J. B. Rosenzweig
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198525547
- eISBN:
- 9780191711725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198525547.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
This chapter begins by introducing particle accelerators in their scientific and historical context. It reviews methods in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics as well as special relativity in a ...
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This chapter begins by introducing particle accelerators in their scientific and historical context. It reviews methods in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics as well as special relativity in a unified way in order to build up the tools needed to examine the dynamics of charged particle beams. It notes that these general subjects gave way to describing the motion of charged particles in beams. It investigates the notion of phase space, and the conservation of its density in Hamiltonian systems — the Louiville theorem. It introduces the concept of the design trajectory that allows nearby trajectories to be defined. It adds that the design trajectory also gives one the freedom to analyse the motion using distance along such a trajectory as the independent variable, instead of time.Less
This chapter begins by introducing particle accelerators in their scientific and historical context. It reviews methods in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics as well as special relativity in a unified way in order to build up the tools needed to examine the dynamics of charged particle beams. It notes that these general subjects gave way to describing the motion of charged particles in beams. It investigates the notion of phase space, and the conservation of its density in Hamiltonian systems — the Louiville theorem. It introduces the concept of the design trajectory that allows nearby trajectories to be defined. It adds that the design trajectory also gives one the freedom to analyse the motion using distance along such a trajectory as the independent variable, instead of time.
GÜNTHER DISSERTORI, IAN G. KNOWLES, and MICHAEL SCHMELLING
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199566419
- eISBN:
- 9780191708060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566419.003.0005
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Particle physics at high energies would be impossible without powerful accelerators and high-resolution detectors. This chapter discusses the basic technological and physical principles used for ...
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Particle physics at high energies would be impossible without powerful accelerators and high-resolution detectors. This chapter discusses the basic technological and physical principles used for those devices. The LEP electron-positron collider is used to illustrate the issues pertaining to large particle accelerators. After introducing the physics of particle detectors, the specific example of the ALEPH detector is presented.Less
Particle physics at high energies would be impossible without powerful accelerators and high-resolution detectors. This chapter discusses the basic technological and physical principles used for those devices. The LEP electron-positron collider is used to illustrate the issues pertaining to large particle accelerators. After introducing the physics of particle detectors, the specific example of the ALEPH detector is presented.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the history of Fermilab from 1959 to 1963. It suggests that Fermilab was inspired by the development of the alternating-gradient principle and by the fact discussions about ...
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This chapter discusses the history of Fermilab from 1959 to 1963. It suggests that Fermilab was inspired by the development of the alternating-gradient principle and by the fact discussions about building larger particle accelerators were also taking place in international meetings during this period. Robert R. Wilson of Cornell University took the initiative to organize an informal meeting at the 1960 Rochester Conference to discuss the new “ultra-high-energy” accelerators. This chapter discusses the proposals from the Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA), the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley.Less
This chapter discusses the history of Fermilab from 1959 to 1963. It suggests that Fermilab was inspired by the development of the alternating-gradient principle and by the fact discussions about building larger particle accelerators were also taking place in international meetings during this period. Robert R. Wilson of Cornell University took the initiative to organize an informal meeting at the 1960 Rochester Conference to discuss the new “ultra-high-energy” accelerators. This chapter discusses the proposals from the Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA), the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley.
Gian Francesco Giudice
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199581917
- eISBN:
- 9780191723001
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199581917.003.0005
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter discusses the reasons why fundamental physics needs to explore the world at small distances. Modern research has discovered that the physical laws of nature become progressively simpler ...
