He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics , the theory of quantum electrodynamics , the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium , and in particle physics , for which he proposed the parton model. Feynman developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions describing the behavior of subatomic particles , which later became known as Feynman diagrams.
During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world. In a poll of leading physicists worldwide by the British journal Physics World , he was ranked the seventh-greatest physicist of all time. He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and became known to the wider public in the s as a member of the Rogers Commission , the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Along with his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with having pioneered the field of quantum computing and introducing the concept of nanotechnology.
He held the Richard C. Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. Feynman was a keen popularizer of physics through both books and lectures, including a talk on top-down nanotechnology called There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom and the three-volume publication of his undergraduate lectures, The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Feynman also became known through his autobiographical books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman's mother was born in the United States into a Jewish family. Lucille's father had emigrated from Poland, and her mother also came from a family of Polish immigrants. She trained as a primary school teacher but married Melville in , before taking up a profession.
As an adult, he spoke with a New York accent [ 5 ] [ 6 ] strong enough to be perceived as an affectation or exaggeration, [ 7 ] [ 8 ] so much so that his friends Wolfgang Pauli and Hans Bethe once commented that Feynman spoke like a "bum".
