In this lecture, the early history of asymptotic freedom is discussed.
The first completely correct derivation of \beta_0
in non-abelian gauge theory (Khriplovich, 1969)
was done in the Coulomb gauge;
this derivation is reproduced (in modernized terms) in Sect. 2.
A qualitative physical explanation of asymptotic freedom
via chromomagnetic properties of vacuum (Nielsen, 1981)
is discussed in Sect. 3.