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This chapter discusses the reasons why fundamental physics needs to explore the world at small distances. Modern research has discovered that the physical laws of nature become progressively simpler at small scales and that, at every step, apparently unrelated phenomena actually become unified into single concepts. This recursive formulation of natural phenomena in terms of ever simpler elements is called in this book ‘Jacob's ladder’. It is then explained why particle accelerators and colliders are needed for the investigation of the fundamental laws of nature. Finally, the chapter presents the applications and achievements of accelerators and detectors outside the field of particle physics.Less
This chapter discusses the reasons why fundamental physics needs to explore the world at small distances. Modern research has discovered that the physical laws of nature become progressively simpler at small scales and that, at every step, apparently unrelated phenomena actually become unified into single concepts. This recursive formulation of natural phenomena in terms of ever simpler elements is called in this book ‘Jacob's ladder’. It is then explained why particle accelerators and colliders are needed for the investigation of the fundamental laws of nature. Finally, the chapter presents the applications and achievements of accelerators and detectors outside the field of particle physics.
Andrew Whitaker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198742999
- eISBN:
- 9780191802959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198742999.003.0002
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
In the 1950s, John Bell worked at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, at first on the theory of particle accelerators, and he was one of the pioneers of the idea of strong focussing. ...
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In the 1950s, John Bell worked at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, at first on the theory of particle accelerators, and he was one of the pioneers of the idea of strong focussing. On leave, he studied for a PhD at Birmingham University, developing the extremely important quantum field theory of CPT invariance—that is, invariance under combined charge conjugation, reflection, and time reversal. Back in Harwell, he joined the Theoretical Division, where he worked on quantum field theory and both nuclear and elementary particle physics. He also became extremely interested in foundational aspects of quantum theory—the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen, or EPR, argument, and the hidden variable papers of David Bohm. During this decade, he married fellow physicist Mary Ross; John and Mary Bell were to have an extremely successful marriage.Less
In the 1950s, John Bell worked at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, at first on the theory of particle accelerators, and he was one of the pioneers of the idea of strong focussing. On leave, he studied for a PhD at Birmingham University, developing the extremely important quantum field theory of CPT invariance—that is, invariance under combined charge conjugation, reflection, and time reversal. Back in Harwell, he joined the Theoretical Division, where he worked on quantum field theory and both nuclear and elementary particle physics. He also became extremely interested in foundational aspects of quantum theory—the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen, or EPR, argument, and the hidden variable papers of David Bohm. During this decade, he married fellow physicist Mary Ross; John and Mary Bell were to have an extremely successful marriage.
James A. Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198508557
- eISBN:
- 9780191708770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198508557.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter introduces the subject of synchrotron radiation by explaining the history of particle accelerators and hence the development of these sources of intense light. An overview of the photon ...
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This chapter introduces the subject of synchrotron radiation by explaining the history of particle accelerators and hence the development of these sources of intense light. An overview of the photon output properties of bending magnets, undulators, and wigglers is given. Simple arguments based upon special relativity are used to predict the spectrum and other source properties.Less
This chapter introduces the subject of synchrotron radiation by explaining the history of particle accelerators and hence the development of these sources of intense light. An overview of the photon output properties of bending magnets, undulators, and wigglers is given. Simple arguments based upon special relativity are used to predict the spectrum and other source properties.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses Fermilab's Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project. It suggests that the idea for the SSC started during the Cold War period from 1955 to 1975. When relations between ...
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This chapter discusses Fermilab's Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project. It suggests that the idea for the SSC started during the Cold War period from 1955 to 1975. When relations between Western and Communist powers began to thaw, several efforts kindled an internationalist spirit among physicists. In this context Robert R. Wilson, Leon M. Lederman, and other internationalist physicists conceived an optimistic vision of a worldwide particle accelerator. This chapter describes the birth of the Very Big Accelerator (VBA) from 1975 to 1980 and the completion of the Snowmass Desertron in 1982.Less
This chapter discusses Fermilab's Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project. It suggests that the idea for the SSC started during the Cold War period from 1955 to 1975. When relations between Western and Communist powers began to thaw, several efforts kindled an internationalist spirit among physicists. In this context Robert R. Wilson, Leon M. Lederman, and other internationalist physicists conceived an optimistic vision of a worldwide particle accelerator. This chapter describes the birth of the Very Big Accelerator (VBA) from 1975 to 1980 and the completion of the Snowmass Desertron in 1982.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the history of the design proposal of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Fermilab. It describes the proposals formulated by Edward Lofgren and Edwin McMillan. ...
