NUCLEAR  PHYSICS

 

" In science there is only physics; everything else is stamp collecting. ” - Ernest Rutherford

 

The study of matter and forces... Rutherford wasn't being arrogant, he was purely explaining that literally everything comes from the same few subatomic particles and the forces that act upon them.

 

I have been collecting correspondence from these influential scientists:

 

Albert Einstein:

In 1905—often called Einstein's "miracle year"—he submitted a paper for his doctorate and had four papers published, The four papers—the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of matter and energy—would alter the course of modern physics and bring him to the attention of the academic world.

 

Einstein deduced the well-known equation E=mc2, suggesting that tiny particles of matter could be converted into huge amounts of energy, foreshadowing the development of nuclear power. 

 

In November, 1915, Einstein completed the general theory of relativity, which he considered his masterpiece. He was convinced that general relativity was correct because of its mathematical beauty and because it accurately predicted the perihelion of Mercury's orbit around the sun, which fell short in Newton’s theory. General relativity theory also predicted a measurable deflection of light around the sun when a planet or another sun oribited near the sun. That prediction was confirmed in observations by British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington during the solar eclipse of 1919. In 1921, Albert Einstein received word that he had received the Nobel Prize for Physics. Because relativity was still considered controversial, Einstein received the award for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.

 

Niels Bohr:

Perhaps Bohr’s most well known and important contribution was his work on the theory of the structure of the Atomic Model. His mentor, Ernest Rutherford, had already theorized that atoms were made up of a nucleus, with electrons orbiting around it. However, Bohr made important expansions on this theory, mainly regarding the paths that the electrons follow. He proposed that “electrons travel only in certain successively larger orbits. He suggested that the outer orbits could hold more electrons than the inner ones, and that these outer orbits determine the atom's chemical properties. It was for his atomic model that he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1922.

 

Otto Hahn:

Hahn made his most significant contribution to energy history in 1938. While working with Fritz Strassmann, a fellow chemist, he discovered that the element barium was produced when uranium atoms were bombarded with neutrons.

Actually Hahn and Strassmann had come upon nuclear fission, the primary chemical process involved in a nuclear reaction. This legendary discovery indirectly helped develop the atomic bomb and nuclear energy. For his discovery of nuclear fission, Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1944

 

Werner Heisenberg:

Heisenberg formulated the quantum theory of ferromagnetism, the neutron-proton model of the nucleus, the S-matrix theory in particle scattering, and various other significant breakthroughs in quantum field theory and high-energy particle physics are associated with him. 

 

Heisenberg is synonymous with the so-called Uncertainty Principle of 1927, for one of the earliest breakthroughs to quantum mechanics in 1925, and for his suggestion of a unified field theory, the so-called “world formula”. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1932 at the young age of 31.

 

 

I also have items penned by Ernest Rutherford, Hans Bethe, Glenn Seaborg, James Chadwick and Edward teller. I'm still seeking out Leo Szilard, Erwin Schrodinger, Max Planck, Max Born, Robert Oppenheimer, JJ Thomson and a few others.