John Stewart Bell
John Stewart Bell was born on the 28th of July 1928 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He grew up in a working class family where financial hardship defined daily life. Neither his parents nor any of his three older siblings finished high school. Most children from similar backgrounds dropped out by age 14 to work instead of studying. At just 11 years old, young John decided he wanted to be a scientist. His mother encouraged this ambition despite their limited resources. By age 16, he graduated from Belfast Technical High School. This achievement marked an exceptionally rare occurrence for someone with his background. He then attended Queen's University of Belfast. In 1948, he obtained a bachelor's degree in experimental physics. A year later, he earned another bachelor's degree in mathematical physics. He went on to complete a PhD in physics at the University of Birmingham in 1956. His specialization focused on nuclear physics and quantum field theory. Bell became a vegetarian during his teen years. According to his wife Mary Ross, he was also an atheist.
Bell's professional career began at the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire. The facility was known as AERE or Harwell Laboratory. In 1960, he moved to Geneva, Switzerland to work for CERN. There he worked almost exclusively on theoretical particle physics and accelerator design. Despite these demanding responsibilities, he found time to pursue investigating the foundations of quantum theory. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987. Bell collaborated with John Bradbury Sykes, M. J. Kearsley, and W. H. Reid. Together they translated several volumes of Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz's ten-volume Course of Theoretical Physics. These translations made the works available to English-speaking audiences. All volumes remain in print today. Bell advocated for pilot wave theory throughout his career. In 1987, inspired by Ghirardi, Rimini, Weber theory, he also supported collapse theories. He stated about quantum mechanics interpretation that he did not have a solution to sell.
John von Neumann had published an impossibility proof against hidden variables decades earlier. This proof claimed such variables could never exist within quantum mechanics. Bell needed to answer this challenge thoroughly to explore Bohm's theory viability. He addressed these issues in a paper entitled On the Problem of Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics. Publishing delays meant this work appeared only in 1966, two years after his more famous EPR paradox work. Bell showed that von Neumann's no hidden variables proof relied on an invalid physical assumption. That assumption claimed probability-weighted averages equaled sums of separate observable quantities. Grete Hermann discovered this flaw back in 1935. It did not become common knowledge until Bell rediscovered it later. Bell reportedly called von Neumann's proof foolish rather than merely false. In the same work, he demonstrated that Gleason's theorem based proofs also failed to eliminate hidden-variables programs. Jeffrey Bub published an argument in 2010 claiming Bell and Hermann misconstrued von Neumann's original intent. Bub argued the proof did not attempt absolute impossibility but applied limits correctly. No record exists showing von Neumann attempted to correct the near universal misinterpretation lingering for over thirty years.
In 1964, Bell wrote a paper entitled On the Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen paradox during a year's leave from CERN. He spent that time at Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Brandeis University. The resultant inequality derived from basic assumptions applying to all classical situations violated quantum theory predictions. This derivation became known as Bell's theorem. The theorem challenged classical locality assumptions directly. Experimental tests conducted in 1972 showed violations when extrapolated to ideal detector efficiencies. These results represented the first of many such experiments globally. Bell concluded nonlocality was deeply rooted in quantum mechanics itself. He believed this would persist in any completion of the theory. Quantum theory could not be embedded into any locally causal framework according to his findings. Bell regretted experimental results disagreed with local hidden variables concepts. He found it reasonable to assume photons carried correlated programs telling them how to behave. When Einstein saw this truth while others refused, he considered Einstein the rational man. History justified those who rejected Bell's initial hope, yet Bell felt they buried their heads in sand. He thought the reasonable thing simply did not work out experimentally.