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This chapter discusses the history of the design proposal of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Fermilab. It describes the proposals formulated by Edward Lofgren and Edwin McMillan. This chapter explains that Berkeley took pains to meet the requirements of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), including cost estimates and the arrangements for obtaining architect-engineering services. It also provides a sketch of Berkeley's proposed 200 BeV particle accelerator design.Less
This chapter discusses the history of the design proposal of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Fermilab. It describes the proposals formulated by Edward Lofgren and Edwin McMillan. This chapter explains that Berkeley took pains to meet the requirements of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), including cost estimates and the arrangements for obtaining architect-engineering services. It also provides a sketch of Berkeley's proposed 200 BeV particle accelerator design.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter focuses the controversy and cost issue during the period from 1965 to 1967 that gradually loosened Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's control for the Fermilab project. It discusses ...
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This chapter focuses the controversy and cost issue during the period from 1965 to 1967 that gradually loosened Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's control for the Fermilab project. It discusses physicists' criticisms on the Berkeley design, particularly criticism from Robert R. Wilson and suggests that the decision to site the laboratory in the Midwest had a mediating effect. This chapter also highlights the appointment of Wilson as director of the particle accelerator laboratory in 1967.Less
This chapter focuses the controversy and cost issue during the period from 1965 to 1967 that gradually loosened Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's control for the Fermilab project. It discusses physicists' criticisms on the Berkeley design, particularly criticism from Robert R. Wilson and suggests that the decision to site the laboratory in the Midwest had a mediating effect. This chapter also highlights the appointment of Wilson as director of the particle accelerator laboratory in 1967.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses Robert R. Wilson's vision for the National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. It explains that Wilson's aesthetics called for clean, bold, frugal, and functional components, ...
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This chapter discusses Robert R. Wilson's vision for the National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. It explains that Wilson's aesthetics called for clean, bold, frugal, and functional components, harmoniously combined. It also states that Wilson's self-image was composed of three distinct yet related personae: the pioneer who pushed frontiers, the craftsman or engineer who made things work, and the Renaissance man. Even though many aspects of the particle accelerator laboratory's design were suggested by others, its special character reflected Wilson's values. This chapter also discusses Wilson's leadership style.Less
This chapter discusses Robert R. Wilson's vision for the National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. It explains that Wilson's aesthetics called for clean, bold, frugal, and functional components, harmoniously combined. It also states that Wilson's self-image was composed of three distinct yet related personae: the pioneer who pushed frontiers, the craftsman or engineer who made things work, and the Renaissance man. Even though many aspects of the particle accelerator laboratory's design were suggested by others, its special character reflected Wilson's values. This chapter also discusses Wilson's leadership style.
Alvaro De Rújula
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198817802
- eISBN:
- 9780191859366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198817802.003.0020
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
The destructive limits of microscopes. Ernest Lawrence’s first “cyclotron.” Linear and circular accelerators and colliders, their advantages and disadvatages, and how they work. Accelerating ...
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The destructive limits of microscopes. Ernest Lawrence’s first “cyclotron.” Linear and circular accelerators and colliders, their advantages and disadvatages, and how they work. Accelerating radio-frequency cavities, bending dipoles, and focusing quadrupole magnets. The accelerator comprex at CERN. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).Less
The destructive limits of microscopes. Ernest Lawrence’s first “cyclotron.” Linear and circular accelerators and colliders, their advantages and disadvatages, and how they work. Accelerating radio-frequency cavities, bending dipoles, and focusing quadrupole magnets. The accelerator comprex at CERN. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the history of the conceptualization and construction of the Energy Doubler at the National Accelerator Laboratory. Robert R. Wilson conceived a plan using the phenomenon of ...
