# Talk:Hans Bethe

What, no mention of the famous "alpha beta gamma" paper by Alpher, Bethe and Gamow?  — JIP | Talk 13:44, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Nature disputes the accuracy of this article; see http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051212/multimedia/438900a_m1.html and Wikipedia:External_peer_review#Nature.  We're hoping they will provide a list of the alleged errors soon. —Steven G. Johnson 01:49, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[Alpher, Bethe (in absentia), and Gamow] is the proper citation; it was Gamow's joke, not Bethe's. --Ancheta Wis 02:50, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Actually you could argue that the [2nd spoof paper] is a misnumbering because the [Alpher - Gamow] paper is genuine; it is only the attribution to Bethe that is humorous.  --Ancheta Wis 03:34, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

It is not really accurate to say that Bethe discovered "stellar nucleosyntheis" He showed how nuclear reactions accounted for the energy output from stars.
Robert Wilson was not at Cornell before WWII; he came in 1947 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zanimum (talk • contribs) 18:33, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
Well I got the first one already. As for the latter, I guess the word "later" was not strong enough for their fact-checkers. --Fastfission 18:54, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

I added the nice quote of
Freeman Dyson who called Bethe "the supreme problem solver of the 20th century." Science History 13:56, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

On reading in the Encyclopedia Britannia that projectile penetration was little understood Hans Bethe made a mathematical analysis useful enough to predict and compare to experimental results. 
[[1]]Larry R. Holmgren 20:07, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

"In 1939 Bethe calculated the Sun's energy production, which results from the fusion of four hydrogen atoms (each of mass 1.008) into one helium atom (mass 4.0039). No direct fusion is possible, but Bethe showed that the probabilities of the four steps of the "carbon cycle" can account for the energy output. A carbon isotope of mass 12 reacts successively with three hydrogen nuclei (protons) to form the nitrogen isotope of mass 15; energy is produced through the fusion of a fourth hydrogen nucleus to release a helium nucleus (alpha particle) and the original carbon isotope."
"Bethe became a U.S. citizen in 1941. At the beginning of World War II, Bethe had no U.S. clearance for military work. But, after reading in the Encyclopedia Britannica that the armour-piercing mechanism of grenades was not well understood, he formulated a theory that became the foundation for research on the problem. His work, unpublished except in classified reports, illustrated his faculty for developing highly mathematical theories to the point that their numerical results could be compared with the actual measurements."
"After working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the development of radar, Bethe headed the Theoretical Physics Division of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, N.M. The development of the atomic bomb and the dropping of it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki created a strong feeling of social responsibility in Bethe and other Los Alamos physicists. He was one of the organizers and original contributors to The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Moreover, he lectured and wrote on the nuclear threat in order to increase public awareness of it." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Larry R. Holmgren (talk • contribs) 20:13, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

He was born in Strasbourg, France ; at the time of his birth Strassburg, Germany. No, he was born in Straßburg/Strassburg, Germany!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.221.119.227 (talk) 10:33, 18 July 2009 (UTC) 

I notice that there are a number of external links on this page, e.g. 

Hans Bethe at Nobel lectures
Hans Bethe at World of Science
Please consider adding this link to an in depth video of Hans Bethe telling his life story.  The video is freely available on the Web of Stories website (http://webofstories.com):

Hans Bethe video at Web of Stories
Fitzrovia calling (talk) 08:46, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Would this count as a citation:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/05/3.10.05/Bethe.html  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zerakith (talk • contribs) 12:03, 14 April 2011 (UTC) 

This review is transcluded from Talk:Hans Bethe/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: Jamesx12345 (talk · contribs) 15:27, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
I am happy to undertake to review this article over the coming days. Jamesx1 2345 15:27, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
Don't take my comments too seriously. They're mostly pedantry and personal preferences.

