Wednesday, April 9, 1986
Nation/World
University Daily Kansan
9
Curious physicist helps shuttle inquiry
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Richard P. Feynman, the physicist whose improptu experiments and exacting observations have illuminated the space shuttle investigation, moves through life powered by puzzle drive.
Whether teaching a class about esoteric physics, dismantling a lock, playing bongo drums, building an atomic bomb or sitting on a presidential commission, Feynman is propelled by puzzles.
"Once I get on a puzzle, I can't get off," says the sometimes elusive, often omnipresent physicist. "I can't just leave it after I've found out so much about it. I have to keep going to find out ultimately what is the matter with it in the end."
Feynman, awarded a Nobel Prize in 1965 for helping to explain some basic interactions of the universe, brings this fascination with the perplexing to his role on the presidential commission investigating the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
It was Feynman, with a simple little experiment, who focused the commission's attention on the effects of cold weather on seals in the shuttle's booster rockets. Failure of these seals and the resulting escape of
'Once I get on a puzzle, I can't get off. I can't just leave it after I've found out so much about it.'
- Richard P. Feynman
Physicist
superhot exhaust gases is now viewed as the likely cause of the accident.
Curious about the rubbery material used to seal the rocket joints, Feyman used pieces of it in an imprompt experiment during a commission hearing.
He put the material in a small "c" clamp and immersed it in a glass of ice water. Removing the material and releasing the pressure, he showed that it lost its resiliency in cold, prompting space agency officials to admit that low temperatures reduced the effectiveness of the crucial safety seals.
"This is so typical of Richard," said Nina Byers, a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a longtime friend. "He loves to solve problems and is very interested in understanding how things
work."
He applied equal tenacity to understanding the space agency's decision process, which he dubbed a kind of Russian roulette last week. He said NASA agonized over problems but decided to fly without fixing them. Then, if nothing goes wrong, space officers lower their standards for the next flight "because we got away with it last time," he said.
"I tried to figure out where the difficulty is in this system that made it go wrong. The problem is communication," Feynman said, explaining why the commission wants an independent safety board to review shuttle flights.
Friends say conducting experiments, taking things apart and doing the unexpected are typical of the 67-year-old physics professor, who has been at the California Institute of Technology for 35 years.
In a recent best-selling book, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feyman" the scientist recounts adventures that set him apart from most Nobel Prize winners.
While in Los Alamos, N.M., working on the World War II atomic bomb project, Feynman became fascinated with the locked file cabinets and safes for secret project papers. Building upon a rudimentary skill in lock-
picking, he became an expert safercracker who amused himself and horrified colleagues by breaking into almost anything with a lock on it.
With few amusements at Los Alamos, he found some abandoned drums and taught himself to play. He learned drum music from around the world and has performed, often anonymously, in concerts and ballets. Friends say he drums on end tables and upturned wastebaskets at parties and other occasions.
During the late 1960s, he was a regular at a topless bar near his Pasadena home. He would go several times a week, with his wife's approval, to see the shows, sketch the semi-nude dancers and work a little physics on the paper placemats. He helped keep his hangout from being closed by testifying in court on its social value.
Often called one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the century, Feynman is known for a probing mind as well as unorthodox behavior. He and two other scientists shared the Nobel Prize for developing the theory of quantum electrodynamics, which deals with the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and charged subatomic particles.
On Campus
*Ted Wilson, director of the center of humanistic studies, will speak about "Mission to Moscow" at the University Forum, 11:40 a.m. today at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave.
The Office of Student Financial Aid will sponsor a budget workshop at 3 p.m. today in 318 Strong Hall.
The German Club will meet to elect new officers at 4 p.m. in 2047 Wescow.
3. 30 p.m. today in the Multipurpose Room of RKU
The KU Kempo Karate Club will meet at
3. 30 p.m. today in the Multipurpose Room of RKU
The KU women's Soccer Club will practice at 5 p.m. today at the field at 23rd and Iowa streets.
Dungeons and Dragons will meet at 6:30 p.m. today in the Trail Room of the Kansas Union.
The Dr. Who Fan Club, KUDWAS, will meet at 7 p.m. today in Parlor C of the Kansas Union.
The KU Men's Glee Club will sponsor a rush party at 8:30 p.m. April 15 in the Skilton Lounge in Murphy Hall. Neil Brown, conductor of the club, said any University men were invited to join and did not have to be music majors. Call Brown at 864-3252 or 749-3137 for more information.
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