Abraham (Bram) Pais

Abraham (Bram) Pais
Born	May 19, 1918 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	July 28, 2000 Copenhagen, Denmark
Residence	Denmark
Nationality	American
Field	Physicist
Institutions	Rockefeller University, USA
Alma mater	University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Academic advisor	Léon Rosenfeld
Known for	G-parity, treatment of SU(6) symmetry breaking

Abraham (Bram) Pais (May 19, 1918, Amsterdam, The Netherlands — July 28, 2000, Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Dutch-born American physicist and science historian. Pais earned his Ph.D. from University of Utrecht just prior to a Nazi ban on Jewish participation in Dutch universities during World War II. When the Nazis began the forced relocation of Dutch Jews, he went into hiding, but was later arrested and saved only by the end of the war. He then served as an assistant to Niels Bohr in Denmark and was later a colleague of Albert Einstein at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. Pais wrote books documenting the lives of these two great physicists and the contributions they and others made to modern physics. He was a physics professor at Rockefeller University until his retirement. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 402 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (441 × 657 pixel, file size: 33 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Levensberichten en herdenkingen 2002 Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam ISBN 90-6984-343-9 I, the creator of this work, hereby release... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province North Holland Government  - Mayor Job Cohen (PvdA)  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Articles with similar titles include physician, a person who practices medicine. ... Founders Hall Rockefeller University is a private university focusing primarily on graduate and postgraduate education research in the biomedical fields, located between 63rd and 68th Streets along York Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan island in New York City, New York. ... Utrecht University (Universiteit Utrecht in Dutch) is a university in Utrecht, The Netherlands. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Belgian physicist. ... G parity in theoretical physics is a multiplicative quantum number that results from the generalization of C parity to multiplets of particles. ... In mathematics, the special unitary group of degree n, denoted SU(n), is the group of n×n unitary matrices with unit determinant. ... Promotional picture Symmetry Breaking is a rock band from Northern New Jersey, in the United States. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province North Holland Government  - Mayor Job Cohen (PvdA)  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ... Articles with similar titles include physician, a person who practices medicine. ... The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history which examines how humanitys understanding of science and technology has changed over the millennia. ... Utrecht University (Universiteit Utrecht in Dutch) is a university in Utrecht, The Netherlands. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Languages Historical Jewish languages Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, others Liturgical languages: Hebrew and Aramaic Predominant spoken languages: The vernacular language of the home nation in the Diaspora, significantly including English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian Religions Judaism Related ethnic groups Arabs and other Semitic groups For the Jewish religion, see Judaism. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Niels (Henrik David) Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1922. ... “Einstein” redirects here. ... Fuld Hall The Institute for Advanced Study is a private institution in Princeton Township, New Jersey, U.S.A. (although it is not part of Princeton University), designed to foster pure cutting-edge research by scientists in a variety of fields without the complications of teaching or funding, or the... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Founders Hall Rockefeller University is a private university focusing primarily on graduate and postgraduate education research in the biomedical fields, located between 63rd and 68th Streets along York Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan island in New York City, New York. ...

Early life

Pais was born in Amsterdam, the first child of middle-class Dutch Jewish parents. His father, Isaiah "Jacques" Pais, was the descendant of Sephardic Jews who migrated from the Iberian Peninsula (probably Portugal) to the Low Countries around the beginning of the 17th century. His mother, Kaatje "Cato" van Kleeff, was the daughter of an Ashkenazi diamond cutter. His parents met while studying to become elementary-school teachers. They both taught school until his mother quit when they married on December 2, 1916. His only sibling, Annie, was born on November 1, 1920. During Pais's childhood his father was an elementary schoolmaster, headmaster, and later the headmaster of the Sephardic Hebrew school. Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province North Holland Government  - Mayor Job Cohen (PvdA)  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... From the end of the 16th century until World War II, The Netherlands played a pivotal role in world Jewry. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, AÅ¡kanazi,AÅ¡kanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAÅ¡kănāzî, ʾAÅ¡kănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Pais was a bright student and a voracious reader during his early education and said he had a happy childhood and felt integrated in Dutch society. At age twelve he passed examinations to enter a higher burgher school and attended a school in Amsterdam with a five-year curriculum of basic subjects. He passed his final examinations as number one in his class. He graduated with a working knowledge of English, French, and German.

