Readers offer their own magic moments with John Bell

The article “Magic moments with John Bell” by Reinhold Bertlmann (Physics Today, July 2015, page 40 ) was very enjoyable to read. As a research student in nuclear physics, I was fortunate to spend my final year, 1959–60, in the theoretical physics division at the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, where I had my own “magic moments.” Nominally, my supervisor there was Tony Skyrme, the brilliant inventor of a soluble field theory; skyrmions have had many applications in solid-state physics. However, I learned much more from conversations with John Bell.

In particular, during my career in research, I have tried to follow John’s advice to construct the simplest possible model to deal with a problem. During that year at Harwell, many researchers in nuclear physics were trying to formalize an optical model potential that included the antisymmetry of nucleons in its derivation. As a referee of those attempts, John had constructed a simple model to test their validity. I recall that Herman Feshbach was among the several authors for whom John was able to point out where their derivation failed.

In the theoretical physics tearoom, John loved interacting and arguing with his colleagues—arguments he pursued totally without rancor. When someone voiced an opinion, he would sometimes express a contrary view just to enjoy an argument. That once upset a rather staid member of the division when John suggested that her desire for a pay increase was contrary to his view that those, including her, who loved their work should be paid less than those who did not.

John’s presence at divisional seminars could be a serious trial for the visiting speakers, as both he and Skyrme were prone to question the basic equations they presented. I felt sorry for one speaker on numerical weather forecasting who was asked about the derivation and validity of the equations he was using. The ensuing discussion turned into one mainly between John and Tony as to whether the approximations used were justified.

I have always thought that John would have been an excellent teacher in a university and an inspiration to research students. It is good to know, however, that in addition to me, others enjoyed magic moments interacting with him.