Malcolm Longair - The Cavendish Laboratory, 1932 to 1953; Decline and Regeneration
Duration: 1 hour 27 mins
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About this item
| Description: | Malcolm Longair is Emeritus Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Emeritus Professorial Fellow and former Head of the Cavendish Laboratory. |
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| Created: | 2014-11-25 23:31 | ||
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| Collection: | Clare Hall Colloquium | ||
| Publisher: | Clare Hall | ||
| Copyright: | Clare Hall | ||
| Language: | eng (English) | ||
| Keywords: | Cavendish Laboratory; history of physics; History of science; | ||
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| 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. |
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