Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 30–May 3 2011; Anaheim, California
Session H13: History of Physics I |
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Sponsoring Units: FHP Chair: David Cassidy, Hofstra University Room: Royal EF |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 10:45AM - 11:09AM |
H13.00001: The discovery of cosmic rays Per Carlson, Alessandro De Angelis The work leading to the discovery of cosmic rays by Victor Hess on August 7, 1912 is reviewed. In particular the almost forgotten work of the Italian Dominico Pacini in 1909-10 is described. Hess was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1936, shared with Carl Anderson for the discovery of the positron. The reason for the long delay is discussed as well as the nominations and discussions put forward in the Nobel Committee's report to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 11:09AM - 11:33AM |
H13.00002: Up the Decade! 50 Years of Astronomical Prioritizations and Predictions Virginia Trimble It has been nearly 50 years since the American astronomical community engaged in its first decadal survey, designed to identify trends in research, predict changes in the community, and identify the government-sponsored facilities required to achieve these goals. There have been 5 more such surveys since the initial Whitford report, the 6th reporting in fall, 2010. The talk will explore what we asked for, which we got (about a third of the total requested), the demographics of the survey committees, and several other aspects of the reports and the astronomers they represent. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 11:33AM - 11:57AM |
H13.00003: Jocular Physics: A Tribute to Bohr in Humor Paul Halpern Copenhagen, starting in the 1920s and 1930s and continuing after the Second World War, was not just a center for extraordinary developments in quantum and nuclear physics; it also provided a perfect stage for physicists' abundant humor. We will examine the Journal of Jocular Physics, a humorous tribute to Bohr published on the occasions of his 50$^{th}$, 60$^{th}$ and 70$^{th}$ birthdays. We will discuss how the articles in the journal reflected attempts by the contributors, such as L\'{e}on Rosenfeld, Victor Weisskopf and others, to interpret and explain aspects of Bohr's philosophy, such as complementarity and the abandonment of pure Laplacian determinism. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 11:57AM - 12:21PM |
H13.00004: Correcting a Persistent Manhattan Project Statistical Error Cameron Reed In his 1987 autobiography, Major-General Kenneth Nichols, who served as the Manhattan Project's ``District Engineer'' under General Leslie Groves, related that when the Clinton Engineer Works at Oak Ridge, TN, was completed it was consuming nearly one-seventh ($\sim $ 14{\%}) of the electric power being generated in the United States. This statement has been reiterated in several editions of a Department of Energy publication on the Manhattan Project. This remarkable claim has been checked against power generation and consumption figures available in Manhattan Engineer District documents, Tennessee Valley Authority records, and historical editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States. The correct figure is closer to 0.9{\%} of national generation. A speculation will be made as to the origin of Nichols' erroneous one-seventh figure. [Preview Abstract] |
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