The Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives share a common mission: to help preserve and make known the history of modern physics and allied sciences.
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- Location:
- College Park, MD, 20740-3843
- Phone:
- 301-209-3177
- Mon - Fri:
- 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
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Support the NBL&A:
Help us now to preserve and make known the legacy of our past. Without your support, irreplaceable documents, photographs, and spoken words of great scientists will be lost and forgotten. Consider sponsoring a book in our collection, making a deed of gift, or donating materials to the repository.
For more information and to donate now visit:
http://aip.org/history/historymatters/
Our current exhibition:
The Niels Bohr Library and Archives' newest exhibit focuses on our resources on women in physics and allied sciences. The exhibit includes selections from oral history interviews and books, as well as correspondence, research notebooks and other materials from two collections of personal papers—those of Melba Newell Phillips and Nancy Roman. Please stop by the Reading Room to enrich your knowledge of the role of women in physics.
View our online exhibit about a famous female physicist, Marie Curie:
http://www.aip.org/history/curie/
or
request a free Celebrate Women in Physics Poster from the American Physical Society:
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/reports/poster.cfm
Donate Photos:
The Emilio Segrè Visual Archives is one of the most popular collections in the Niels Bohr Library, drawing requests for over 2000 photographs a year. The photographs are provided on a non-profit basis, strictly for educational use.
The collection is built on materials we receive from personal collections. We are always delighted to receive donations of photographs, films, videotapes and other visual materials.
For more information:
http://aip.org/history/historymatters/donatephotos.html
Contact Us:
Visit our website to get answers to your research questions or to send us a comment.
http://www.aip.org/history/contact.jsp
Sign up for our Newsletter:
Want to keep in touch with the Niels Bohr Library, Find out about new exhibits or major site updates, be notified when the latest History Center newsletter is ready?
Sign up at:
http://www.aip.org/history/newsletter/request.html
Photos
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Our Favorite PhotosCreated on October 14, 2008 at 9:56am
Meggers Gallery of Nobel LaureatesCreated on October 13, 2008 at 1:41pm
No one has added fan photos.
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
In conjunction with the recent large donation of images by the physics department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, AIP's Emilio Segrè Visual Archives (ESVA) received a donation of photos taken by Carl Pittman, a laborer on the betatron project in the late 1940s. Pittman took a series of photos, one of... which was published in the March 20, 1950, edition of Life magazine (which had a three-page story on the invention and operation of the 300-MeV betatron—a turning point in accelerator technology). As the images were taken in his capacity as a UIUC employee (he had to turn over his check from Life for the published image), there are no copyright issues involved in making them available. These unpublished images nicely complement photos of the betatron already held by ESVA.
See all betatron photos in the ESVA:
http://photos.aip.org/quickSearch.jsp?qs
See the Carl Pittman photos in the ESVA:
http://photos.aip.org/quickSearch.jsp?qs
See all betatron photos in the ESVA:
http://photos.aip.org/quickSearch.jsp?qs
See the Carl Pittman photos in the ESVA:
http://photos.aip.org/quickSearch.jsp?qs
Source: www.aip.org
Diversity mattersDiversity is a recurring topic among physicists and other scientists. Many in the physics community aspire to make their community more representative of the broader population. Why is ...
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Galileo: Getting past the icons
When we think about the heritage of physics, we naturally turn to its
icons: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Galileo. Icons serve as
images—ideals which are often uncritically admired. The iconic Galileo
has no faults and no peers. If we adhere only to this part of the
heritage, we impoverish ...the history we tell and we limit our
understanding of what physics is.
Galileo illustrates how much lies beyond the icon. All physicists know
that Galileo discovered the law of falling bodies: the distance a body
falls is proportional to the square of the time of fall. Physicists may
not know just how difficult that discovery was for him. Because this
law is taught in the first semester of intro physics, teachers may
treat it as simple and obvious. Students often don't find it to be
either. Students may be comforted to realize that Galileo struggled too
in his investigations of falling bodies.
Galileo faced several
serious challenges in this project before he could even consider a law
or its proof. The only mathematics he or anyone else trusted in 1600
was the mathematics of ratios of like to like. This, compounded with
the surprising (to us) fact that neither Galileo nor any of his
contemporaries shared our concept of velocity, led to Galileo's first
developments. He defined velocity and he developed the math that
allowed him to investigate balls rolling down an inclined plane. By
1604 he had achieved these preliminary results that we take as
axiomatic. As Stillman Drake, the Galileo scholar, wrote in Scientific American
in 1973, "There is no logic to [Galileo's] foregoing procedure except
for the logic of discovery." Physics at the cutting edge is never
obvious.
As for his peers, Galileo proudly associated with mathematicians and
workmen in dockyards. His work on defining velocity involved both
physical principles and observing pile drivers at work. In 1597,
Galileo and hired artisans started to build a mechanical calculating
device, which he sold to architects and surveyors. Ten years later he
heard of Hans Lipperhey's telescope and set about improving it. He
needed something spectacular to attract patronage. But he also observed
the Moon and more, although so did Thomas Harriot (first), Christoph
Scheiner, and many others. The non-iconic Galileo did indeed face
challenges in his work. And he did not work alone.
