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Author: Kurt Mendelssohn Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 243
Book Description
At the end of the 19th century, under the benevolent patronage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany became home to new scientific and technological ideas. In German universities, innovators like Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Walther Nernst revolutionized physics and chemistry with their theories of relativity, of the atomic structure and of the quanta. Walther Nernst, a founder of physical chemistry, received the Nobel prize in 1920 for his formulation of the third law of thermodynamics. He died in 1941 in Germany, disillusioned by Hitler’s destruction of German academic life. This biography of Walther Nernst, the author’s mentor, also provides an overview of German science and technology, from its stellar rise to its rapid fall when the Nazis came to power and the vast majority of German scientists went into exile to Britain (like the author), to the United States or elsewhere to continue the tradition and spirit of the scientific revolutions started in Germany’s institutions of higher learning. “A masterly description of the spectacular rise of German science and industry at the turn of the century and of life in Germany in the pre-1933 era.” — The Times (London) “Mendelssohn’s... fascinating book... is a study of the rise and fall of German science as well as a life of Walther Nernst... as he shows, the ‘mad fanaticism’ of the Nazis blinded them, and blinded them completely, to the enormous scientific potential they had inherited in the laboratories of Weimar Germany.” — Roger Williams, Encounter
Author: Kurt Mendelssohn Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 243
Book Description
At the end of the 19th century, under the benevolent patronage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany became home to new scientific and technological ideas. In German universities, innovators like Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Walther Nernst revolutionized physics and chemistry with their theories of relativity, of the atomic structure and of the quanta. Walther Nernst, a founder of physical chemistry, received the Nobel prize in 1920 for his formulation of the third law of thermodynamics. He died in 1941 in Germany, disillusioned by Hitler’s destruction of German academic life. This biography of Walther Nernst, the author’s mentor, also provides an overview of German science and technology, from its stellar rise to its rapid fall when the Nazis came to power and the vast majority of German scientists went into exile to Britain (like the author), to the United States or elsewhere to continue the tradition and spirit of the scientific revolutions started in Germany’s institutions of higher learning. “A masterly description of the spectacular rise of German science and industry at the turn of the century and of life in Germany in the pre-1933 era.” — The Times (London) “Mendelssohn’s... fascinating book... is a study of the rise and fall of German science as well as a life of Walther Nernst... as he shows, the ‘mad fanaticism’ of the Nazis blinded them, and blinded them completely, to the enormous scientific potential they had inherited in the laboratories of Weimar Germany.” — Roger Williams, Encounter
Book Description
Table of contents includes: Soap and Nicholas Leblanc, Color and William Henry Perkin, Sugar and Norbert Rillieux, Clean water and Edward Frankland, Fertilizer, poison gas, and Fritz Haber, Leaded gasoline, safe refrigeration and Thomas Midgley, Jr., Nylon and Wallace Hume Carothers, DDT and Paul Hermann Muller, Lead-free gasoline and Clair C. Patterson.
Author: L Ropolyi Publisher: World Scientific ISBN: 9814569518 Category : Languages : en Pages : 544
Book Description
This proceedings contains the invited and contributed papers presented at the conference on the history and foundation of classical thermodynamics. It describes the alternative paradigms and histories of thermodynamics, philosophical foundations and consequences, and classical problems related to the history of thermodynamics. The contents attempt to present a unified approach to the physical, historical and philosophical points of view.
Author: Kris Manjapra Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674727460 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 419
Book Description
Age of Entanglement explores patterns of connection linking German and Indian intellectuals from the nineteenth century to the years after the Second World War. Kris Manjapra traces the intersecting ideas and careers of a diverse collection of individuals from South Asia and Central Europe who shared ideas, formed networks, and studied one another’s worlds. Moving beyond well-rehearsed critiques of colonialism towards a new critical approach, this study recasts modern intellectual history in terms of the knotted intellectual itineraries of seeming strangers. Collaborations in the sciences, arts, and humanities produced extraordinary meetings of German and Indian minds. Meghnad Saha met Albert Einstein, Stella Kramrisch brought the Bauhaus to Calcutta, and Girindrasekhar Bose began a correspondence with Sigmund Freud. Rabindranath Tagore traveled to Germany to recruit scholars for a new Indian university, and the actor Himanshu Rai hired director Franz Osten to help establish movie studios in Bombay. These interactions, Manjapra argues, evinced shared responses to the cultural and political hegemony of the British empire. Germans and Indians hoped to find in one another the tools needed to disrupt an Anglocentric world order. As Manjapra demonstrates, transnational intellectual encounters are not inherently progressive. From Orientalism and Aryanism to socialism and scientism, German–Indian entanglements were neither necessarily liberal nor conventionally cosmopolitan, often characterized as much by manipulation as by cooperation. Age of Entanglement underscores the connections between German and Indian intellectual history, revealing the characteristics of a global age when the distance separating Europe and Asia seemed, temporarily, to disappear.
