Discover
/
Article

Some recent progress in statistical mechanics

JUL 01, 1960
George E. Uhlenbeck

It is the tradition of our Society that the last official act of the retiring president should be an exposition in general terms of the field of physics in which he is especially interested and in which, supposedly, he has done some original work. Although I have had to do such a task a few times before in my life, I must say that I have always approached it with trepidation. It is so unnatural to talk especially about theoretical problems without formulas and without a blackboard that it is like doing a juggling act with your hands tied! So I hope you will forgive me for many statements without proof. I can only try to discuss with you some of the problems which have occupied me and I hope that I can convince you that perhaps they have some real interest.

This article is only available in PDF format

More about the authors

George E. Uhlenbeck, University of Michigan.

Related content
/
Article
Inside certain quantum systems, where randomness was thought to lurk, researchers—after a 40-year journey—have found order and unique wave patterns that stubbornly survive.
/
Article
A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.
/
Article
Since the discovery was first reported in 1999, researchers have uncovered many aspects of the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
/
Article
Metrologists are using fundamental physics to define units of measure. Now NIST has developed new quantum sensors to measure and realize the pascal.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1960_07.jpeg

Volume 13, Number 7

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.