THE WEAK INTERACTION: ITS HISTORY AND IMPACT ON PHYSICS

Abstract

It is a pleasure and an honor for me to give this lecture in honor of Oscar Klein who made major contributions to field theory, quantum electrodynamics and particle physics, including weak interactions. He was the first one to observe that the μ decay and the β decay could be described by the same interaction with the same coupling constant; this led to the discovery of the Universal Fermi Interaction. Perhaps I should begin my discussion of the history of weak interactions by separating it into three periods: (1) Classical Period, 1898–1949. (2) Transition Period, 1949–1956. (3) Modern Period, 1956–.