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- The universe is vast, containing myriads of stars, many of them not unlike our Sun. Many of these stars are likely to have planets circling around them. A fair fraction of these planets will have liquid water on their surface and a gaseous atmosphere. The energy pouring down from a star will cause the synthesis of organic compounds, turning the ocean into a thin, warm soup. These chemicals will join each other to produce a self-reproducing system. The simplest living things will multiply, evolve by natural selection and become more complicated till eventually active, thinking creatures will emerge. Civilization, science, and technology will follow. Then, yearning for fresh worlds, they will travel to neighboring planets, and later to planets of nearby stars. Eventually they should spread out all over the Galaxy. These highly exceptional and talented people could hardly overlook such a beautiful place as our Earth. - "And so, " - Fermi came to his overwhelming question, - "if all this has been happening, they should have arrived here by now, so where are they ? " - It was Leo Szilard, a man with an impish sense of humor, who supplied the perfect reply to Fermi's rethoric: - "They are among us," - he said, - "but they call themselves Hungarians. " (from Gy. Marx's book: The Martians. )
Achievements of Hungarian science and technology are appreciated all over the world. Derec de Solla Price, professor at Columbia University, writes in the preface to the Hungarian edition of his book “Small Science - Great Science”: “With regard both to absolute degree and per capita indices, it is absolutely clear that Hungary rightfully belongs to that group of countries which, based on its number of inhabitants, economy and industrial development, demonstrates a rather high level of development and a certain commitment, primarily in research of basic sciences. This is not that surprising, since there is an extraordinary mental capacity which made tiny Hungary into a great country of Nobel-Prize-winning scientists, a country of scientists whose abilities are unparalleled.” Price did not exaggerate. There have been 11 Nobel Prize winners of Hungarian origin.
RÓBERT BÁRÁNY (1876-1936) Awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology (medical sciences) in 1914 for “his work relating to the pathology and physiology of the vestibular apparatus.” He lived in Sweden.
GYÖRGY BÉKÉSY (George von Békésy, 1899-1972) Awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology (medical sciences) in 1961 “for the discovery of the physical mechanism of nervous impulses stimulated in the cochlea.” He lived in the United States.
DÉNES GÁBOR (Dennis Gábor, 1900-1979) Awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery and development of the hologram. He lived in Great Britain.
JÁNOS HARSÁNYI (John C. Harsanyi, 1920-2000) Awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his game theory in 1995. He showed how games with missing information can be analyzed, laying the foundation for the research of “the economics of information.” He lives in the United States.
GYÖRGY HEVESY (George de Hevesy, 1885-1966) Awarded the 1943 Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1944 for “the use of isotopes as indicators in the research of chemical processes.” He lived in Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
FÜLÖP LÉNÁRD (Philippe Edvard Anton von Lenard, 1862-1947) Awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1905 for “his atom model (dynamida) based on cathode ray experiments.” He lived in Germany.
GYÖRGY OLÁH (George Olah, 1927- ) Awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1995 for “his results in the study of positive carbo-hydrates.” He lives in the United States.
JÁNOS POLÁNYI (John Charles Polányi, 1929- ) Awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1986 for his experiments in understanding chemical processes better, for his discoveries in reaction dynamics. Polányi was born of Hungarian parents; his father was Mihály Polányi, a natural scientist. He lives in Canada.
ALBERT SZENT-GYÖRGYI (Albert von Szentgyörgyi, 1893-1986) Awarded the Nobel Prize in medical sciences in 1937 for “his discoveries in biological combustion, especially for his discoveries concerning ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and for his investigations of actin, a muscle protein. He lived in the United States beginning in 1947. He is the only scientist ever to receive the Nobel Prize for the results of work carried out in Hungary.
JENÔ WIGNER (Eugen J. Wigner, 1902-1995) Awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1963 for “the development of the theory on nucleus and elementary particles, especially for the discovery and the application of symmetry theories.” He lives in the United States.
RICHARD ZSIGMONDY (1865-1929) Awarded the 1925 Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1926 for “the explanation of the heterogenic nature of colloid solutions and for his methods used in the experiments, which are of fundamental importance in modern colloid chemistry.” He lived in Germany.
Many other Hungarians, while not necessarily Nobel Prize winners, have made great contributions to science and technology and received worldwide recognition. On the next pages we wish to illustrate, through examples of Hungarian ingenuity, the traditions and the intellectual heritage, on which Hungary´s future development can also rely. But first: The Martians.
George Marx, the emblematic figure of the past 50 years of Hungarian physics frequently wrote essays in daily newspapers or literary monthly journals arguing in favour of rational and scientific solutions to many social problems. He convincingly argued that the true heroes of Hungarian history in the 20th century are not emperors, prime ministers, dictators, or revolutionaries, but famous scientists of Hungarian origin whose works left long-lasting marks on science and history. His book (written originally in English) The Voice of Martians, which describes the lives of 28 famous Hungarian scientists of the 20th century, was on the list of bestsellers for several weeks in 2000. This paper is actually a chapter from the book.
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