Art Hobson
Art Hobson | |
|---|---|
 Art Hobson | |
| Born | November 27, 1934 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Known for | Research on the foundations of quantum mechanics Physics education Science and society writing |
| Awards | Fellow of the American Physical Society (1992) Robert A. Millikan Medal (2006) Master Teacher Award, University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences (1989) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, quantum mechanics |
| Workplaces | University of Arkansas |
| Thesis | (1964) |
| Boris Leaf | |
Art Hobson (born 27 November 1934, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American physicist and Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, known for his research on the foundations of quantum mechanics, an influential physics course and textbook for non-science college students, and public writing on the societal implications of physics.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Hobson grew up in Philadelphia and Manhattan, Kansas. He earned a Bachelor of Music with honors in jazz performance from North Texas State College in 1955 and served in United States Army bands in Germany from 1955 to 1957, before studying physics at Kansas State University, where he earned a B.S. with high honors in 1960 and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1964 under advisor Boris Leaf, with a dissertation on statistical mechanics and electrodynamics. He married in 1959, had two children (born 1964 and 1967), and divorced in 1970, retaining custody of both children.[2]
Academic career
[edit]Hobson joined the physics faculty at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 1964, was promoted to full Professor in 1974, and retired in 1999, remaining research-active as Professor Emeritus.[2]
Research on quantum foundations
[edit]In a widely discussed 2013 paper in the American Journal of Physics, "There are no particles, there are only fields," Hobson argued that quantum objects are best understood as excitations of underlying quantum fields rather than as particles, a view he presented as resolving several conceptual paradoxes in quantum theory.[3] The paper prompted published responses from physicists Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi and Michel Nauenberg, to which Hobson replied in the same journal.[4][5][6] He extended this field-based analysis to the quantum measurement problem, including the "Schrödinger's cat" paradox, arguing that the apparent paradox dissolves when the entangled state is understood as a superposition of correlations rather than of a live and dead cat.[7] This body of work on quantum foundations was collected in his 2024 book Fields and Their Quanta: Making Sense of Quantum Foundations (Springer Nature).[8]
Physics education
[edit]In the 1970s, Hobson developed "Physics and Human Affairs," a course for non-science college majors that devoted roughly half its content to modern physics and incorporated socially relevant topics such as energy resources, global warming, and nuclear weapons; enrollment grew from about 20 to several hundred students per year. His textbook based on the course, Physics: Concepts & Connections (first published 1995), went through five editions and was adopted at more than 130 campuses.[9] In 2017 he published Tales of the Quantum: Understanding Physics' Most Fundamental Theory (Oxford University Press), a non-technical introduction to quantum physics that was reviewed in CHOICE, the American Journal of Physics, and Contemporary Physics.[10][11] He received the American Association of Physics Teachers' Robert A. Millikan Medal in 2006 for "notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics."[12]
Writing on science and society
[edit]Hobson spent a sabbatical at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute studying arms control, and later co-edited and contributed four chapters to The Future of Land-Based Strategic Missiles (American Institute of Physics, 1989).[13] From 1987 to 1996, he edited Physics and Society, the newsletter of the American Physical Society's Forum on Physics and Society.[14] Since 2002, he has written a recurring op-ed column on science-related topics for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.[9]
Honors
[edit]- Fellow, American Physical Society (1992), "for numerous contributions in the area of physics and society"[1][14]
- Robert A. Millikan Medal, American Association of Physics Teachers (2006)[12]
- Master Teacher Award, University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences (1989)[9]
Selected publications
[edit]Books
[edit]- Concepts in Statistical Mechanics (Gordon and Breach, 1971; reprinted CRC Press)
- Physics and Human Affairs (John Wiley & Sons, 1982)
- The Future of Land-Based Strategic Missiles, edited with Barbara G. Levi and Mark Sakitt (American Institute of Physics, 1989)
- Physics: Concepts & Connections (Pearson, 5 editions, 1995–2010)
- Tales of the Quantum: Understanding Physics' Most Fundamental Theory (Oxford University Press, 2017)
- Fields and Their Quanta: Making Sense of Quantum Foundations (Springer Nature, 2024)
Selected journal articles
[edit]- "Irreversibility and Information," Journal of Chemical Physics 45, 1352 (1966)
- "ICBM Vulnerability: Calculations, Predictions, and Error Bars," American Journal of Physics 56, 829 (1988)
- "Electrons as Field Quanta: A Better Way to Teach Quantum Physics in Introductory General Physics Courses," American Journal of Physics 73, 630 (2005)
- "Millikan Award Lecture, 2006: Physics for All," American Journal of Physics 74, 1048 (2006)
- "There Are No Particles, There Are Only Fields," American Journal of Physics 81, 211 (2013)
- "Review and Suggested Resolution of the Problem of Schrödinger's Cat," Contemporary Physics 59, 16 (2018)
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Art Hobson". University of Arkansas Department of Physics (faculty directory). Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- 1 2 Hobson, Art. "Resume". University of Arkansas. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- ↑ Hobson, A. (2013). "There Are No Particles, There Are Only Fields". American Journal of Physics. 81 (3): 211–223.
- ↑ Sassoli de Bianchi, M. (2013). "Comment on 'There Are No Particles, There Are Only Fields'". American Journal of Physics. 81 (9): 707.
- ↑ Nauenberg, M. (2013). "Comment on 'There Are No Particles, There Are Only Fields'". American Journal of Physics. 81 (9): 708.
- ↑ Hobson, A. (2013). "Response to M. S. de Bianchi and M. Nauenberg". American Journal of Physics. 81 (9): 709.
- ↑ Hobson, A. (2018). "Review and Suggested Resolution of the Problem of Schrödinger's Cat". Contemporary Physics. 59 (1): 16–30.
- ↑ Hobson, A. (2024). Fields and Their Quanta: Making Sense of Quantum Foundations. Springer Nature Switzerland.
- 1 2 3 "About Art Hobson". University of Arkansas. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- ↑ Wheeler, N. (2017). "Review of Tales of the Quantum". American Journal of Physics. 85 (9): 722.
- ↑ Gururajan, M. P. "Review of Tales of the Quantum". Contemporary Physics.
- 1 2 "Robert A. Millikan Medal — Award Winners". American Association of Physics Teachers (official archive). Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- ↑ Hobson, A.; Levi, B. G.; Sakitt, M. (1989). The Future of Land-Based Strategic Missiles (eds. ed.). American Institute of Physics.