Bethe, Hans Albrecht, << BAY tuh, hanz AWL brehkt >> (1906-2005), an American physicist, won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1967. He received the award for his contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially his explanation of how stars produce energy. In addition, Bethe advanced the study of nuclear forces and nuclear structure.
Bethe was born on July 2, 1906, in Strasbourg, Germany (now France), and studied at the universities of Frankfurt and Munich. He taught at various German universities until 1933, when the Nazis forced him to leave Germany. After two years in England, he joined the faculty of Cornell University in the United States. During World War II (1939-1945), Bethe helped develop the atomic bomb. He later publicly supported nuclear disarmament. Bethe died on March 6, 2005.
See also Star (Fusion in stars).
