Nathan Rosen
Nathan Rosen was born on the 22nd of March 1909 into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. The Great Depression shaped his early years as he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology during that difficult economic period. He earned a bachelor's degree in electromechanical engineering before shifting his focus to theoretical physics. His academic journey included earning both a master's and a doctorate in physics from MIT. As a student he published several papers of note including one titled "The Neutron." This paper attempted to explain the structure of the atomic nucleus a full year before James Chadwick discovered it. He developed an interest in wave functions while working as a fellow at the University of Michigan and Princeton University.
In May 1935 Einstein and Boris Podolsky drafted a paper with Nathan Rosen that challenged quantum mechanics. They titled this work "Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?" The authors labeled these effects the Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen paradox or EPR paradox. Earlier while working with Einstein Rosen had pointed out peculiarities involving entangled wave functions. This collaboration helped develop a theoretical basis for their July 1935 publication about folded space time. The three men used only General Relativity and Maxwell's equations to describe parallel layers connected by a bridge. Einstein later helped Rosen continue his career with a letter to Molotov in the Soviet Union. This resulted in a temporary position during which they published an article on gravitational waves in 1937.
July 1935 marked the first known kind of wormhole concept when Einstein and Rosen published their article. They described a concept of folded space time in parallel layers connected by a bridge. This idea became known today as an Einstein-Rosen bridge. In 1962 theoretical physicists John A. Wheeler and Robert W. Fuller showed this structure was unstable. Other researchers further developed this work over subsequent decades. Robert Hjellming presented a model in 1971 where a black hole would draw matter in while being connected to a white hole. Kip Thorne and Mike Morris proposed in 1988 that such a wormhole could be made stable using negative matter or energy. This later work is not attributable to Rosen but built upon his initial papers on folded spacetime.
Between 1940 and 1989 Rosen published a series of articles on his versions of bimetric gravity. He attempted to improve on General Relativity by removing singularities and replacing pseudo-tensors with tensors. His goal was to eliminate nonlocality through these mathematical changes. The effort eventually failed in 1992 due to conflicting pulsar data. Rosen continued to publish on relativity with "General Relativity and Flat Space" in 1940. He also wrote about the energy and momentum of cylindrical gravitational waves in 1958. These works further developed theoretical structures of space-time beyond his earlier bridge concept. The failure of bimetric theories marked the end of his major contributions to modifying Einstein's original framework.
After leaving Princeton Rosen briefly worked for two years in the Soviet Union at the University of Kiev starting in 1936. He returned to the United States where he taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1941 to 1952. In 1953 after permanently moving to Israel he joined the Technion in Haifa, Israel. During this time Rosen served as advisor to Asher Peres. Technion now has a lecture series named for him. He became President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the 1970s while commuting between institutions from his home in Haifa. He helped found the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities along with the Physical Society of Israel. He served as president of that society from 1955 to 1957. He was very active in encouraging the founding of higher educational institutions across Israel until his death on the 18th of December 1995.
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Common questions
When was Nathan Rosen born and where did he grow up?
Nathan Rosen was born on the 22nd of March 1909 into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the Great Depression.
What paper did Nathan Rosen publish before James Chadwick discovered the neutron?
Nathan Rosen published a paper titled The Neutron while still a student at MIT. This work attempted to explain the structure of the atomic nucleus a full year before James Chadwick discovered it.
Who co-authored the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox with Nathan Rosen?
Einstein and Boris Podolsky drafted a paper with Nathan Rosen that challenged quantum mechanics in May 1935. They labeled these effects the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox or EPR paradox.
How long did Nathan Rosen work in the Soviet Union after leaving Princeton?
Nathan Rosen worked for two years in the Soviet Union at the University of Kiev starting in 1936. He returned to the United States to teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1941 to 1952.
When did Nathan Rosen die and what role did he hold at Ben-Gurion University?
Nathan Rosen died on the 18th of December 1995 after being very active until his death. He became President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the 1970s while commuting between institutions from his home in Haifa.