fbpx

KidsKonnect

Paul Dirac Facts & Worksheets

Paul Dirac was a British theoretical physicist who was regarded to be one of the most significant physicists in the 20th century.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /People /Figures /Paul Dirac Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Paul Dirac Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Paul Dirac was a British theoretical physicist who was regarded to be one of the most significant physicists in the 20th century. Dirac made essential contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and quantum electrodynamics. One of his well-known ideas was his attempt to unify the theories of quantum mechanics and theory of relativity.

See the fact file below for more information on the Paul Dirac or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Paul Dirac worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

DIRAC’S EARLY LIFE

  • Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was born in Bristol, England, on August 08, 1902. Paul Dirac grew up in a strict and authoritarian household with his Swiss father, Charles Adrien Ladislas Dirac. His mother, Florence Hannah Holten, was from Cornwall in England.
  • Paul Dirac was one of the three children together with his older brother, Reginald Charles Felix Dirac, and younger sister, Beatrice Isabelle Marguerite Walla Dirac.
  • They grew up in a strict family. Dirac’s father ruled that the French language would be spoken at their dinner table. As a result, Paul was the only one in their family to eat with his father in their dining room.

EARLY EDUCATION

  • Bishop Primary School was the first school Dirac attended. He showed exceptional ability in Mathematics. For his secondary school, Dirac attended Merchant Venturers Technical College. World War I started at the same time as Paul Dirac’s secondary school.
  • Dirac achieved his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and he went to study at the University of Bristol in 1921. Even though Dirac’s favorite subject was mathematics, he chose to study electrical engineering because he thought being a mathematician meant he would end up being a professor. In 1923, he achieved a BA in applied mathematics.
  • Dirac took the Cambridge scholarship examination in June 1921. A scholarship was granted to him to study mathematics at St. John’s College. However, the scholarship was not enough to provide support to him. The local education authority would have been additional support to him, but they couldn’t support him because his father had not been a British citizen long enough.
  • At Bristol, he was offered the chance to study mathematics without paying fees. Later on, he was awarded to manage a research St. John’s College at Cambridge and began his studies there in 1923.

DIRAC EQUATION

  • In 1925, Paul Dirac started working on quantum mechanics as soon as it was introduced by Werner Heisenberg. Dirac achieved a Ph.D. in 1926 for his pointed quantization of classical mechanics based on the proposed matrix formulation of the quantum mechanics of Heisenberg. It consisted of a non-commutative algebra for calculating atomic properties.
  • The “Dirac Equation” was proposed in 1928, from formulating on Wolfgang Pauli’s work on the non-relativistic spin systems. It is a relativistic equation of motion for the wave function of the electron.
  • The equation also helped him in predicting the existence of the positron (the antiparticle of the electron) and matter-antimatter annihilation. The equation also contributed to the explanation of the origin of a quantum spin as a relativistic phenomenon.
  • Paul Dirac was also the one who developed the “bra-ket” notation or the Dirac notation. It is the standard notation for describing quantum states (set of characteristics for describing the condition of a quantum mechanical system) in the quantum mechanics theory. It’s composed of angle brackets (chevrons) and vertical bars.

PRINCIPLE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

  • The Principle of Quantum Mechanics is a book written by Paul Dirac.
  • The book was considered a milestone in the history of physics. It became one of the standard textbooks on the subject. Even now, the book is still in use. The book incorporates Heisenberg’s previous work on the matrix mechanics and Erwin Schrodinger’s work on wave mechanics into single mathematical formalism.
  • Dirac became a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge in 1932. Dirac also introduced the idea of vacuum polarization, and he is also the first who developed the field of quantum electrodynamics. He explained that the existence of a single magnetic monopole in the universe would be enough to explain the observed quantization of electric charge.
  • In the year 1937, he developed a speculative cosmological model based on the so-called “large numbers hypothesis.” However, this model was not fully accepted in the mainstream oy physics, but it has been very influential to the other proponents of non-standard cosmologies.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Paul Dirac earned the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics, together with Erwin Schrodinger. It was “for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory.”
  • Dirac was also awarded the Royal Medal in 1939, and the Copley Medal and the Max Planck Medal in 1952.
  • Dirac was also selected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1930, a member of the American Physical Society in 1948, and was made a member of the British Order of Merit in 1973.

OTHER RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS

  • Paul Dirac worked on uranium separation and nuclear weapons during World war II, but his work moved increasingly out of the mainstream in later life. During the 1960s, Dirac developed a theory of “constrained quantization.” It identifies the general quantum rules for arbitrary classical systems. Also, Dirac’s quantum field analysis of the vibrations of a membrane has proven that in modern practitioners of superstring theory and M-theory, as extremely useful.
  • Paul Dirac developed the “Dirac Sea.” It is a theoretical model of the vacuum as an infinite sea of particles with negative energy. It is for the explanation of the anomalous negative energy quantum states for relativistic electrons (electrons traveling the near speed of light).

HIS PERSONAL LIFE

  • In 1937, Paul Dirac married Margit “Manci” Wigner. Dirac adopted Margit’s two children, Judith and Gabriel. Also, they had two more children of their own, Mary and Florence. Dirac was known as a precise and ordered man but shy.
  • It has also been said that his autism played a crucial role in his success as a theoretical physicist.
  • Dirac also once said, “God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world.” However, he strongly criticized the political manipulation of religion.
  • Paul Dirac moved to Florida after being a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. He decided to move to be near his daughter Mary. He spent his final years of teaching at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and Florida State University in Tallahassee.
  • Paul Dirac died on October 20, 1984, in Tallahassee, Florida. His cause of death was not reported.

Paul Dirac Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Paul Dirac across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Paul Dirac worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Paul Dirac who was a British theoretical physicist who was regarded to be one of the most significant physicists in the 20th century. Dirac made essential contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and quantum electrodynamics. One of his well-known ideas was his attempt to unify the theories of quantum mechanics and theory of relativity.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Paul Dirac Facts
  • The Starting Point
  • Dirac’s Finding
  • Discovering Equations
  • The Quantum Battle
  • Dirac’s Missing Words
  • The Questions of Paul D.
  • The Jumbled Mechanics
  • The Quotes Relation
  • Timeline of the Physicist
  • The Great Achievements

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Paul Dirac Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, July 2, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources