John G. Cramer
John G. Cramer | |
|---|---|
 Cramer in 2012 | |
| Born | John Gleason Cramer, Jr. October 24, 1934 |
| Alma mater | Rice University |
| Known for | Transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics |
| Spouse | Pauline Cramer |
| Children | Kathryn Cramer |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nuclear physics,Quantum physics,Ultra-relativistic heavy ion physics,HBT interferometry |
| Institutions | University of Washington |
| Doctoral advisor | Calvin M. Class |
| Website | John Cramer's Home Page |
John Gleason Cramer Jr.(born October 24, 1934) is a professor emeritus of physics at theUniversity of WashingtoninSeattle, Washington,known for his development of thetransactional interpretationof quantum mechanics. He has been an active participant with theSTAR experimentat theRelativistic Heavy Ion Collider(RHIC) atBrookhaven National Laboratory,and the particle accelerator atCERNinGeneva,Switzerland.
Early years[edit]
John Cramer was born inHouston,Texas. He attendedMirabeau B Lamar High Schoolin Houston, and graduated with a BA in physics fromRice Universityin 1957. He continued his studies, graduating with an MA in physics from Rice University in 1959 and a Ph.D. in physics from Rice University in 1961.[1]
Career[edit]
After serving as a post-doctoral fellow atIndiana Universityfrom 1961 to 1963, Cramer continued as an assistant professor at the same university from 1963 to 1964. He was an assistant professor at the University of Washington from 1964 to 1968, an associate professor from 1968 to 1974, and was appointed as a full professor in 1974.[1]
From 2007 to 2014, Cramer investigated the possibility that quantum nonlocality might be used for communication between observers through the use of switchable interference patterns. In the course of this work, he gained new understanding of the "show stopper" within the quantum formalism that prevents such nonlocal signaling: For each interference pattern, nature also provides and superimposes an "anti-interference pattern". These are always combined in a way that "erases" potential nonlocal signals. The two interference patterns complement each other, resulting in no perceptible interference pattern. Measurement changes can dramatically modify the individual interference patterns, but always so that this erasure occurs. In this way, nature is protected from the possibility of retrocausal signaling and its consequences and paradoxes.[2][3]
Cramer has been making regular appearances on theScience Channeland onNPRScience Friday.[4]
Writing[edit]
In addition to his approximately 300 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals,[5]John Cramer writes a regular column, "The Alternate View", appearing in every second issue, forAnalog Science Fiction and Factmagazine. In July 1986, he published thetransactional interpretationof quantum mechanics[6]which is inspired by theWheeler–Feynman time-symmetric theory.
His book on quantum mechanics,The Quantum Handshake: Entanglement, Nonlocality and Transactions(2015), published by Springer Verlag, is a comprehensive introduction to the transactional interpretation.
Cramer's simulation of the sound of theBig Bangattracted some mainstream press attention in late 2003 and again in 2013. The simulation originated with an "Alternate View" article, "BOOMERanG and the Sound of the Big Bang" (January 2001).[7]Cramer describes the sound as "rather like a large jet plane 100 feet off the ground flying over your house in the middle of the night."
Cramer has published three novels,Twistor(1989),Einstein's Bridge(1997) andFermi's Question(2023), all within thehard science fictiongenre. Cramer was the 2010 Science Guest of Honor atNorwescon,a large science fiction and fantasy convention in the Seattle area due to his physics fact columns in Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
Bibliography[edit]
 |
Non-fiction[edit]
- The quantum handshake: entanglement, nonlocality and transactions.New York: Springer. 2015.
Novels[edit]
- Cramer, John (1989).Twistor.New York: Morrow.
- — (2016) [1989].Twistor.Introduction byGene Wolfe(Dover paperback ed.). Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications.
- — (1997).Einstein's bridge.New York: Avon Books.
- — (2023).Fermi's question(E-book). New York: Baen Books.
Awards and recognition[edit]
- Elected Fellow,American Association for the Advancement of Science(1991);
- Nominated for theJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer(1991);
- Listed inWho's Who in America(from 43rd Edition, 1984);
- Elected Fellow,American Physical Society(1974);
- National Science FoundationFellow atRice University(1959–61);
- Sigma-Xi Thesis Award at Rice University (1959);
- Bausch-Lomb Science Award at Lamar High School Graduation (1953);
Personal life[edit]
Cramer married Pauline Ruth Bond in June, 1961. The couple have three children:Kathryn Cramer(born April, 1962), John G. Cramer III (born January 1964), and Karen Cramer (born April 1967).[1]
References[edit]
- ^abc"CV J. Cramer"(PDF).Retrieved21 Jan2016.
- ^The Quantum Handshake: Entanglement, Nonlocality and Transactionsby John G. Cramer, Springer Verlag in 2015, chapter 7.
- ^arXiv paper (1409.5098 [quant-ph])
- ^"J Cramer".Retrieved21 Jan2016.
- ^Scientific Publications of John G. Cramer, Professor of Physics, University of Washington(Current to February 2015).
- ^The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum MechanicsArchived2012-07-16 at theWayback Machine– John Cramer's original paper
- ^BOOMERanG and the Sound of the Big Bangat theUniversity of Washington
- Profile inMarquis Who's Who on the Web.
External links[edit]
- John G. Cramer's Home Page– Includes a photograph of the author, contact information, and more
- A Puzzling Signal in RHIC Experiments,Physics News Update Number 723 #2, March 15, 2005, by Phil Schewe & Ben Stein.
- John G. Cramerat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
- Scientific publications of John G. CrameronINSPIRE-HEP
- John G. Cramer, professor emeritus of Physics at the University of Washington, presents "The Quantum Handshake Explored."YouTube video dated 1 Feb 2018.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1934 births
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American physicists
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American male writers
- 21st-century American physicists
- American male non-fiction writers
- American male novelists
- American nuclear physicists
- American science writers
- American science fiction writers
- Analog Science Fiction and Fact people
- Brookhaven National Laboratory staff
- American experimental physicists
- Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Lamar High School (Houston) alumni
- Living people
- Novelists from Texas
- Novelists from Washington (state)
- People associated with CERN
- Academics from Houston
- American quantum physicists
- Rice University alumni
- Scientists from Seattle
- Scientists from Texas
- American theoretical physicists
- University of Washington faculty
- Writers from Seattle
- Writers from Houston
- Writers from Washington (state)