Hermann Weyl was one of the most wide-ranging mathematicians of his generation, following in the footsteps of his teacher David Hilbert. Weyl's interests in mathematics ran the gamut from foundations to physics, two areas in which he made profound contributions. He combined great technical virtuosity with imagination, and devoted attention to the explanation of mathematics to the general public. He managed to take a segment of mathematics developed in an abstract setting and apply it to certain branches of physics, such as relativity theory--a theory that holds that the velocity of light is the same for all observers, no matter how they are moving, that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames, and that all such frames are equivalent--and quantum mechanics--a theory that allows mathematical interpretation of elementary particles through wave properties. His distinctive ability was integrating nature and theory.

Claus Hugo Hermann Weyl...