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This chapter discusses the history of the conceptualization and construction of the Energy Doubler at the National Accelerator Laboratory. Robert R. Wilson conceived a plan using the phenomenon of superconductivity to double the particle accelerator's energy to a trillion electron volts while at the same time saving power. The plan involved adding a second ring to the existing machine with roughly a thousand superconducting magnets. This chapter discusses the funding crisis of the Energy Doubler and Wilson's continuous involvement in the project after his retirement in 1978.Less
This chapter discusses the history of the conceptualization and construction of the Energy Doubler at the National Accelerator Laboratory. Robert R. Wilson conceived a plan using the phenomenon of superconductivity to double the particle accelerator's energy to a trillion electron volts while at the same time saving power. The plan involved adding a second ring to the existing machine with roughly a thousand superconducting magnets. This chapter discusses the funding crisis of the Energy Doubler and Wilson's continuous involvement in the project after his retirement in 1978.
Nicholas Mee
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831860
- eISBN:
- 9780191869785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831860.003.0008
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology, History of Physics
The structure of matter and the forces that are important in particle physics are now understood in terms of the Standard Model, which is currently being tested at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). ...
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The structure of matter and the forces that are important in particle physics are now understood in terms of the Standard Model, which is currently being tested at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Since the 1930s, physicists have used particle accelerators to investigate the structure of matter. Three forces are important in particle interactions, the strong force, the weak force and the electromagnetic force. The weak and electromagnetic forces are now recognized as two components of a unified electroweak force. The strong force and the electroweak force act on a small collection of fundamental particles that include quarks, the subcomponents of protons, neutrons and many other particles. The final missing piece of the Standard Model, the Higgs boson, was discovered by the LHC in 2012.Less
The structure of matter and the forces that are important in particle physics are now understood in terms of the Standard Model, which is currently being tested at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Since the 1930s, physicists have used particle accelerators to investigate the structure of matter. Three forces are important in particle interactions, the strong force, the weak force and the electromagnetic force. The weak and electromagnetic forces are now recognized as two components of a unified electroweak force. The strong force and the electroweak force act on a small collection of fundamental particles that include quarks, the subcomponents of protons, neutrons and many other particles. The final missing piece of the Standard Model, the Higgs boson, was discovered by the LHC in 2012.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume which is about the history of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a particle accelerator laboratory in Illinois. This ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume which is about the history of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a particle accelerator laboratory in Illinois. This volume is divided into three sections. The first section presents Fermilab's prehistory beginning in 1960, the second tells how Robert R. Wilson created the laboratory in 1967 and the third explains how Leon M. Lederman, who became Fermilab's second director, revitalized the laboratory and succeeded, at least initially, in extending its horizons.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume which is about the history of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a particle accelerator laboratory in Illinois. This volume is divided into three sections. The first section presents Fermilab's prehistory beginning in 1960, the second tells how Robert R. Wilson created the laboratory in 1967 and the third explains how Leon M. Lederman, who became Fermilab's second director, revitalized the laboratory and succeeded, at least initially, in extending its horizons.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226346236
- eISBN:
- 9780226346250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226346250.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the conception of the Fermilab particle accelerator laboratory in the context of the frontier rhetoric. It explains that during the 1960s heroic frontier imagery illuminated ...
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This chapter discusses the conception of the Fermilab particle accelerator laboratory in the context of the frontier rhetoric. It explains that during the 1960s heroic frontier imagery illuminated the rhetoric of many politicians who spoke about science and technology, and references to the frontier appeared often in the writings and speeches. This article suggests that Robert R. Wilson's heroic tales of pioneers struggling on the frontier offered relief or even hope during the turbulence of the late 1960s and that this version of the frontier rhetoric forged an identity at Fermilab that unified his workforce.Less
This chapter discusses the conception of the Fermilab particle accelerator laboratory in the context of the frontier rhetoric. It explains that during the 1960s heroic frontier imagery illuminated the rhetoric of many politicians who spoke about science and technology, and references to the frontier appeared often in the writings and speeches. This article suggests that Robert R. Wilson's heroic tales of pioneers struggling on the frontier offered relief or even hope during the turbulence of the late 1960s and that this version of the frontier rhetoric forged an identity at Fermilab that unified his workforce.
