Hans Bethe - Thomas Gold's explanation of pulsars (126/158)
1,637 views · Published 26 June 2017 · 1:48 · Indexed 6 November 2026
Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Science & Technology
To hear more of Hans Bethe’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvgLyzTEmJk&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFyUDSroBQVEcbnNud7I9xom German-born theoretical physicist Hans Bethe (1906-2005) was one of the first scientists to join the Manhattan Project, later strongly advocating nuclear disarmament. In 1967, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. [Listener: Sam Schweber; date recorded: 1996] TRANSCRIPT: It was observed that certain stars gave microwave radiation. [SS] This was 1967 or... Yes, 1967, and this microwave radiation comes out in pulses of remarkable regularity. People thought for a moment that maybe there was... were some intelligent beings which were trying to communicate with us by sending out these pulses. They come maybe 30 times a second or something like that, and with absolute regularity. The prime example was the Crab Nebula, which is the remnants of a supernova and at the center of such remnant there ought to be a neutron star. So when the pulses were explained, the beginning of the explanation was given by Thomas Gold, professor of astronomy here. Namely he said 'Surely these pulses come from a neutron star, and the neutron star rotates, and the neutron star has a magnetic field and this magnetic field produces those pulses.'
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