Bell remained interested in objective observer-free quantum mechanics throughout his career. He felt physical theories ought not concern themselves with observables but with be-ables instead. Be-ables corresponded to elements of reality existing independently of observation. Bell attacked subjective alternatives like the Copenhagen interpretation while remaining impressed with Bohm's hidden variables scheme. Some people continued believing agreement with Bell's inequalities might still be saved through future precise experiments. They argued known loopholes like the fair sampling loophole had biased earlier interpretations. Most mainstream physicists highly skeptical about all these loopholes admitted their existence. They continued believing Bell's inequalities must fail regardless. It proved difficult for Bell to believe quantum mechanics working well practically would fail badly with improved counter efficiency. He seemed resigned to the notion that future experiments would continue agreeing with quantum mechanics. This resignation contradicted his personal preference for local hidden variable concepts. The experimental validation process revealed deep tensions between classical intuition and quantum reality. Bell's own words reflected a struggle between what seemed rational and what experiments demonstrated repeatedly.
Bell often raised issues regarding special relativity comprehension despite focusing primarily on particle physics. Only one written report exists on this topic titled How to teach special relativity. This subject held critical importance to him personally. Bell admired Einstein's contribution to special relativity yet warned in 1985 that Einstein's approach was pedagogically dangerous. In 1989, marking the centenary of Lorentz-FitzGerald body contraction, he wrote extensively about misconceptions surrounding it. A great deal of nonsense had been written about the FitzGerald contraction according to Bell. He preferred thinking of Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction as real observable phenomena properties of material bodies. This view aligned with Einstein's opinion but differed in interpretation details. Bell adapted and promoted a relativistic thought experiment widely known as Bell's spaceship paradox. His collaborator Johann Rafelski described this situation and background in detail within Relativity Matters published in 2017. Bell believed Einstein's approach left too much room for misinterpretation among students and researchers alike. The paradox became a standard teaching tool illustrating relativistic effects clearly.
In 2008, the Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control at the University of Toronto created the John Stewart Bell Prize. This award recognizes major advances relating to quantum mechanics foundations and applications published within six preceding years. The first award presented by Alain Aspect went to Nicolas Gisin in 2009. His work covered quantum nonlocality, cryptography, and teleportation. At CERN site in Meyrin close to Geneva, a street called Route Bell honors John Stewart Bell. Since 2015, a street named Bell's Theorem Crescent exists in Belfast, his city of birth. The John Bell House finished construction in 2016 housing over 400 students in Belfast city centre. A pedestrian entrance to Olympia leisure centre located 200 meters from Bell's
childhood home bears his name. One Physics lecture theatre at Queen's University of Belfast carries his name too. Blue plaques commemorate him on both Queen's University main campus and Tates Avenue childhood home. In 2017, the Institute of Physics commissioned Matthew Whiteside's Quartet No 4 Entangled performed at the 2018 NI Science Festival. The piece became title track on Whiteside's second album inspiring a short film by Marisa Zanotti.
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Common questions
When and where was John Stewart Bell born?
John Stewart Bell was born on the 28th of July 1928 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He grew up in a working class family where financial hardship defined daily life.
What degrees did John Stewart Bell earn from Queen's University of Belfast?
John Stewart Bell obtained a bachelor's degree in experimental physics in 1948 and another bachelor's degree in mathematical physics in 1949. He later completed a PhD in physics at the University of Birmingham in 1956.
How did John Stewart Bell challenge von Neumann's proof against hidden variables?
John Stewart Bell showed that von Neumann's no hidden variables proof relied on an invalid physical assumption regarding probability-weighted averages. This work appeared in 1966 after publishing delays following his more famous EPR paradox work.
What is Bell's theorem and when did he publish it?
Bell wrote a paper entitled On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox during 1964 which derived an inequality known as Bell's theorem. The theorem challenged classical locality assumptions directly and demonstrated nonlocality was deeply rooted in quantum mechanics itself.
Why did John Stewart Bell criticize Einstein's approach to special relativity?
John Stewart Bell warned in 1985 that Einstein's approach to teaching special relativity was pedagogically dangerous. He believed this method left too much room for misinterpretation among students and researchers alike.