Leadership and creativity : a history of the Cavendish Laboratory, 1871-1919 / by Dong-Won Kim.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kim, Dong-Won, 1960-

Series:

Archimedes (Dordrecht, Netherlands) ; v. 5.

Archimedes ; v. 5

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, England)--History.

Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, England).

Physics--Research--England--History.

Physics.

Physics--Study and teaching (Higher)--England--History.

Physics--Study and teaching (Higher).

History.

Physics--Research.

England.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 224 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Dordrecht ; Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers, [2002]

Summary:

This book intends to answer the following questions: What made it possible to create the Cavendish Laboratory in the 1870s? What was the Laboratory's principal role within Cambridge University and how did this role change over time? Who performed research at the Cavendish, when did they work there, and what topics did they investigate? In what ways and to what extent did the Laboratory's directors influence the work of Cavendish researchers? How did the Cavendish become the mecca of experimental physics during the first third of the twentieth century? In short, why was the Cavendish Laboratory so successful? In his search for the most plausible answers, the author will make it clear that the history of Cavendish Laboratory is not only the story of a successful physics laboratory but also the story of great men. Audience: Historians and sociologists of science and technology, physicists and educators.

Contents:

Chapter 1. The Beginning of the Cavendish Traditions, 1871-1879

1.1. Preparing the Way 1

1.2. Physics Education at Cambridge during the 1870s 6

1.3. Three Cavendish Traditions: Maxwell's Legacy as Director of the Cavendish Laboratory 10

1.4. Researchers and Researches 19

Chapter 2. Rayleigh's Directorship, 1880-1884

2.1. The Election of Lord Rayleigh 26

2.2. Organizational Changes 29

2.3. Rayleigh's Determination of the Ohm 38

2.4. Researchers and Researches 44

2.5. Rayleigh and the Continuation of Maxwell's Guidelines for the Cavendish Laboratory 48

Chapter 3. J.J. Thomson's First Ten Years at the Cavendish, 1885-1894

3.1. The Election of J.J. Thomson 51

3.2. J.J. Thomson as a Researcher 59

3.2.1. Books

3.2.2. Research Papers

3.3. Consolidating the Organization of the Cavendish Laboratory 67

3.3.1. Glazebrook, Shaw, and J.J. Thomson

3.3.2. Teaching Staff

3.3.3. Physics Teaching at the Cavendish Laboratory

3.3.4. Finance

3.3.5. Instruments

3.4. Researchers and Researches 86

3.5. Was there a "Cavendish School" in 1894? 90

Chapter 4. The Emergence of the Cavendish School, 1895-1900

4.1. The 1895 Regulation 93

4.2. J.J. Thomson and the Newcomers 97

4.2.1. J.J. and the First Wave of Advanced Students

4.2.2. J.J., Advanced Students, and the Discovery of the Electron

4.3. Organization 107

4.4. Researchers and Researches 110

4.5. The Emergence of the Cavendish School 114

Chapter 5. J.J. Thomson's Leadership and the Development of the Cavendish School, 1901-1914

5.1. J.J. Thomson's Research in the New Century 119

5.2. J.J. Thomson's Leadership and the Cavendish School 129

5.2.1. J.J.'s Intellectual Leadership

5.2.2. The Emergence of Research Subgroups and a New Cavendish Style

5.2.3. J.J.'s Charisma

5.2.4. The Growth of the Cavendish School

5.3. Organization 143

5.3.1. Physics Teaching in the New Century

5.3.2. Finance

5.3.3. Instruments

5.4. Researchers and Researches 160

5.5. The Decline of J.J. Thomson's Leadership 169

Chapter 6. The End of an Era, 1914-1919

6.1. World War I and the Cavendish Laboratory 175

6.2. The End of the Thomson Era 180.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [187]-215) and index.

ISBN:

1402004753

OCLC:

51647494