ABSTRACT
As the end of the twentieth century approaches it is already possible to say with certainty who and what was unique in that century. YaB was unique in classical physics. His work spanned almost the whole field, and he understood it in its entirety. In this sense, he can be compared to Lord Rayleigh, who, after all, had 15 years of active work at the start of the twentieth century-just about 15 years remained in the century at YaB’s death.