Roger H. Stuewer
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198827870
- eISBN:
- 9780191866586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198827870.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics, Nuclear and Plasma Physics
Nuclear physics emerged as the dominant field in experimental and theoretical physics between 1919 and 1939, the two decades between the First and Second World Wars. Milestones were Ernest ...
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Nuclear physics emerged as the dominant field in experimental and theoretical physics between 1919 and 1939, the two decades between the First and Second World Wars. Milestones were Ernest Rutherford’s discovery of artificial nuclear disintegration (1919), George Gamow’s and Ronald Gurney and Edward Condon’s simultaneous quantum-mechanical theory of alpha decay (1928), Harold Urey’s discovery of deuterium (the deuteron), James Chadwick’s discovery of the neutron, Carl Anderson’s discovery of the positron, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton’s invention of their eponymous linear accelerator, and Ernest Lawrence’s invention of the cyclotron (1931–2), Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie’s discovery and confirmation of artificial radioactivity (1934), Enrico Fermi’s theory of beta decay based on Wolfgang Pauli’s neutrino hypothesis and Fermi’s discovery of the efficacy of slow neutrons in nuclear reactions (1934), Niels Bohr’s theory of the compound nucleus and Gregory Breit and Eugene Wigner’s theory of nucleus+neutron resonances (1936), and Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch’s interpretation of nuclear fission, based on Gamow’s liquid-drop model of the nucleus (1938), which Frisch confirmed experimentally (1939). These achievements reflected the idiosyncratic personalities of the physicists who made them; they were shaped by the physical and intellectual environments of the countries and institutions in which they worked; and they were buffeted by the profound social and political upheavals after the Great War: the punitive postwar treaties, the runaway inflation in Germany and Austria, the Great Depression, and the greatest intellectual migration in history, which encompassed some of the most gifted experimental and theoretical nuclear physicists in the world.Less
Nuclear physics emerged as the dominant field in experimental and theoretical physics between 1919 and 1939, the two decades between the First and Second World Wars. Milestones were Ernest Rutherford’s discovery of artificial nuclear disintegration (1919), George Gamow’s and Ronald Gurney and Edward Condon’s simultaneous quantum-mechanical theory of alpha decay (1928), Harold Urey’s discovery of deuterium (the deuteron), James Chadwick’s discovery of the neutron, Carl Anderson’s discovery of the positron, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton’s invention of their eponymous linear accelerator, and Ernest Lawrence’s invention of the cyclotron (1931–2), Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie’s discovery and confirmation of artificial radioactivity (1934), Enrico Fermi’s theory of beta decay based on Wolfgang Pauli’s neutrino hypothesis and Fermi’s discovery of the efficacy of slow neutrons in nuclear reactions (1934), Niels Bohr’s theory of the compound nucleus and Gregory Breit and Eugene Wigner’s theory of nucleus+neutron resonances (1936), and Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch’s interpretation of nuclear fission, based on Gamow’s liquid-drop model of the nucleus (1938), which Frisch confirmed experimentally (1939). These achievements reflected the idiosyncratic personalities of the physicists who made them; they were shaped by the physical and intellectual environments of the countries and institutions in which they worked; and they were buffeted by the profound social and political upheavals after the Great War: the punitive postwar treaties, the runaway inflation in Germany and Austria, the Great Depression, and the greatest intellectual migration in history, which encompassed some of the most gifted experimental and theoretical nuclear physicists in the world.