The Cavendish Laboratory 1932 to 1953 Decline and Regeneration
- 👤 Speaker: Malcolm Longair Emeritus Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Emeritus Professorial Fellow and former Vice-President, Clare Hall.
- 📅 Date & Time: Tuesday 25 November 2014, 19:45 - 21:15
- 📍 Venue: Meeting Room, Clare Hall, Herschel Road, Cambridge
Abstract
1932 was an Annus Mirabilis at the Cavendish Laboratory, the culmination of the Laboratory’s ascent to the forefront of physics associated with the names of Maxwell, Rayleigh, Thomson and Rutherford.
In 1938 Bragg inherited a laboratory in decline after its glory years. Then WW2 intervened. After the war, Bragg changed the direction of activity in the laboratory and within a decade it was back at the forefront of research with the discovery of the structure of DNA and the birth of radio astronomy. How this came about reflects many changes in research in physics, resulting from work during the war and the growth of Big Science.
The talk will be profusely illustrated.
Series This talk is part of the The Cavendish Laboratory 1932-1953, Decline and Regeneration series.
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- Meeting Room, Clare Hall, Herschel Road, Cambridge
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Malcolm Longair Emeritus Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Emeritus Professorial Fellow and former Vice-President, Clare Hall.
Tuesday 25 November 2014, 19:45-21:15