One might say that I exhibited the instincts of an experimental physicist from the age of three. My earliest memory is of crawling on the floor, putting two fingers of one hand into the 230-volt electricity outlet, and retiring with curiosity satisfied. At least that is what I was told, so that my memory is probably merely a memory of being told. Another early memory of what I was told was when my elder brother Geoffrey and I decided to clone the small apple tree in the garden. We cut a dozen blossoms and planted them in several places around the yard. Grannie Wilson, who was with us at the time, thought that we should be soundly spanked. Mother was much more lenient and merciful. She explained what we had done wrong, and we promised not to do it again. This is an early example of a failed experiment. The flowers did not take root as we had hoped. We had been overly hasty. We failed to do our homework and consult the authorities. Nor did we ask the experts for advice! 
 Like many scientists, my personal life and my career are closely intertwined. In reading these pages, you may find that until I was thirty years old I was impatient and not tolerant of those who did not understand or wanted to proceed more slowly. I slowly learned to accept the roadblocks to the aims that I set for myself and as I became steadily more and more ambitious, the roadblocks seemed more numerous and higher. In the last twenty years, and in particular the last ten years since my retirement, I have grown more tolerant, yet more impatient. I want to see progress before I die. 
 There is always a purpose to one's writing. It has taken nearly three years since my first writing attempts on these memoirs. I have returned to the thoughts of my scientific work and my attempts to add a little to scientific knowledge. I have reflected on my mistakes, which were many. And also I have taken the opportunity to review my achievements. But in particular, I recall the sense of joy when I have been able to make a piece of apparatus work or finally uncover a small technical mystery. For me the study of physics and the methods of a physicist offer a window through which one can glimpse the mysteries of the universe. There are so many questions that as yet have no answers, and we can only contemplate them with wonder. I have known many moments - even months - of painful frustration. But all in all, physics is fun. Doing it is fun. Remembering it is fun. And writing about it is fun.

Physics is Fun: Memoirs of a Life in Physics

Richard Wilson

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Books by Richard Wilson

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Physics is Fun: Memoirs of a Life in Physics