Higher education

In the fall of 1935 Pais began his studies at the University of Amsterdam without a clear idea regarding his desired career. With an interest in the exact sciences, he gradually gravitated to chemistry and physics as major subjects, and mathematics and astronomy as minor subjects. In the winter of 1936/1937 his career goals were defined by two guest lectures by George Uhlenbeck, professor of theoretical physics at University of Utrecht. Pais was fascinated by Uhlenbeck's discussion of Enrico Fermi's incorpration of the neutrino into the theory of beta radiation. From Athenaeum Illustre to University In January 1632 two internationally acclaimed scientists, Caspar Barlaeus and Gerardus Vossius, held their inaugural speech in the Athenaeum Illustre - the illustrious school - which had its seat in the 14th-century Agnietenkapel. ... George Eugene Uhlenbeck (1900 - 1988) was a U.S. (Indonesian-born) physicist. ... Utrecht University (Universiteit Utrecht in Dutch) is a university in Utrecht, The Netherlands. ... Enrico Fermi (September 29, 1901 – November 28, 1954) was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, particle physics and statistical mechanics. ... Neutrinos are elementary particles denoted by the symbol ν. Travelling close to the speed of light, lacking electric charge and able to pass through ordinary matter almost undisturbed, they are extremely difficult to detect. ... Beta particles are high-energy electrons emitted by certain types of radioactive nuclei such as potassium-40. ...

On February 16, 1938, Pais was awarded two Bachelor of Science degrees in physics and mathematics, with minors in chemistry and astronomy. He began attending graduate courses in Amsterdam, including those in physics. He soon became disappointed by the only professor there in theoretical physics, Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Jr. (the son of the 1910 Nobel laureate Johannes Diderik van der Waals), whom he found dull and averse to the new developments in physics. Pais soon wrote to Uhlenbeck at Utrecht and was granted an interview. During the remainder of the spring term he discontinued attending classes in Amsterdam and made several trips to visit Uhlenbeck in his laboratory. February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... van der Waals Johannes Diderik van der Waals (November 23, 1837 – March 8, 1923) was a Dutch scientist famous for his work on the equation of state for gases and liquids, for which he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1910. ...

In the fall of 1938 Pais enrolled for graduate classes at University of Utrecht. Uhlenbeck, however, spent that term as a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York City. He left Pais with the use of his laboratory and a list of topics to study and work on. Pais was soon exposed to other prominent Dutch physicists and areas of research in experimental physics. He became well-acquainted with Hendrik Casimir, a physics professor at Leiden University who lectured at Utrecht twice a week on quantum physics. When Uhlenbeck returned from America, he brought news of a meeting he had attended in Washington, D.C., in which Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi had first made public their news about nuclear fission. Uhlenbeck also announced that he would be leaving in the summer of 1939 for a professorship at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Utrecht University (Universiteit Utrecht in Dutch) is a university in Utrecht, The Netherlands. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir (July 15, 1909 – May 4, 2000) was a Dutch physicist. ... Leiden University, located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands[1]. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, the Europaeum and the League of European Research Universities. ... Fig. ... Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: , Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - District Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack... Niels (Henrik David) Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1922. ... Enrico Fermi (September 29, 1901 – November 28, 1954) was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, particle physics and statistical mechanics. ... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant An induced nuclear fission event. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM, U of M or U-M) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan, and one of the foremost universities in the United States. ...

