David Mermin

David Mermin
N. David Mermin
Born	30 March 1935 New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Residence	USA
Fields	Physicist
Institutions	Cornell University University of California, San Diego University of Birmingham
Alma mater	Harvard University
Known for	Mermin-Wagner theorem Mermin-Ho relation Lindhard-Mermin dielectric function Coining the term 'boojum' Mermin-Peres magic square
Notable awards	Lilienfeld Prize (1989) National Academy of Sciences (1991) Klopsteg Memorial Award (1994)

In solid-state physics, Nathaniel David Mermin is a physicist at Cornell University best known for the eponymous Mermin-Wagner theorem and his application of the term "Boojum" to superfluidity, and for the quote "Shut up and calculate!"

Together with Neil W. Ashcroft, Mermin has written an esteemed textbook, Solid State Physics^[1], and numerous popularizations of physics and mathematics.

Mermin’s foot

Mermin has contributed to special relativity with two books and several articles. In Its About Time (2005) he suggests that the English foot be slightly modified:

Henceforth, by 1 foot we shall mean the distance light travels in a nanosecond. A foot, if you will, is a light nanosecond (and a nanosecond, even more nicely, can be viewed as a light foot). …If it offends you to redefine the foot … then you may define 0.299792458 meters to be 1 phoot, and think "phoot" (conveniently evocative of the Greek φωτοσ, "light") whenever you read "foot".^[2]

This adaptation of a physical unit is one of several ploys that Mermin uses to draw students into space-time geometry.

Notes

1. ^ Ashcroft, Mermin 1976.
2. ^ Its About Time, page 22

References

• Ashcroft, Neil W.; Mermin, N. David (1976). Solid State Physics. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0-03-083993-9. 
• Mermin, N. David (2005). It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-681-12201-4. 

External links

• Mermin's homepage
• "What's wrong with those talks?" by David Mermin
• Mermin's festschrift in Foundations of Physics
• David Mermin at the Mathematics Genealogy Project.

Persondata
Name	Mermin, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 March 1935
Place of birth	New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Date of death
Place of death