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
It is reasonably well written.
a (prose):  b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): 

It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (reference section):  b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR): 

It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects):  b (focused): 

It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias: 

It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.: 

It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales):  b (appropriate use with suitable captions): 

Overall:
Pass/Fail: 

"a German and American" - I know this was the case with many physicists of that era, but did he ever identify himself as American over German? I would personally omit the American if that is not the case, as it is obvious that he worked there for much of his life.
Y In the quote in the article: "I am much more at home in America than I ever was in Germany. As if I was born in Germany only by mistake, and only came to my true homeland at 28." It appears that in America people identify themselves with an ethnic group. The articles get a fair bit of traffic related to this. No one has claimed that he was French... yet. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"For most of his career..." - this sentence seems a little abrupt and out of place. Perhaps it should be in the third paragraph of the lead?
Y Moved to the first paragraph of the lead. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"He influenced the White House..." - is that the White House, the president, the committee?
Y  Changed to "Kennedy Administration" Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"he was raised a Protestant in the religion of his father." could be abbreviated to "he was raised as a Protestant like his father." - not so precise, but more readable. Maybe.
Y Done. That's the other thing that editors seem to agonise about: the religious beliefs of famous scientists. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
Ref 8 is capitalised "I Just didn't believe" at the end.
Y Well spotted. Corrected. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"excellent mathematicians" - maybe "distinguished" or "first-class"
Y To me, "excellent" is myself and other students who get As on their undergraduate mathematics examinations; "distinguished" is notable professors. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"which presented mathematics without reference to the other sciences." - probably needs a ref.
Y Added. Now that you've reminded me, that was the way that my mathematics professor taught it too, although his article implies otherwise. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"who shredded his lab coat by spilling sulphuric acid on it" - does sulphuric acid "shred"? - I thought it would be "burned" or "destroyed"
Y It comes from Bethe's own words. "My lab coat was always in shreds because I kept spilling sulphuric acid on"
"and a seminar series one evening a week." - I would link this to the next sentence to reduce confusion.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
By moving the picture to the left, it could be made to appear under the Early years header.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"to move into nuclear physics" - needs a source again
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"filling in gaps in the older literature." - space after ref
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"But the Germans wanted $250 to release her furniture." - could be abbreviated to "In need of $250 to release his mother's furniture..." which is rather less clumsy.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"Rose Ewald, the daughter of Paul Ewald," - is that important? It just seems a bit too much detail.
N I don't think so. It establishes a familial relationship with another notable person. And I've noticed a pattern of the daughters of professors marrying professors. Military historians call this prosopography. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
I see he does identify as American here, so keeping the dual nationality makes sense.
Y Yes. See above. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"This work was later useful to researchers investigating ballistic reentry." - needs ref again, I think
Y Removed this sentence. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"a crash project for the hydrogen bomb" - I would avoid idioms - an "accelerated project," maybe.
Y It's not an idiom. It is a technical term used in military project management. Deleted. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
I never knew that. I suppose that's where the idiom comes from, and not the other way around?
"In 1954, Bethe testified .... a major role in the revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance." - this section is uncited, so needs a few refs.
Y The section is cited. All the sections in the article are cited. There is a reference at the end of the paragraph. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
No explanation of relationship between energy and frequency. A bit more elaboration might help some readers.
 E = fh. Where are we talking about here? Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
Not everybody reading this article might be aware of that, but, I suppose, if they don't know that then a large proportion will be equally inaccessible. I'd just leave it, in that case.
This section is quite short on references - it should be close to one per sentence.
N No, the model is one per paragraph. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
"Bethe believed that .... which have densities similar to those of nuclei." - This section isn't especially clear - it doesn't seem so well suited to a biographical article.
 What's not clear? It succinctly summarises his later line of research. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
It's quite mathematical - I don't know if that matters. Ditto above.
Some of the material under Political stances, as well as the paragraph about his wife and children, could be moved to a new Personal life section.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
The external links could well be trimmed. I might get on and do that myself.
Y Feel free. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
There are a few broken links to be fixed
Y Repaired, with the help of the trusty Wayback machine. It was checked before being nominated, but some links broke in the last weeks. I had a sports article back in May 2013 that had been nominated in November 2012 - six months before - and it had broken links everywhere. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:50, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
Overall, very good, but in places short of citations. Since you have access to some sources, that won't take much. You clearly know vastly more about the GA process than me, so I am happy to take any criticisms of my criticisms you may have. Regards. Jamesx12345 20:47, 26 July 2013 (UTC)