In the fall of 1939 Pais dedicated himself to preparing for his master's degree. Utrecht experimental physicist Leonard Salomon Ornstein provided him guidance in his independent physics studies. Uhlenbeck, in anticipation of his departure, introduced Pais to physicist Hendrik Anthony Kramers at Leiden University, who became his mentor and friend. He was also influenced then by discussions with Léon Rosenfeld of the University of Liège, who was invited to Utrecht to give a colloquim in an effort to find a successor for Uhlenbeck and reported of the work he was then doing with Christian Møller on the meson theory of nuclear forces. Leonard Salomon Ornstein. ... Hendrik Anthony Kramers (Rotterdam, February 2, 1894 – Oegstgeest, April 24, 1952) was a Dutch physicist. ... Belgian physicist. ... The University of Liège (ULg), in Liège in Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. ...

Pais successfully passed the exmination for his master's degree on April 22, 1940. On May 7 the Dutch minister of education appointed Rosenfeld to succeed Uhlenbeck at the University of Utrecht. On May 8 Pais wrote to Rosenfeld at Liège to ask if he might continue his studies under him if his appointment came through, and again on May 9 to congratulate him on his appointment. On May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, disrupting the mail between Utrecht and Liège for months. is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

After mail service was restored, Pais again wrote to Rosenfeld in Liège. In the meantime Pais had been appointed as Rosenfeld's assistant — Kees van Lier, who had been Uhlenbeck's assistant and was to continue as such under Rosenfeld, had committed suicide following the German invasion. Rosenfeld approved of his appointment and arrived at Utrecht in September 1940 and Pais began working on his doctoral dissertation.

Rosenfeld proposed that for his thesis Pais should formulate Rosenfeld's and Møller's meson theory in terms of the five-dimensional space known as projective relativity theory, and then to use this theory to calculate the probability for the disintegration of deuterons when irradiated by energetic photons. Pais set to work studying projective relativity, meson theories, and nuclear physics related to the deuteron.

In November 1940 the German authorities issued a decree banning Jews from all civil service positions, including academic posts. Pais therefore lost his assistant professorship, though Rosenfeld secretly arranged for his successor to unofficially share the responsibilities and salary of the position with Pais. Professor Leonard Ornstein, however, lost his directorship of and access to the laboratory and died a broken man on May 20, 1941. A subsequent German decree ordered that doctorate degrees could not be issued to Jews after June 14, 1941. Pais worked feverishly to complete his dissertation and meet other requirements for his doctorate. He obtained his doctoral degree in theoretical physics on June 9, just five days before the deadline. His was the last Ph.D. issued to a Dutch Jew until after the war. June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics, as opposed to experimental processes, in an attempt to understand nature. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...

German occupation

During his student years Pais had been involved in the Zionist movement, through which he became acquainted with Trusha (Tirtsah) van Amerongen and Tina (Tineke) Strobos, and developed a close friendship with these two women and their families. Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is...

The Germans began to gradually restrict the activities of the Dutch Jews and in early 1942 required them to wear yellow stars. At first Pais felt safe because his former university status exempted him from being sent to a labor camp. In early 1943, however, the German authorities issued orders for the university Jews to report to Barneveld for their own safety, where they would be housed in a chateau. Pais did not trust that and instead went into hiding. Those who reported to Barneveld were later sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp where most of them did not survive. Barneveld is a town and municipality in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. ... Location of the concentration camp in the Czech Republic Gate Work Brings Freedom in the Small Fortress Concentration camp Theresienstadt (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city Terezín (German...

His friend Tina Strobos was not Jewish and thus was free of restrictions and threat of incarceration. She arranged hiding places for Pais and other Jews in Amsterdam. The Germans began forcing the Dutch Jews into a ghetto in the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam, his sister Annie and her husband Hermann complied. Tina found them a place to hide, but despite Pais's urgent pleas for them to take advantage of it, they didn't think it necessary. Annie was later killed at the Sobibór extermination camp. Tina had found refuge for Pais's parents on a farm outside Amsterdam where they survived the war. She also acted as a courier between Pais and his parents during the war, though neither knew of the other's specific location. Sobibór was a Nazi German extermination camp that was part of Operation Reinhard, the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor. ...

