Nuclear Physics In Retrospect

Ch. 1. Double beta decay - historical retrospective and perspectives. 1.1. From the early days until the gauge theory era. 1.2. The nuclear physics side - nuclear matrix elements. 1.3. Double beta decay, neutrino mass models and cosmological parameters - status and prospects. 1.4. Other beyond standard model physics : from SUSY and leptoquarks to compositeness and space time structure. 1.5. The experimental race : from the late eighties to the discovery of [symbol] decay. 1.6. The future of double beta decay. 1.7. Conclusion -- ch. 2. Original articles. 2.1. From the early days until the gauge theory era. 2.2. The nuclear physics side - nuclear matrix elements. 2.3. Double beta decay, neutrino mass models and cosmological parameters - status and prospects. 2.4. Other beyond standard model physics : from SUSY and leptoquarks to compositeness and space time structure. 2.5. The experimental race : from the late eighties to the discovery of [symbol] decay. 2.6. The future of double beta decay

``Nuclear Physics'' deals with Bohr's work on nuclear physics which began in the pre-1932 days with his thinking deeply, but inconclusively about the seeming contradictions then presented by the evidence about the nucleus. In 1936, Bohr recognised and described the insights provided by neutron scattering experiments; the excitement of this new understanding and its extension and consolidation occupied much of the subsequent years. In 1939, he was again first in understanding the essential features of the newly discovered phenomenon of fission, applying successfully the point of view of nuclear reactions which he had developed over the past three years. Later, in 1949-50, he was impressed by the success of the nuclear shell model, which on the face of it seemed hard to reconcile with the picture of the closely interacting nucleons which he had pioneered in 1936. Bohr put much effort into clarifying this paradox.

Nuclear physics between 1921 and 1947 shaped more than any other science thepolitical landscape of our century and the public opinion on physical research. Using quantitative scientometric methods, a new branch in the history of science, the author focuses on the developments of nuclear physics in these formative years paying special attention to theimpact of German emigrants on the evolution of the field as a cognitive and social unity. The book is based on a thorough analysis of various citation analyses thus producing results that should be more replicable and more objective. The scientometric techniques should complement the more qualitative approach usually applied in historical writing. This makes the text an interesting study also for the historian in general.

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

The Reader's Guide to the History of Science looks at the literature of science in some 550 entries on individuals (Einstein), institutions and disciplines (Mathematics), general themes (Romantic Science) and central concepts (Paradigm and Fact). The history of science is construed widely to include the history of medicine and technology as is reflected in the range of disciplines from which the international team of 200 contributors are drawn.

This book presents the first detailed biography of George Placzek -- an outstanding physicist, a participant in the Manhattan Project who stood at the very inception of nuclear physics and the subsequent development of the nuclear bomb in the course of the WWII. In the 1930s, George Placzek was known as an adventurous person with a sharp sense of humor, a tireless generator of novel physics ideas which he generously shared with his colleagues. Born in Brno (now Czech Republic) into a wealthy Jewish family, he lost all his relatives to Holocaust, casting a tragic shadow on his life. Placzek's scientific career began in the late 1920s when the quantum revolution was almost over, but nuclear physics was still at its infancy. He established personal and scientific relations with the creators of quantum mechanics, such as Heisenberg in Leipzig and Niels Bohr in Copenhagen. In Rome, he worked with Fermi, and in Copenhagen he became a part of Bohr's nuclear physics team which dominated nuclear theory at that time. The scope of Placzek's pilgrimage around world physics centers in the 1930s was unique among his colleagues. In January 1939, George Placzek managed to emigrate from Europe to the US, and became a part of the British Mission within the Manhattan Project. His physical insights were instrumental in advancing from the basic discoveries on nuclear chain reactions to the Trinity experiment, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This book is a unique compilation of a large number of previously unknown and unpublished documents from private and university archives, police reports, etc. Placzek's correspondence with the leadership of the Hebrew University in 1934, the 1937 NKVD interrogation files of Konrad Weisselberg, recollections of Ella Andriesse as well as the Zurich Police report of 1956 detailing the circumstances of Placzek's death in a Zurich hotel are illuminating as they shed light on poorly known pages of his life.