Marvin Chester
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Marvin Chester (29 December 1930 in New York, New York – 22 April 2016) was a
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
emeritus professor of
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
who specializes in
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...
. After receiving his
B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
undergraduate degree from the City College of New York in 1952, he studied under
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfl ...
and John R. Pellam at
California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
where he received his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
in 1961. Thereafter he spent the following 31 years (1961 to 1992) as a faculty member in the
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
department at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
.


Physics

Dr. Chester is perhaps best known for his text book for student physicists called ''Primer of Quantum Mechanics'' which connects the mathematical machinery of
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...
directly to its philosophical underpinnings. Among his more substantial contributions to the field, he predicted and demonstrated a Bernoulli Effect in the electron gas. He is known for playing with and challenging the formal constructs of the scientific publication. One example of this can be found in ''An experiment regarding the wave function of superfluid helium''; A published technical description of an experiment to detect the diffraction, because of its order parameter wave function property, of bulk superfluid helium flow through a grating - written in rhymed verse.


Symmetry & Identity

He showed that the notion of identity ( identification ) is connected to the concept of symmetry. He established the connection via the mathematical apparatus of
group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ...
, the abstract formulation of symmetry.


Population Dynamics

He proposed that the following statement is a fundamental principle governing nature: "The effect on the environment of a population’s success is to alter that environment in a way that opposes the success." By showing how to formulate it quantitatively he enabled the principle to be tested empirically in the laboratory.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, Marvin 1931 births 2016 deaths American physicists Quantum physicists California Institute of Technology alumni City College of New York alumni People from Santa Cruz, California Scientists from New York City University of California, Los Angeles faculty