His last hiding place was in an apartment with his university friend Lion Nordheim, his wife Jeanne, and her sister Trusha van Amerongen. In the course of his hiding he kept in touch with the scientific community through visits at his hiding place by Hendrik Kramers and Lambertus Broer. Jeanne and Trusha had blond hair and blue eyes and ventured out in public as non-Jews, while Lion and Pais hid in the apartment. In March 1945, however, they were betrayed and all four were arrested. The same week the Americans had crossed the Rhine and cut the rail lines, making impossible their transfer to a concentration camp. The women were soon released. After a month of interrogation by the Gestapo, Pais was released several days before the end of the war. Nordheim was executed ten days before the end of the war. Lambertus (Bert) Johannes Folkert Broer (January 17, 1916, ?, The Netherlands — ?, 1991, ?, The Netherlands) was a Dutch physicist and mathematician. ...

Career in particle physics

During World War II, Pais's doctoral dissertation had attracted the attention of Niels Bohr, who invited him to come to Denmark as his assistant. Pais was forced into hiding before he could leave the Netherlands. In 1946, following the war, Pais was able to accept that invitation and served as a personal assistant to Bohr at his country home in Tisvilde for a year. Niels (Henrik David) Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1922. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tisvilde is located in on the north coast of the island Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark 60km north of Copenhagen. ...

In 1947 he accepted a position at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study in the United States and thus became a colleague of Albert Einstein. Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fuld Hall The Institute for Advanced Study is a private institution in Princeton Township, New Jersey, U.S.A. (although it is not part of Princeton University), designed to foster pure cutting-edge research by scientists in a variety of fields without the complications of teaching or funding, or the... “Einstein” redirects here. ...

For the next 25 years he worked on elementary particle theory with a primary interest in quantum field theory and symmetry. The technical contributions for which he is recognized include a precise definition of G-parity with Res Jost, and his treatment of SU(6) symmetry breaking. In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a particle not known to have substructure; that is, it is not made up of smaller particles. ... Quantum field theory (QFT) is the quantum theory of fields. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... G parity in theoretical physics is a multiplicative quantum number that results from the generalization of C parity to multiplets of particles. ... In mathematics, the special unitary group of degree n, denoted SU(n), is the group of n×n unitary matrices with unit determinant. ... Promotional picture Symmetry Breaking is a rock band from Northern New Jersey, in the United States. ...

He is primarily associated with two concepts that directly contributed to major breakthroughs in his field. The first was the idea of "associated production" to explain the puzzling properties of strange particles. His ideas and those of Murray Gell-Mann resulted in the idea of a quantum number called strangeness. The second concept was Pais's and Gell-Mann's theory regarding the composition of the long-lived neutral kaon (K_L), which challenged the classical notion of a particle, but was later proven essentially correct. In particle physics, a strange particle is any particle with non-zero strangeness. ... Murray Gell-Mann (born September 15, 1929 in Manhattan, New York City, USA) is an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. ... Quantum numbers describe values of conserved quantity in the dynamics of the quantum system. ... In particle physics, strangeness, denoted as , is a property of particles, expressed as a quantum number for describing decay of particles in strong and electro-magnetic reactions, which occur in a short period of time. ... In particle physics, Kaons (also called K-mesons and denoted K) are a group of four mesons distinguished by the fact that they carry a quantum number called strangeness. ...

In 1956, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ...

In 1963 Pais accepted a position at Rockefeller University to head the theoretical physics group while Rockefeller was in transition from being a medical institute to a university. He finished his career there as the Detlev W. Bronk professor emeritus. Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Founders Hall Rockefeller University is a private university focusing primarily on graduate and postgraduate education research in the biomedical fields, located between 63rd and 68th Streets along York Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan island in New York City, New York. ...

Science historian

In the late 1970s Pais became interested in documenting the history of modern physics. He felt he was in a unique position to do so, having known many of the key people and with his knowledge of the language, culture, and science. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ...