Author: David Charles Clary Publisher: World Scientific ISBN: 1800614772 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 317
Book Description
This book tells the stories of scientists from Germany and other European countries who vanished during World War II. These erudite scholars contributed to diverse scientific fields and were associated with some of the world's leading universities and research institutions. Despite their proficiency, they all sought help from agencies to relocate to the UK in the 1930s, but were unable to secure the necessary assistance.The Lost Scientists of World War II explores the fascinating narratives of thirty of these scientific refugees, delving into the reasons behind the unavailability of aid and presenting fresh insights into the tragic fates or astounding survival experiences of these individuals.
Author: Finn Aaserud Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 316
Book Description
How and why do complex scientific disciplines such as physics change emphasis from one sub-discipline to another? Do such transitions stem entirely from developments within the discipline itself or also from external factors? This book addresses these questions by examining the transition from atomic to nuclear physics, theoretically and experimentally, at Niels Bohr’s Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen in the 1930s. On the basis of extensive archival research, Finn Aaserud shows that the “Copenhagen spirit,” the playful research atmosphere under Bohr’s fatherly guidance that permeated the Institute, thrived because of extra-scientific circumstances that Bohr exploited to the fullest, such as the need to help Jewish physicists out of Hitler’s Germany and the changing funding policies of private foundations, notably those of the Rockefeller Foundation which made it opportune to introduce research in experimental biology at the Institute. “A clear, carefully developed and substantially convincing argument... Aaserud gives a detailed and impressively documented account of the direction of Bohr’s scientific interests... Aaserud is... to be congratulated for his original, clear — indeed, didactic — work of scholarship and enlightenment.” — Paul Forman, Physics Today “A professional historian’s study of the happenings at the Niels Bohr Institute in the decisive years 1930 to 1940... In particular, the... support of the Institute by Danish and other foundations, mainly the Rockefeller Foundation, are treated in great detail, revealing many interesting aspects of these relationships... The detailed accounts... of Bohr’s negotiations are a testimony to Bohr’s uncanny ability to get what he wanted from the various foundations... Aaserud’s book is an invaluable source of information [showing] that Bohr was not only an inspiring physicist and philosopher but also a cunning negotiator who knew how to make use of his great reputation for the benefit of science.” — Victor F. Weisskopf, Science “Aaserud elucidates Bohr’s skills not only as mentor and guiding hand behind the ‘Copenhagen spirit,’ but also as financial negotiator.” — Neil Wasserman, Isis, A Journal of the History of Science Society “This book teaches us that running such [a truly elite] institution required entrepreneurial skills as well as scientific genius. Bohr had an abundance of both.” — Jeremy Bernstein, Nature “Redirecting Science is the history of Bohr’s institute during the 1930s when it experienced a drastic change in its research priorities, from a laissez-faire mode of work and lack of clearly defined research programme to a concerted research effort in nuclear physics and experimental biology... Aaserud gives a highly interesting account of the interaction between physics and biology... Aaserud’s carefully documented work is an excellent example of how institutional history may transcend social and institutional limitations and integrate also conceptual history of science.” — Helge Kragh, Centaurus “By showing that a new research programme at one of the most important scientific institutes in the world was triggered, and pushed forward, by social and financial considerations, this book delivers yet another blow to the tired old idea that scientific knowledge is driven by its own internal, inexorable logic. It also throws valuable light on Bohr’s activities and strategies as a fundraiser and institution builder.” — John Krige, The British Journal for the History of Science
Author: Robert H. Kargon Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 167
Book Description
“I do not consider myself to be Robert Millikan’s biographer. This book is not a full record of Millikan’s life or even of his scientific career. It is an essay, very selective, on themes that are illustrated and illuminated by Millikan’s life in American science. It is, as well, a portrait of the development of a scientist... Robert Millikan was among the most famous of American scientists; to the public of the 1920s, Millikan represented science. The first American-born physicist to win the Nobel Prize, Millikan was a leader in the application of scientific research to military problems during World War I and a guiding force in the rise of the California Institute of Technology to a preeminent place in American scientific education and research. His life is therefore peculiarly suited to illuminate and provide texture for the vast changes that have taken place in science during the twentieth century. In this extended essay, I employ the biographical mode to explore several important aspects of this theme. Millikan was successively a teacher, researcher, administrator, entrepreneur, and sage. By describing the novel roles