John von Neumann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John von Neumann
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John von Neumann in the 1940s
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| Born | December 28, 1903 |
| Died | February 8, 1957 (aged 53) |
| Nationality | Hungarian, American |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
John von Neumann (December 28. 1903 – February 8. 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist who contributed to many fields including:
- set theory
- functional analysis
- quantum mechanics
- ergodic theory
- continuous geometry
- economics
- game theory
- computer science
- numerical analysis
- systems theory
- statistics
He is generally regarded as a prodigy, polymath and one of the most important mathematicians of the 20th century.
He was a member of a group called the 'Martians' who were a group of prominent Hungarian scientists (mostly, but not exclusively, physicists and mathematicians) who emigrated to the United States in the early half of the 20th century. Other people in this group were Edward Teller, Paul Erdős, Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner.
Noteworthy work
- His textbook on quantum mechanics is one of the first on this topic.
- His game theory is considered one of the most important tools in competitive strategic management and is also of high importance in biosciences.
- He is the designer of the Von-Neumann architecture, which is basic to nearly all computers today.
- He was one of the first proponents of artificial intelligence. He proposed the idea of self replicating machines. This is why a machine that can replicate itself is now commonly referred to as a 'Von Neumann machine'.
- With Stanislav Ulam, he did some of the most important calculations in the Manhattan project.
- He worked at the Institute of Advanced Studies the same time as Albert Einstein, Kurt Gödel and Robert Oppenheimer
- His principles are included in every modern computer, tablet or phone.
Images for kids
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Von Neumann's birthplace, at 16 Báthory Street, Budapest. Since 1968, it has housed the John von Neumann Computer Society.
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Excerpt from the university calendars for 1928 and 1928/29 of the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin announcing Neumann's lectures on the theory of functions II, axiomatic set theory and mathematical logic, the mathematical colloquium, review of recent work in quantum mechanics, special functions of mathematical physics and Hilbert's proof theory. He also lectured on the theory of relativity, set theory, integral equations and analysis of infinitely many variables.
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Von Neumann's gravestone
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Flow chart from von Neumann's "Planning and coding of problems for an electronic computing instrument," published in 1947.
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The first implementation of von Neumann's self-reproducing universal constructor. Three generations of machine are shown: the second has nearly finished constructing the third. The lines running to the right are the tapes of genetic instructions, which are copied along with the body of the machines.
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A simple configuration in von Neumann's cellular automaton. A binary signal is passed repeatedly around the blue wire loop, using excited and quiescent ordinary transmission states. A confluent cell duplicates the signal onto a length of red wire consisting of special transmission states. The signal passes down this wire and constructs a new cell at the end. This particular signal (1011) codes for an east-directed special transmission state, thus extending the red wire by one cell each time. During construction, the new cell passes through several sensitised states, directed by the binary sequence.
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Von Neumann's wartime Los Alamos ID badge photo
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Implosion mechanism
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Operation Redwing nuclear test in July 1956
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The von Neumann crater, on the far side of the Moon.
See also
- In Spanish: John von Neumann
