William and Lawrence Bragg, Father and Son

The Most Extraordinary Collaboration in Science
Erscheinungsjahr 2007
ISBN: 978-0-19-923520-9
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 480 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 875 g

In 1912 Lawrence Bragg explained the interaction of X-rays with crystals, and he and his father (William) thereby pioneered X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. They then led the latter field internationally for 50 years, when most areas of science were transformed by the knowledge created: physics, chemistry, geology, materials science, electronics, and most recently biology and medical science. This book charts how this humble pair (William English, his
son Australian) rose from obscurity to international prominence and then back to current, undeserved obscurity. Attention is also given to the crucial roles of both father and son during the dreadful years of the First World War, and to William's early and unshakeable belief in the dual wave and
particle natures of radiation and his eventual vindication.
Unlike earlier studies, the book highlights the intimate interactions between father and son that made their project possible, emphasizes personal, family, and wider human relationships, and offers new insights into teaching and research in a British colonial setting.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jenkin, John

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Elektromagnetismus Mikroskopie, Spektroskopie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Wissenschaften: Preise & Auszeichnungen
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Naturwissenschaften, Technik, Medizin
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Human- und Sozialwissenschaften
• Technische Wissenschaften Maschinenbau | Werkstoffkunde Technische Mechanik | Werkstoffkunde Zerstörungsfreie Werkstoffprüfung
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Technische Wissenschaften Maschinenbau | Werkstoffkunde Technische Mechanik | Werkstoffkunde Werkstoffkunde, Materialwissenschaft: Forschungsmethoden

Über Autor(innen)

Dr John Jenkin
Honorary Associate, Philosophy Program, La Trobe University, Australia

John Jenkin was born, raised, and educated in Adelaide, South Australia, and graduated B.Sc. with first-class honours in physics from the University of Adelaide in 1960. He then completed a Ph.D. in low-energy nuclear physics at the Australian National University in Canberra, and held post-doctoral appointments at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, England, and the University of Minnesota, USA. The remainder of his career has been spent at La Trobe University in Melbourne,
Australia, where he became Reader and Head of the Department of Physics (1968-1992), and then joined the history-and-philosophy-of-science program in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (1993-1999). His research at La Trobe has concerned the electronic properties of materials (in Physics) and
the history of the physical sciences in Australia (in Humanities). He retired in 2000 and is currently a Research Associate in the Philosophy Program at La Trobe.