George Gamow

George Gamow (pronounced "GAM-off") (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968) , born Georgiy Antonovich Gamow (??????? ????????? ?????) was a Ukrainian born physicist and cosmologist. He worked on subjects including the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, nucleocosmogenesis, and genetic code.

Books

• Mr. Tompkins in Paperback, 1965, Cambridge University Press, 1993 Canto edition with foreward by Roger Penrose, ISBN 0-521-44771-2. Originally published in two books as Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland in 1940 and Mr. Tompkins Explores the Atom in 1945, following serial publication in Discovery magazine (UK) in 1938. Creatively illustrated by the author, and complete with a scored musical composition ("The Cosmic Opera"), the book explains the principles of relativity and quantum theory in a fashion that is entertaining to young people and adults.
• Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory, 1966, Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-24895-X. Illustrated by the author and with period photographs, Gamow describes an insider's view of the development of quantum theory. Having worked with Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford, he not only can expound the theory, he supplies candid photos of Edward Teller on skis, Bohr on a motorcycle, Werner Heisenberg having a swim, and Enrico Fermi playing tennis. The finale is a dramatic playscript (also illustrated) of the history of atomic physics with the scientists cast in roles after the model of Goethe's Faust.