The Harvest of a Century: Discoveries in Modern Physics in 100 Episodes

Contents......Page 12
Preface......Page 8
Prologue – The Nineteenth-Century Heritage......Page 16
1 Röntgen’s X Rays (1895)......Page 21
2 Becquerel Discovers Radioactivity (1896)......Page 25
3 Zeeman and Lorentz – A First Glimpse at the Electron (1896)......Page 28
4 The Discovery of the Electron (1897)......Page 31
5 Marie and Pierre Curie – Polonium and Radium (1898)......Page 35
6 Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Rays (1899)......Page 39
7 Max Planck and the Quantum of Action (1900)......Page 43
8 Rutherford Finds the Law of Radioactive Decay (1900)......Page 49
9 The Transmutation of Elements (1902)......Page 52
10 Einstein’s Light-Quantum Hypothesis (1905)......Page 55
11 Einstein Creates the Special Theory of Relativity (1905)......Page 59
12 Nernst and the Third Theorem of Thermodynamics (1905)......Page 65
13 Observing a Single Particle – The Rutherford–Geiger Counter and Later Electronic Detectors (1908)......Page 69
14 Jean Perrin and Molecular Reality (1909)......Page 73
15 Millikan’s Oil-Drop Experiment (1910)......Page 77
16 The Atomic Nucleus (1911)......Page 81
17 Tracks of Single Particles in Wilson’s Cloud Chamber (1911)......Page 85
18 Kamerlingh Onnes – Liquid Helium and Superconductivity (1911)......Page 88
19 Hess Finds Cosmic Radiation (1912)......Page 92
20 Max von Laue – X Rays and Crystals (1912)......Page 95
21 Bragg Scattering (1912)......Page 99
22 J. J. Thomson Identifies Isotopes (1912)......Page 103
23 Bohr’s Model of the Atom (1913)......Page 108
24 Moseley and the Periodic Table of Elements (1913)......Page 112
25 The Franck–Hertz Experiment (1914)......Page 117
26 Einstein Completes the General Theory of Relativity (1915)......Page 120
27 Sommerfeld – Spatial Quantization and Fine Structure (1916)......Page 125
28 Nitrogen is Turned into Oxygen (1919)......Page 130
29 Astronomers Verify General Relativity (1919)......Page 134
30 Stern and Gerlach Observe Spatial Quantization (1922)......Page 138
31 The Compton Effect – The Light Quantum Gains Momentum (1923)......Page 142
32 Matter Waves Proposed by de Broglie (1923)......Page 147
33 Bose and Einstein – A New Way of Counting (1924)......Page 151
34 Bothe and Geiger – Coincidence Experiments (1925)......Page 155
35 Pauli’s Exclusion Principle (1925)......Page 159
36 Spin (1925)......Page 163
37 Heisenberg and the Creation of Quantum Mechanics (1925)......Page 167
38 Dirac’s Mechanics of q Numbers (1925)......Page 173
39 Schrödinger Creates Wave Mechanics (1926)......Page 176
40 Born’s Probability Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (1926)......Page 182
41 Fermi–Dirac Statistics – Yet Another Way of Counting (1926)......Page 188
42 Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and Bohr’s Complementarity (1927)......Page 193
43 Quantum Mechanics and Relativity – The Dirac Equation (1928)......Page 198
44 The Band Model of Conductors and Semiconductors (1928–31)......Page 204
45 Hubble Finds that the Universe is Expanding (1929)......Page 210
46 Pauli Presents His Neutrino Hypothesis (1930)......Page 215
47 Lawrence and the Cyclotron (1931)......Page 220
48 Chadwick Discovers the Neutron (1932)......Page 225
49 Anderson Discovers the Positron (1932)......Page 229
50 Nuclear Reaction Brought About by Machine (1932)......Page 233
51 Heisenberg on Nuclear Forces: Isospin (1932)......Page 238
52 The Proton Displays an ‘Anomalous’ Magnetic Moment (1933)......Page 242
53 Fermi’s Theory of Beta Rays (1933)......Page 246
54 Irène and Frédéric Joliot–Curie – Artificial Radioactivity (1934)......Page 249
55 Fermi Produces Radioactivity with Neutrons (1934)......Page 254
56 Cherenkov Radiation Discovered (1934) and Explained (1937)......Page 259
57 Prediction of the Meson (1934) – Discovery of the Muon (1937)......Page 264
58 A New Kind of Liquid: Superfluid Helium (1937)......Page 269
59 Why the Stars Shine (1938)......Page 273
60 Nuclear Fission (1938)......Page 278
61 Two Transuranium Elements Finally Found – Neptunium and Plutonium (1940/41)......Page 283
62 Landau Explains Superfluidity (1941)......Page 288
63 Fermi Builds a Nuclear Reactor (1942)......Page 292
64 The Synchrotron: Phase Stability (1945) and Strong Focussing (1952)......Page 299
65 Magnetic Resonance (1945)......Page 307
66 The Pi Meson Discovered by the Photographic Method (1947)......Page 314
67 The Lamb Shift (1947)......Page 318
68 Strange Particles (1947)......Page 322
69 The Transistor (1947)......Page 327
70 The Shell Model – A Periodic Table for Nuclei (1949)......Page 332
71 Quantum Electrodynamics and Feynman Diagrams (1949)......Page 337
72 Glaser’s Bubble Chamber (1953)......Page 344
73 The Maser (1954)......Page 350
74 Strangeness – A New Quantum Number (1955)......Page 355
75 Antimatter (1955)......Page 360
76 The Neutrino Finally Observed (1956)......Page 365
77 Parity – A Symmetry Broken (1957)......Page 370
78 Superconductivity Explained by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer (1957)......Page 377
79 Weak Interaction Better Understood – The V – A Theory (1957)......Page 381
80 Keeping Ions in a Trap (1958)......Page 386
81 The Mössbauer Effect (1958)......Page 392
82 The Laser (1960)......Page 397
83 Particle–Antiparticle Colliders (1961)......Page 401
84 Nonlinear Optics (1961)......Page 405
85 There is More than One Kind of Neutrino (1962)......Page 411
86 Semiconductor Heterostructures – Efficient Laser Diode Proposed (1963) and Built (1970)......Page 416
87 Three Quarks – Order in the Wealth of New Particles (1964)......Page 422
88 CP – Another Symmetry Broken: The Peculiar System of the Neutral K Meson and Its Antiparticle (1964)......Page 428
89 Blackbody Radiation from the Early Universe (1965)......Page 433
90 Two Forces of Nature are Only One – Electroweak Interaction (1967)......Page 440
91 Weak Neutral Currents – A Glimmer of Heavy Light (1973)......Page 445
92 Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) – The New Theory of Strong Interaction (1973)......Page 449
93 A Fourth Quark – Charm (1974)......Page 454
94 The Discovery of the Gluon (1979)......Page 461
95 The Quantum Hall Effect (1980)......Page 466
96 W and Z Boson Discovered (1983)......Page 473
97 Cooling and Trapping Neutral Atoms (1985)......Page 480
98 There are Just Three Generations (1989)......Page 485
99 Bose–Einstein Condensation of Atoms (1995)......Page 489
100 Neutrinos Have Mass (1998, 2001)......Page 494
Epilogue – What Have We Learnt? What is to Come?......Page 499
Photo Credits......Page 501
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