that he assumed, I suggest how science grew in complexity and carved out an essential place for itself in our general culture.” — Robert H. Kargon, from the Preface of The Rise of Robert Millikan: Portrait of a Life in American Science “Professor Kargon... has given us a sympathetic account of Millikan’s scientific career, including his great triumphs, his rearguard actions to defend untenable positions, and the eventual rejection or revision of every major result or standpoint. But he is more concerned with Millikan’s influence on the developing American physics community and with Millikan’s role in advancing American science generally and American higher education... Together with the chemist A.P. Noyes and the astronomer G.E. Hale, Millikan... believed in an American scientific destiny... This picture of American science is presented with great insight, tremendous learning, and wit... Professor Kargon’s book strikes a happy balance between being an interpretive story of a scientific life and a social history of science in America. Every reader interested in science or in the place of science in society will come away from this book with new information, important insights and a better understanding of the growth of scientific ideas and institutions in the twentieth century.” — I. Bernard Cohen, Nature “With the publication of this volume by Kargon, readers now have new and valuable access to much material about Millikan that was previously unavailable... Kargon states that he is not writing a biography of Millikan but rather a portrait of the man and the scientific scene in early 20th-century America... he has succeeded well in this endeavor... the book is well written, and readers who are already reasonably conversant with 20th-century developments in physics will find much that is illuminating... a genuine contribution to the history of science.” — Katherine R. Sopka, American Scientist “[H]ere is an admirable piece of work... Kargon has not sought to make his readers like his subject, but only to understand his scientific style, his achievements, and his character, and to perceive how his life was ‘a microcosm of new roles assumed by the scientist during the course of the twentieth century’... Kargon’s [...] insights [are] important, and his book [is] deserving of a careful study. “ — Robert C. Post, The American Historical Review “A useful corrective to Millikan’s self-portrait that reveals some of the blemishes, as well as the embellishments, of an important life in American science.” — Robert W. Seidel, Science “For over thirty years, the only overview of Millikan’s life available to the layman was his own selective autobiography. That book either omitted or told only one side (sometimes biased by hindsight) of many important controversial episodes associated with his achievements and views... Kargon’s portrait-essay deals with some of these neglected incidents in a well-written and coherent manner aimed at a wide readership.” — John L. Michel, Technology and Culture “A very readable work with the virtue of containing a great deal of information in a brief compass. Kargon’s book deserves and will receive a wide audience as the successor to its subject’s autobiography... [Kargon] also merits credit for interesting discussions on Millikan as a statesman, administrator, and spokesman for science... a clearly first-rate narrative...” — Nathan Reingold, Isis “Admirably, Kargon combines institutional with intellectual history... Kargon offers a fascinating discussion of Millikan’s and George Hale’s contributions to war research, the California Institute of Technology, and the Mount Wilson Observatory. Kargon rightly stresses the collaborators’ links with the leaders of finance and industry developing Los Angeles... as a brief sketch of Millikan the scientific institution builder, Kargon’s book deserves the wide audience he seeks.” — Peter Galison, The Journal of American History “The book leaves us in no doubt about [Millikan’s] ability, but does not gloss over his occasional obstinacy or his wishful thinking about past errors, matters on which some histories tend to be silent. Millikan was not a revolutionary who started new ideas, but the author stresses — rightly — the importance of men like him for the progress of science.” — Rudolf Peierls, The New York Review of Books “A gem of a book — thought-provoking, insightful, highly interesting reading.” — Lawrence Badash, University of California, Santa Barbara “The author skillfully weaves the story of Millikan with the story of modern science in a book that will be well received by a variety of audiences from professional historians of science to the general public.” — Choice “Kargon’s background in physics serves him well in placing Millikan’s work in its theoretical context, in the analysis of the work itself, and in generally managing to capture both the intense excitement and the routine involved in testing the ideas of the giants of that period in physics... Kargon... has certainly opened enough questions in this perceptive work — in addition to the large number that he has settled; and he has demonstrated an important use for the biographical mode. The general American historian as well as the historian of science can profit from reading this volume.” — George H. Daniels, The Historian “Robert Millikan’s scientific career, his character, and his roles as teacher, administrator at the California Institute of Technology, entrepreneur, and public figure are the topics covered in this biography. Even in discussing Millikan’s later decline as a front-line scientist, author Robert Kargon treats the scientist with compassion and fairness