Picture of Richard Feynman
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Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman was an American physicist who lived between 1918-1988. He was one of the most influential theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, contributing to many areas of physics including quantum electrodynamics, which studies the interactions between electrons.

Following his education at MIT and Princeton University, Feynman was asked to participate in the Manhattan Project, the building of the first atomic bomb. He later developed safer methods for the storage of radioactive waste and saved the lives of workers at many nuclear power plants.

Shortly before his death, caused by cancer, Feynman was appointed to the committee investigating the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. He identified the problem as resulting from faulty equipment rather than astronaut error.


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