus. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his undergraduate degree in Physics and completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1942. Truly gifted in mathematics and physics, he corrected and updated quantum electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, conceived of quantum computing, worked on the Manhattan Project, and determined the cause of the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. Incredibly charismatic, he became infamous for playing the bongo drums, picking locks, and mischievous behavior. He died on February 15, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. To find out more about the elements used in this collage, please see an explanation below.
Elements of Art
Picture of Richard Feynman
QED
Quantum Electrodynamics
Richard Feynman’s signature
An artistic illustration of two protons colliding in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
Feynman Diagrams
What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Nobel Prize
1965
Richard Feynman’s van
Qantum License Plate (No U)
Explanation of Elements
Picture of Richard Feynman teaching in a classroom
QED stands for Quantum Electrodynamics
Quantum Electrodynamics: Essentially, QED describes how light (electromagnetic waves made up of photons) and matter (electrically charged particles such as electrons and protons) interact.
Richard Feynman's signature from Wikipedia
An artistic illustration of two protons colliding in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Following the collision of two protons, a Higgs boson is produced, which decays into two jets of hadrons and two electrons. The yellow lines represent the possible paths of particles produced by the proton-proton collision in the detector, while the energy these particles deposit is shown in blue.
Feynman Diagram: In this diagram, an electron and a positron annihilate, producing a photon. The blue sine wave represents the photon. The photon transforms into a quark-antiquark pair. The antiquark then radiates a gluon. The green helix represents the gluon. These reactions occur as time passes from left to right (t). The smaller graphic shows additional examples of Feynman diagrams.
"What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character is an autobiographical work that includes humorous stories, lectures, and speeches from his life. It is considered a sequel to "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman." One chapter discusses experiments he conducted while investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. He discovered that a failed O-ring in the shuttle's rocket boosters caused it to explode.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1965 was awarded jointly to Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, and Richard P. Feynman "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles."
1965 was the year Feynman won the Nobel Prize for his work in QED.
Richard Feynman's van: Feynman and his wife, Gweneth Howarth, bought a Dodge Tradesman Maxivan in 1975 and had Feynman diagrams painted on the sides. They took the van to Canada, Mexico, and all over the US. This van was routinely seen on the CalTech campus. Ralph Leighton bought the van and put it into storage after Feynman died in 1988. Seamus Blackley, known as the father of the Xbox, purchased the van in 2012. He and a group of Feynman enthusiasts paid to have the van restored.
Qantum was the license plate on the Feynman's Dodge van. Only six letters were allowed. Therefore, quantum was spelled without a U.
References:
“The Official Website of the Nobel Prize.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/.
“Oxford Languages and Google - English.” Oxford Languages, languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/.
“Richard Feynman.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman.