Petr Beckmann

Infobox_Scientist
name = Petr Beckmann

---

image_width =
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1924|11|13
birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia
death_date = death date and age|1993|8|3|1924|11|13
death_place = Boulder, Colorado
nationality = Czech
field = Physicist
work_institution = University of Colorado
alma_mater = Czech Academy of Sciences
doctoral_advisor =
known_for = Libertarianism
Advocate of nuclear power
Criticism of relativity theory
Criticism of modern physics

Petr Beckmann (November 13, 1924, Prague, Czechoslovakia - August 3, 1993, Boulder, Colorado) was a statistician and physicist who became a well-known advocate of libertarianism and nuclear power. Later in his life he challenged Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and other accepted theories in modern physics.

Biography

At age 14 in 1939, Beckmann fled his home in Prague, Czechoslovakia to escape the
Nazis, and later served in a Czech squadron of the RAF from 1942 to 1945. He received a B.Sc. in 1949, a Ph.D. in 1955, and a D.Sc. in 1962, all from Prague's Czech Academy of Sciences in electrical engineering. He defected to the United States in 1963 and became a Professor of electrical engineering at the University of Colorado.

Beckmann was a prolific scientific author; he wrote several electrical engineering textbooks and non-technical works. By 1968 he had founded "Golem Press", which published most of his books, including "The Health Hazards of Not Going Nuclear" (1976), which promoted nuclear power during the height of the anti-nuclear movement. Beckmann also wrote "A History of π", documenting the history of the calculation of π. He published his own monthly newsletter, " [http://www.accesstoenergy.com Access to Energy] ", which since September 1993 has been written by Arthur B. Robinson.

In 1981, he took early retirement with Emeritus status, in order to devote himself fully to the defense of science, technology and free enterprise through his monthly newsletter Access to Energy. He founded the Golem Press in 1967, publishing more than 9 books. These included "The History of Pi", "Einstein Plus 2", and "Health Hazards of Not Going Nuclear". He wrote more than 60 scientific papers and 8 technical books. Dr. Beckmann spoke at ISIL's San Francisco Conference in 1990 where he received a standing ovation for his speech in which he attacked "sham environmentalists". [FREEDOM NETWORK NEWS, [http://www.rkba.org/libertarian/isil/fnn/fnn04.txt OBITUARIES - DR. PETR BECKMANN, 1924-1993] , (Fall 1993).]

Beckmann was also a frequent and colorful participant in Usenet debates. In them, he claimed to have debunked Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in his book "Einstein Plus 2" as well as in a disputatious journal, "Galilean Electrodynamics", which he also founded. The "History of π" also expresses his intense and colorful opposition to Catholicism, Naziism, and Communism - all of which had controlled Czechoslovakia at various times.

Books

*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Probability in Communication Engineering | location= New York, NY | publisher=Harcourt, Brace & World | year=1967 | id=OCLC|565718
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Elements of Applied Probability Theory| location= New York, NY | publisher=Harcourt, Brace & World | year=1968
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Depolarization of Electromagnetic Waves | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1968 | id=ISBN 9995711583
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Whispered Anecdotes: Humor from Behind the Iron Curtain | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1969 | id=ISBN 0-911762-04-3
*cite book | author= Petr Beckmann | title = A History of π| location=Boulder, Co | publisher=Golem Press | year= 1971 | id=ISBN 0-911762-12-4
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=The Structure of Language: A New Approach | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1972 | id=ISBN 0-911762-13-2
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Eco-hysterics & the Technophobes | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1973 | id=ISBN 0-911762-15-9
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Orthogonal Polynomials for Engineers and Physicists | publisher=| location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1973 | id=ISBN 0-911762-14-0
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Elementary Queuing Theory and Telephone Traffic | location= New York, NY | publisher=Flatiron Pub | year=1976 | id=ISBN 0-686-98072-7
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=The Health Hazards of Not Going Nuclear | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1977 | id=ISBN 0-911762-17-5
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Hammer and Tickle: Clandestine Laughter in the Soviet Empire | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1980 | id=ISBN 0-911762-20-5
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Einstein Plus Two | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1987 | id=ISBN 0-911762-39-6
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann, A. Spizzichino | title=Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves from Rough Surfaces | location= New York, NY | publisher=Artech House Publishers | year=1987 | id=ISBN 0-89006-238-2
*cite book | author=Petr Beckmann | title=Musical Musings | location= New York, NY | publisher=Golem Press | year=1989 | id=ISBN 0-911762-40-X

External links

* [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/adring/ Galilean Electrodynamics]
* [http://www.stephankinsella.com/texts/beckmann_einstein-dissident-physics-material.pdf Einstein Plus Two Brochures and Other Beckmann Correspondence and Publications]
* [http://www.gravitywarpdrive.com/Rethinking_Relativity.htm Rethinking Relativity] , by Tom Bethell (profile of Beckmann and his theories)

References

Persondata
NAME= Beckmann, Petr
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Physicist
DATE OF BIRTH= November 13, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH= Prague, Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH= August 3, 1993
PLACE OF DEATH= Boulder, Colorado