Readers may learn more by visiting an exhibit at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute: Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy. The show runs through September 7. The American Astronomical Society has been working with IYA2009 organizers on the Galileoscope project. You can replicate Galileo's observations by using this high-quality, low-cost tool.
Sincerely,
Greg GoodRead More
When we think about the heritage of physics, we naturally turn to its
icons: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Galileo. Icons serve as
images—ideals which are often uncritically admired. The iconic Galileo
has no faults and no peers. If we adhere only to this part of the
heritage, we impoverish ...the history we tell and we limit our
understanding of what physics is.
Galileo illustrates how much lies beyond the icon. All physicists know
that Galileo discovered the law of falling bodies: the distance a body
falls is proportional to the square of the time of fall. Physicists may
not know just how difficult that discovery was for him. Because this
law is taught in the first semester of intro physics, teachers may
treat it as simple and obvious. Students often don't find it to be
either. Students may be comforted to realize that Galileo struggled too
in his investigations of falling bodies.
Galileo faced several
serious challenges in this project before he could even consider a law
or its proof. The only mathematics he or anyone else trusted in 1600
was the mathematics of ratios of like to like. This, compounded with
the surprising (to us) fact that neither Galileo nor any of his
contemporaries shared our concept of velocity, led to Galileo's first
developments. He defined velocity and he developed the math that
allowed him to investigate balls rolling down an inclined plane. By
1604 he had achieved these preliminary results that we take as
axiomatic. As Stillman Drake, the Galileo scholar, wrote in Scientific American
in 1973, "There is no logic to [Galileo's] foregoing procedure except
for the logic of discovery." Physics at the cutting edge is never
obvious.
As for his peers, Galileo proudly associated with mathematicians and
workmen in dockyards. His work on defining velocity involved both
physical principles and observing pile drivers at work. In 1597,
Galileo and hired artisans started to build a mechanical calculating
device, which he sold to architects and surveyors. Ten years later he
heard of Hans Lipperhey's telescope and set about improving it. He
needed something spectacular to attract patronage. But he also observed
the Moon and more, although so did Thomas Harriot (first), Christoph
Scheiner, and many others. The non-iconic Galileo did indeed face
challenges in his work. And he did not work alone.
Readers may learn more by visiting an exhibit at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute: Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy. The show runs through September 7. The American Astronomical Society has been working with IYA2009 organizers on the Galileoscope project. You can replicate Galileo's observations by using this high-quality, low-cost tool.
Sincerely,
Greg GoodRead More
Source: www.aip.org
I hope you had an enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. In honor of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), I've asked Greg Good, director of the Center for History of Physics, to offer some insights on physicist-astronomer-philosopher Galileo Galilei. —Fred
Kristaq Piti I am a physics teacher and I would like to visit the library with my students, is it possible?
Judith Tallman Kennen This is the best - Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Take a look!!!
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Dear Friends,
The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on October 6, 2009 and the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives wants to remind you of our large collection of Nobel Laureate portraits.
In 1958, William F. Meggers gave the American Institute of Physics
(AIP) his collection of photographs of 33 Nobel Laureates in
spectro...scopy and related fields, many of them signed. The Institute
subsequently undertook the task of augmenting the collection to include
photographs of all winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, as well as
physicists who had received a Nobel Prize in other areas (for example,
Chemistry or Peace). The Gallery, dedicated to the memory of William F.
Meggers, is now displayed on the hallways outside the Niels Bohr
Library and here on our site.
The low res images, including our October Photos of the Month,
may be used at no cost in educational projects on students’ and
professors’ educational, non-commercial Web sites, while high quality
print and digital reproductions are available to authors and publishers
for purchase at low cost.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us as we are continually digitizing our holdings and acquiring new images.
Regards,
Scott Prouty
Photo LibrarianRead More
The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on October 6, 2009 and the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives wants to remind you of our large collection of Nobel Laureate portraits.
In 1958, William F. Meggers gave the American Institute of Physics
(AIP) his collection of photographs of 33 Nobel Laureates in
spectro...scopy and related fields, many of them signed. The Institute
subsequently undertook the task of augmenting the collection to include
photographs of all winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, as well as
physicists who had received a Nobel Prize in other areas (for example,
Chemistry or Peace). The Gallery, dedicated to the memory of William F.
Meggers, is now displayed on the hallways outside the Niels Bohr
Library and here on our site.
The low res images, including our October Photos of the Month,
may be used at no cost in educational projects on students’ and
professors’ educational, non-commercial Web sites, while high quality
print and digital reproductions are available to authors and publishers
for purchase at low cost.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us as we are continually digitizing our holdings and acquiring new images.