"was not a religious person" - could be abbreviated to "was not religious" - equally clear
Y done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"as professor and director" - is a director not normally an elevated kind of professor?
I don't know about elevated. At some places it rotates amongst the professors. I can't vouch that a director is always a professor. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"—his matriculation examinations—" - where something is linked, I think it is normally left unexplained (the meaning can be assumed from the context here anyway)
Y I'd like to think so, but a lot of editors feel it is a huge imposition on the reader to have to click on a link. Removed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"Bethe next chose to" - the "next" could be omitted - it sounds a bit like interrailing
Y It was just intended to let the reader know he was still on his scholarship. Re-worded. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
" The town was..." could be linked with "One of the first laws..."
Y Removed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
" Bethe collaborated with his friend Teller, on a theory" - is the comma needed?
Y Removed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"which is used in microwave waveguides such as those used by radar sets" - change second "used by" to "in"?
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"Stan Frankel and others" - comma after Frankel
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"in Bethe's account he personally hoped" - the "in Bethe's account" can probably be omitted.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"to the famous Teller-Ulam priority dispute" better link for "Teller-Ulam" would be History_of_the_Teller–Ulam_design#Ulam.27s_and_Teller.27s_contributions
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
Again, for Oppenheimer, there is an article Oppenheimer security hearing
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"non-relativistic" you could have a link again here
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"research on supernovae, neutron stars, black holes" - more links - some readers may be interested
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
which would be measuring the gravitational waves from merging neutron stars and black holes." - I would say - "designed to detect" here
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"that the Russian reactor" - I'm not sure how best to describe it, but I don't think "Russian" is correct. (I believe the reactor was of Russian design, but I don't think that is what it implies.)
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"exploring the Alps and the Rockies" - Alps is linked, but Rockies is not.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
"He became a Fellow of the" - Fellow could be linked
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
Should "Publications" be "Selected publications"? I think he published more than that.
Y Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:46, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
That's all I can find for now. I might come back for a third read through, but it looks very good as it is. Regards.

I would say this definitely now meets the criteria. I would personally like more citations, but I can't say that, and since they are mostly to books anyway, it doesn't matter so much. Good luck with the Wikicup - another Manhattan biography of great importance and close to GA status is Richard Feynman, if you're looking for something. Well done. Jamesx12345 09:12, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Seems an anon is insisting that Bethe was born in Straßburg, Austria, rather than Strasbourgh, Germany/France. Perhaps the [ Nobel biography] would convince. Vsmith (talk) 21:14, 13 August 2013 (UTC)http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1967/bethe-bio.html

If it was Alsace-Lorraine the current one is correct, I believe. Jamesx12345 21:37, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

The following passage is in the article on Hilde Levi:
"She became engaged to the physicist Hans Bethe in 1934.[4] The two had known each other since 1925.[6] However, his mother, although herself Jewish, was opposed to her son marrying a Jewish girl, and he broke off the engagement a few days before the wedding was to take place.[4] Bethe's action shocked Franck and Bohr. Although an eminent physicist, Bethe would not be invited to visit the Niels Bohr Institute until after the Second World War.[7]"  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.18.162.98 (talk) 04:20, 18 October 2013 (UTC) 

Would an interview with transcript with Hans Bethe from 1986 be useful here as an external link? Focus of conversation is nuclear weapons policy. http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_4883F5B3D049498CA208AFD5B9545FCC (I have a conflict of interest; otherwise I would add it myself.) Mccallucc (talk) 17:49, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Y Added. I like external links where the reader can actually see and hear the subject. There are a few there already, but one more won't hurt. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:53, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Hans Bethe/CommentsTalk:Hans Bethe/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
Last edited at 13:43, 5 November 2007 (UTC).
Substituted at 17:06, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Y Was given high importance back in 2007. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:24, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

I have read the section of this article titled "Lamb shift" several times and continue to find it confusing. In the sentence "Pre-war quantum electrodynamics (QED) gave absurd, infinite values for this; but the Lamb shift showed that it was both real and finite," it is not clear what the antecedent of either "this" or "it" might be. As a result, when the next paragraph announces that Bethe worked out "the calculation," it is not clear what calculation is being discussed. Can this be clarified? Thanks. blameless 19:34, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

So you checked the cited sources? Bethe's paper is very short and easy to understand, although you may wish to perform the calculation yourself. I have re-worked the two paragraphs to remove pronouns, although I think what they referred to was clear enough, and there is only only calculation. Work through it step by step, following the paper. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 20:36, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

 This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page.
Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 23:03, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

I think it is reasonable to add this to Personal Life -- his wife not only survived him but did so by almost 2 decades and at her death was probably one of the very last people to have met some of the great scientists of not just the early 20th century but even of the mid to late 19th century. 50.230.251.244 (talk) 20:51, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

What is the source for /ˈbɛθə/? I'm only hearing /ˈbeɪtə/ in multiple videos from Cornell, as well as others featuring people who knew Bethe in the US. 68.193.141.193 (talk) 22:46, 19 July 2025 (UTC)corpho