This Week in Physics History: Sept. 22 - 29
Monday September 22, 2008
- Sept. 29, 1901 - Italian physicist Enrico Fermi is born. Fermi is considered one of the key figures in the early development of particle physics and quantum physics. He received the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity. His most notable work, however, is in the development of the first nuclear reactor. The FermiLab research center and particle accelerator, near Chicago, IL, is named after him and is one of the world's foremost centers for research in particle physics.
- Sept. 27, 1905 - The German physics journal Annalen der Physik received a paper entitled "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" from a young Albert Einstein. In this paper, Einstein first laid out the line of reasoning about mass changes under special relativity that would result in the equation E = mc2, although the equation did not actually appear in this form until later.
CHRONOLOGY NOTE: Wikipedia mentions this date as the publication date of the paper, while the Einstein Timeline in Einstein for Dummies lists this as the date that the paper was received by Annalen der Physik. The timeline at EinsteinYear.org also indicates that this is the date it was received, not the date published. Other timelines and sources referenced do not list specific dates for the paper's submission or publication. As such, I'm going with this as the date of receipt, although if anyone has a reference that definitively states the publication date of the paper, I'd love to have confirmation of this. - Sept. 22, 1912 - German physicist Herbert Matare is born. His work on the development was transistor was during the same time as the Bell Labs team, which ultimately received the Nobel Prize for the invention.
- Sept. 23, 1915 - American physicist Clifford Shull is born. Shull's work with neutron scattering techniques eventually earned him the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics, although he also holds the record as longest wait between accomplishing the work and receiving the Nobel ... the neutron scattering work had been performed in 1945.
- Sept. 24, 1945 - German physicist Hans Wilhelm Geiger dies. He was a co-inventor of the Geiger counter and carried out the Geiger-Marsden experiment that discovered the atomic nucleus, as well as performing work that set the stage for Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom.
- Sept. 26, 1978 - Swedish physicist Manne Siegbahn dies. Siegbahn received the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in x-ray spectroscopy. His son, Kai Siegbahn, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981.
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