Pais was perhaps best known for his biography of Albert Einstein, Subtle is the Lord: The science and the life of Albert Einstein (Oxford University Press, 1982), and its sequel, Einstein Lived Here (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, 1994). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Einstein” redirects here. ...

His Inward Bound: Of matter and forces in the physical world (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, 1988) describes the events in physics during and preceding 100 years, and tries to explain why they happened as they did.

In 1991 he published Niels Bohr's Times: In physics, philosophy, and polity (Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, 1991) which describes the life and scientific contributions of Bohr. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1995 he teamed with Laurie M. Brown and Sir Brian Pippard to compile a three-volume reference collection of articles portraying the scientific and cultural development of modern physics in Twentieth Century Physics (American Institute of Physics and the Institute of Physics, U.K., 1995). Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Sir Alfred Brian Pippard FRS (born 1920) is a British physicist. ...

A Tale of Two Continents: A physicist's life in a turbulent world (Princeton University Press, 1997) was his autobiography. It refers to the 'esemplastic power of the imagination'.

His book The Genius of Science: A portrait gallery (Oxford University Press, 2000) contains biographies of twelve distinguished physicists he had known personally, including Paul Dirac, Max Born, Wolfgang Pauli, Mitchell Feigenbaum, John von Neumann, Res Jost, Isidor Rabi, Viktor Weisskopf, and Eugene Wigner. 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS (IPA: [dɪræk]) (August 8, 1902 – October 20, 1984) was a British theoretical physicist and a founder of the field of quantum physics. ... Max Born (December 11, 1882 in Breslau – January 5, 1970 in Göttingen) was a mathematician and physicist. ... This article is about Austrian-Swiss physicist Wolfgang Pauli. ... Mitchell Jay Feigenbaum (born December 19, 1944; Philadelphia, USA) is a mathematical physicist whose pioneering studies in chaos theory led to the discovery of the Feigenbaum constant. ... John von Neumann (Hungarian Margittai Neumann János Lajos) (born December 28, 1903 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary; died February 8, 1957 in Washington D.C., United States) was a Hungarian-born American mathematician who made contributions to quantum physics, functional analysis, set theory, topology, economics, computer science, numerical analysis, hydrodynamics... Isidor Isaac Rabi (July 29, 1898 - January 11, 1988) was an American physicist of Austro-Hungarian origin. ... Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál Jenő) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and...

Pais was working on a biography of Robert Oppenheimer at the time of his death. It was finished by Robert P. Crease and published posthumously as J. Robert Oppenheimer: A life (Oxford University Press, 2006). It is the most complete biography of Oppenheimer to date. J. Robert Oppenheimer[1] (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist, best known for his role as the director of the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons, at the secret Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

The American Physical Society has awarded an Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics annually since 2005. The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds second largest organization of physicists. ... The Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics is an award given each year since 2005 jointly by the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics for outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics. The prize is named after Abraham Pais (1918-2000), science historian and particle... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Later life

After his retirement Pais and his wife Ida Nicolaisen spent half their time in Denmark where he worked at the Niels Bohr Institute. The Niels Bohr Institute is part of the Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics of the University of Copenhagen. ...

His son Josh Pais[1] is an American actor.

Pais died of heart failure in Copenhagen. Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ...

Obituary

• M. Veltman, Abraham Pais, Levensberichten en herdenkingen (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 2002), pp. 51-56. ISBN 90-6984-343-9 [2]]

Martinus J.G. Veltman (born June 27, 1931 in Waalwijk) is a Dutch physicist who was 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics, work done at Utrecht University. ...

References

• Georgi, Howard. Abraham 'Bram' Pais. Physics Today online. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
• Land-Weber, Ellen. "Bram Pais Tells His Story". To Save a Life: Stories of Holocaust Rescue. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
• Pais, Abraham (1997). A Tale of Two Continents: A Physicist's Life in a Turbulent World (in English). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01243-1.