John Archibald Wheeler

, saying he didn't oppose earnest research into the questions, but he thought the "air of legitimacy" of being an AAAS-Affiliate should be reserved until convincing tests of at least a few so-called psi effects could be demonstrated. [DRIVE THE PSEUDOS OUT OF THE WORKSHOP OF SCIENCE by J.A. Wheeler http://seattleskeptics.org/pages/events.htm] His request was turned down, and the Parapsychological Association remained a member of the AAAS.

Wheeler was awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1997.

Wheeler has speculated that the laws of physics may be evolving in a manner analogous to evolution by natural selection in biology. "How does something arise from nothing?", he asks about the existence of space and time ("Princeton Physics News", 2006). He also coined the term "Participatory Anthropic Principle" (PAP), a version of a Strong Anthropic Principle. From a transcript of a radio interview on "The anthropic universe" [ [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2006/1572643.htm Science Show - 18 February 2006 - The anthropic universe] ] :

On April 13, 2008, John Wheeler died of pneumonia at the age of 96 in Hightstown, New Jersey. cite news | first= Dennis | last= Overbye | authorlink=Dennis Overbye | title= John A. Wheeler, Physicist Who Coined the Term ‘Black Hole,’ Is Dead at 96. | date= April 14, 2008 | publisher= | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/science/14wheeler.html | work = New York Times | quote=John A. Wheeler, a visionary physicist and teacher who helped invent the theory of nuclear fission, gave black holes their name and argued about the nature of reality with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, died Sunday morning at his home in Hightstown, N.J. He was 96. | accessdate = 2008-04-15 | ]

Books by Wheeler

*cite book | last = Wheeler | first = John Archibald | title = Geometrodynamics | publisher = Academic Press | year = 1962 | location = New York | doi = 10.1103
*cite book | last = Misner | first = Charles W. | coauthors = Kip S. Thorne, John Archibald Wheeler | title = Gravitation | publisher = W. H. Freeman | location = San Francisco | year = 1973 | month = September | id = ISBN 0-7167-0344-0
*"Some Men and Moments in the History of Nuclear Physics: The Interplay of Colleagues and Motivations" (1979). University of Minnesota Press
*"A Journey Into Gravity and Spacetime" (1990). Scientific American Library. W.H. Freeman & Company 1999 reprint: ISBN 0-7167-6034-7
*"Spacetime Physics: Introduction to Special Relativity" (1992). W. H. Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-2327-1
*"At Home in the Universe" (1994). American Institute of Physics 1995 reprint: ISBN 1-56396-500-3
*"Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics" (1998). New York: W.W. Norton & Co, hardcover: ISBN 0-393-04642-7, paperback: ISBN 0-393-31991-1 — autobiography and memoir.
*"Exploring Black Holes: Introduction to General Relativity" (2000). Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-201-38423-X
*"Law Without Law" — theorizes experiments utilizing photons from distant locations in the universe, imaged using galaxy clusters as lenses, but which are detected using apparatus for quantum entanglement, thereby "influencing history billions of years in the past" [http://www.bigear.org/vol1no4/wheeler.htm] .

Bibliography

* "Update on John Archibald Wheeler," "Princeton Physics News 2" (Winter 2006), Princeton University.

ee also

*Genealogy of theoretical physicists
*List of theoretical physicists
*Holographic principle
*Wheeler's delayed choice experiment

References

* cite book
author = Martin Gardner
title = Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus
publisher = Prometheus Books
year = 1981
id = ISBN 0-87975-144-4

Notes

External links

*
* [http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S20/82/08G77/ Princeton University obituary]
* [http://ysfine.com/people/wheeler.html Wheeler obituary + NY Times article]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/15/db1501.xml Obituary] , "Daily Telegraph", 15 April 2008.
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3745530.ece Obituary] , "The Times", 15 April 2008.
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/16/usa Obituary] , "The Guardian", 16 April 2008.
* [http://www.usd.edu/phys/courses/phys300/gallery/clark/wheeler.html John Wheeler]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s941066.htm Science Show - 13-09-2003 Profile of John Wheeler]
* [http://www.forizslaszlo.com/tudomany_belepo_en.html "Law Without Law"]
* [http://www.bottomlayer.com/bottom/basic_delayed_choice.htm Wheeler's Classic Delayed Choice Experiment]
* [http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Wheeler,+John Annotated bibliography for John Wheeler from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
* [http://www.physics.princeton.edu/www/jh/newsletter.pdf Princeton Physics News Volume 2, Issue 1 Winter 2006, (see p. 5)]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/5908_1.html Oral History interview transcript with John Archibald Wheeler 6 December 1993, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives]
* [http://www.bigear.org/vol1no4/wheeler.htm Cosmic Search Vol. 1 No. 4, FORUM: John A. Wheeler]

Persondata
NAME= Wheeler, John Archibald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Wheeler, John
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American Physicist
DATE OF BIRTH= 9 July 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH= Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= 13 April 2008
PLACE OF DEATH= Hightstown, New Jersey, USA