Regards,
Scott Prouty
Photo LibrarianRead More
Source: photos.aip.org
| Advanced Search | Prices | Use Policy | Using Einstein's Image | Donate Photos | FAQ
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Samuel Goudsmit Papers go online
The Niels Bohr Library and Archives recently received funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for an exciting new project to scan and make available online the complete contents of the Samuel A. Goudsmit Papers. Goudsmit (1902–1978) was a Dutch-educated p...hysicist who spent his career in the US and was involved at the cutting edge of physics for over 50 years. He was an important player in the development of quantum mechanics in the 1920s and 1930s; he then served as scientific head of the Alsos Mission during World War II, which assessed the progress of the German atomic bomb project. Goudsmit became a senior scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory and editor-in-chief of the American Physical Society. The papers consist of an estimated 66,000 documents, which include correspondence, research notebooks, lectures, reports, and captured German war documents; the collection is the most used in the library.
This is the first manuscript collection that we will digitize, and it will become one of the few complete history-of-physics collections online. We plan to make the collection freely available online by summer 2010.Read More
The Niels Bohr Library and Archives recently received funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for an exciting new project to scan and make available online the complete contents of the Samuel A. Goudsmit Papers. Goudsmit (1902–1978) was a Dutch-educated p...hysicist who spent his career in the US and was involved at the cutting edge of physics for over 50 years. He was an important player in the development of quantum mechanics in the 1920s and 1930s; he then served as scientific head of the Alsos Mission during World War II, which assessed the progress of the German atomic bomb project. Goudsmit became a senior scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory and editor-in-chief of the American Physical Society. The papers consist of an estimated 66,000 documents, which include correspondence, research notebooks, lectures, reports, and captured German war documents; the collection is the most used in the library.
This is the first manuscript collection that we will digitize, and it will become one of the few complete history-of-physics collections online. We plan to make the collection freely available online by summer 2010.Read More
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Why should physicists mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th of On the Origin of Species? Of course we recognize the critical importance of Darwin's ideas for biology in the last century, but how is this relevant to physics? I submit that this is the wrong question. To my mind, we should ins...tead be asking: Why would one think Darwin is not important to all science? Click link to read more.Read More
Source: www.aip.org
For this week's issue, I've asked Greg Good, director of the Center for History of Physics, to offer some insights on Charles Darwin. —Fred
Joel Taylor I have topical groups in the following research areas of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics ;Condensed Matter Physics, Experimental Elementary Particle Physics,Nuclear Physics, Plasma Physics ,Theoretical Elementary Particles, Astronomy and Astro...physics; and Astroparticle Physics. These are open groups and ready for discussion and posting.
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives The Niels Bohr Library and Archives (NBL&A) now has online more than 400 of its interviews with leading physicists and astronomers. The online archives include full transcripts of some of the most valuable interviews from its remarkable oral history collection. Audio clips for a number of the interviewees—including Steven Weinberg, Hans Bethe, George Gamow, and Werner Heisenberg—are also available online.
Oral History Interviews in Physics, Astronomy, and Geophysics — The Niels Bohr Library & Archives at
Source: www.aip.org
The Niels Bohr Library and Archives of the American Institute of Physics holds more than a thousand tape-recorded interviews. Many of the oral history interview transcripts are now online. The interviews, ...
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives
W.F. Meggers Gallery of Nobel Laureates
In 1958, William F. Meggers gave the American Institute of Physics (AIP) his collection of photographs of 33 Nobel Laureates in spectroscopy and related fields, many of them signed. The Gallery, dedicated to the memory of William F. Meggers, has been kept current by AIP and is now displayed on the walls of the hallways outside the Niels Bohr Library and here on our website.
Source: photos.aip.org
| Advanced Search | Prices | Use Policy | Using Einstein's Image | Donate Photos | FAQ
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives We just sent an update concerning a group of Russian filmmakers who recently visited the Niels Bohr Library & Archives while researching their film on George Gamow -- become a Fan to receive this announcement and others via our Updates. See also this link to an Oral History Transcript of an interview the Center for History of Physics conducted with Gamow in 1968.
Source: www.aip.org
This transcript may not be quoted, reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part by any means except with the written permission of the American Institute of Physics.
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives We just sent out an Update concerning our celebration of the upcoming LaserFest 2010 - become a Fan to receive this announcement and others via our Updates.
Source: www.laserfest.org
Laserfest is a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the laser, which was invented in 1960
KKelly Hicks
This morning watched Turner Classic Movie channel's Madame Curie, with Greer Garson, and then went on to Google. What a fascinating story, fictionalized in the film, but then the true story provided through this on-line exhibit link, all the more thrilling.
Her brief story is provided along Professor Curie, alongside ma...ny other great scholars and thinkers, who lead us to participate as Learners and those who choose now for the Global Tribe.
Take a peak: http://www.aip.org/history/exhibits.html
They also sponsor the Niels Bohr Library and Archives provided below.
As Madame Curie offers in the closing scene: take the torch of knowledge and build the palaces of the future. Here is good place to start.Read More
Her brief story is provided along Professor Curie, alongside ma...ny other great scholars and thinkers, who lead us to participate as Learners and those who choose now for the Global Tribe.
Take a peak: http://www.aip.org/history/exhibits.html
They also sponsor the Niels Bohr Library and Archives provided below.
As Madame Curie offers in the closing scene: take the torch of knowledge and build the palaces of the future. Here is good place to start.Read More
Center for History of Physics/Niels Bohr Library & Archives updated Extended Info.
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