and portrays him as a many-faceted, often controversial man with doubts and uncertainties at the height of his fame... The high school physics student will find this book engaging and insightful in its description of a scientist struggling with science, self, and society.” — A. Cordell Perkes, The Science Teacher “[V]ery well researched and written. Robert Kargon gives an excellent picture of the rise of American physics, from the years when every aspiring young American physicist wanted to go to Germany to study, to the years when every aspiring young European physicist wanted to come to the United States for the same purpose. He clearly understands science, yet knows how to present its history so that it is interesting and meaningful to non-scientists. He tells not only of Millikan’s triumphs, but of his doubts as well; of his discoveries, and also of his mistakes... All in all, this is an excellent book, strongly recommended to the reader who is interested in the history of American science, and in the life of an outstanding practitioner of it.” — Donald E. Osterbrock, The Wisconsin Magazine of History
Author: Sanford L. Segal Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400865387 Category : Mathematics Languages : en Pages : 567
Book Description
Contrary to popular belief--and despite the expulsion, emigration, or death of many German mathematicians--substantial mathematics was produced in Germany during 1933-1945. In this landmark social history of the mathematics community in Nazi Germany, Sanford Segal examines how the Nazi years affected the personal and academic lives of those German mathematicians who continued to work in Germany. The effects of the Nazi regime on the lives of mathematicians ranged from limitations on foreign contact to power struggles that rattled entire institutions, from changed work patterns to military draft, deportation, and death. Based on extensive archival research, Mathematicians under the Nazis shows how these mathematicians, variously motivated, reacted to the period's intense political pressures. It details the consequences of their actions on their colleagues and on the practice and organs of German mathematics, including its curricula, institutions, and journals. Throughout, Segal's focus is on the biographies of individuals, including mathematicians who resisted the injection of ideology into their profession, some who worked in concentration camps, and others (such as Ludwig Bieberbach) who used the "Aryanization" of their profession to further their own agendas. Some of the figures are no longer well known; others still tower over the field. All lived lives complicated by Nazi power. Presenting a wealth of previously unavailable information, this book is a large contribution to the history of mathematics--as well as a unique view of what it was like to live and work in Nazi Germany.
Author: Fritz Stern Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691214069 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
The French political philosopher Raymond Aron once observed that the twentieth century "could have been Germany's century." In 1900, the country was Europe's preeminent power, its material strength and strident militaristic ethos apparently balanced by a vital culture and extraordinary scientific achievement. It was poised to achieve greatness. In Einstein's German World, the eminent historian Fritz Stern explores the ambiguous promise of Germany before Hitler, as well as its horrifying decline into moral nihilism under Nazi rule, and aspects of its remarkable recovery since World War II. He does so by gracefully blending history and biography in a sequence of finely drawn studies of Germany's great scientists and of German-Jewish relations before and during Hitler's regime. Stern's central chapter traces the complex friendship of Albert Einstein and the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Fritz Haber, contrasting their responses to German life and to their Jewish heritage. Haber, a convert to Christianity and a firm German patriot until the rise of the Nazis; Einstein, a committed internationalist and pacifist, and a proud though secular Jew. Other chapters, also based on new archival sources, consider the turbulent and interrelated careers of the physicist Max Planck, an austere and powerful figure who helped to make Berlin a happy, productive place for Einstein and other legendary scientists; of Paul Ehrlich, the founder of chemotherapy; of Walther Rathenau, the German-Jewish industrialist and statesman tragically assassinated in 1922; and of Chaim Weizmann, chemist, Zionist, and first president of Israel, whose close relations with his German colleagues is here for the first time recounted. Stern examines the still controversial way that historians have dealt with World War I and Germans have dealt with their nation's defeat, and he analyzes the conflicts over the interpretations of Germany's past that persist to this day. He also writes movingly about the psychic cost of Germany's reunification in 1990, the reconciliation between Germany and Poland, and the challenges and prospects facing Germany today. At once historical and personal, provocative and accessible, Einstein's German World illuminates the issues that made Germany's and Europe's past and present so important in a tumultuous century of creativity and violence.
Author: Kurt Mendelssohn
Author: Kurt Mendelssohn
Author: Kurt Mendelssohn
Author: Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
Author: L Ropolyi
Author: Kris Manjapra
Author: David Charles Clary
Author: Finn Aaserud
Author: Robert H. Kargon
Author: Sanford L. Segal
Author: Fritz Stern