Malley - Radioactivity: a history of a mysterious science

RADIOACTIVITY

Important European sites for the early history of radioactivity.

A History of a Mysterious Science

Marjorie C. Malley

Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford Universitys
objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education.

Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto

With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam

Copyright 2011 by Marjorie C. Malley

For titles covered by Section 112 of the US Higher Education Opportunity Act,
please visit www.oup.com/us/he for the latest information about pricing
and alternate formats.

Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Malley, Marjorie Caroline, 1941
Radioactivity : a history of a mysterious science / Marjorie C. Malley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-976641-3
1. Radioactivity. I. Title.
QC794.6.R3M35 2011
539.72dc22 2010038979

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper

This book is dedicated
to all who wonder
and seek to understand

PART ONE
A NEW SCIENCE

PART TWO
MEASURING AND USING RADIOACTIVITY

PART THREE
BEYOND THE STORY

Important European sites for the early history of radioactivity

What would I recommend for her to read, a friend asked, for an overview of the history of radioactivity? Though I could think of many books and articles on different aspects of the field, I realized that nothing was available for my friend or other interested nonspecialists who did not have the background, time, or inclination to piece together a full historical narrative from the available materials.

I wrote this book to fill this need. It is a brief history of the science of radioactivity based on years of my research with published texts and manuscript materials supplemented with numerous secondary sources. It provides a broad and accurate history while avoiding excessive technical detail. This book is suitable for specialists in related fields such as physics, chemistry, and history; for nonspecialists wishing to know more about this remarkable episode in modern science; and for readers interested in the world at the turn of the twentieth century. Having spent years teaching and developing curricula, I am especially interested in making the history of science accessible for students and for teachers.

Radioactivity entered history at the onset of major transitions in science, and itself propelled these changes. The fields brief trajectory, spanning three decades, contrasts starkly with the interest it generated and the far-reaching results it produced. The story of radioactivity provides a window into the eras science and its cultural matrix. It illuminates the scientific process and the ongoing human quest for understanding.

Radioactivity has the dual attractions of a fascinating history and dramatic consequences for humanity. The atomic bomb, nuclear power, and changing relations of science to government and the military are obvious results. Though important in their own right, to concentrate on these outcomes would risk distorting the history of radioactivity by viewing the past through the eyes of the present. The radioactivity researchers worked in a very different environment from scientists several decades later. To them radioactivity was an enigma, a discovery with many possibilities for investigation, rather than a prelude to unknowable future developments. This work presents radioactivitys history as it unfolded at the time, a unique, exciting, and instructive story with a particular historical context.

From its modest beginnings as a minor phenomenon, radioactivity quickly developed into a major research field. Mysterious from the start, the new science was an intractable riddle until it was absorbed into emerging areas of physics. I have focused on this key feature of radioactivity, portraying the allure, challenge, and excitement of a totally unanticipated and mysterious phenomenon and the efforts of scientists to comprehend it.

The books first section seeks to capture the puzzlement and suspense for radioactivitys pioneers by leading the reader through the twists and turns, surprises and dead ends which researchers experienced as they pursued their goal of understanding radioactivity. By following this story, the reader can better appreciate the processes involved in developing, testing, and revising scientific explanations.

Radioactivitys history includes applications, methods and instruments, and the institutional structures that supported the new science. These are reviewed in the second section of the book.

The history of the new science illustrates patterns and themes that have animated science and the universal human adventure. The final section of this book identifies and analyzes some factors which informed radioactivitys development and illustrate the ongoing human search to comprehend the world.

I am grateful to the many persons and institutions who supported my first researches on radioactivity many years ago, including the University of California at Berkeley and John Heilbron, who suggested radioactivity as a research topic and guided my first efforts. My late parents, Raymond and Alice Malley, inspired my interest in education. A remark by Jan Gillie led me to begin this book, and my late brother John Malley kept me on track. Tara Hornell made helpful suggestions on several chapters. David Haase, Physics Department at North Carolina State University, suggested improvements to Appendix 3.

I am especially indebted to Kristin Hornell for her detailed reading and critique of the text and for numerous valuable suggestions. Any errors remaining in this book are my responsibility.

I would like to thank editor Phyllis Cohen for her capable guidance and prompt responsiveness throughout the acquisition and editorial processes. The helpfulness of Hallie Stebbins, Jennifer Bossert, Jennifer Kowing, Woody Gilmartin, and others at Oxford University Press are much appreciated.

I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who commented on my book proposal.

I wish to acknowledge the institutions and individuals who provided illustrations and permissions and those who gave technical assistance, including Scott Prouty and the Emilio Segr Visual Archives, American Institute of Physics; Thomas W. Buchler, CEO, and Waltraud Grove of Buchler GmbH, Brunswick, Germany; Adam Perkins, Don Manning, Ruth Long, and the Syndics of Cambridge University Library; Bailey Dabney and Randy Cowling, The Claremore Progress; Matthias Rschner and the Deutsches Museum; Rudolf Fricke, Wolfenbttel, Germany; Nathalie Huchette, Natalie Pigard, and the Muse Curie, Institut Curie; Paul Hogrian and the Library of Congress; Dianna Everett, Oklahoma Historical Society; JoAnn Palmeri, Kerry Magruder, and The History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries; Professor C. M. R. Fowler and Ernest Rutherfords family; David N. Hall and The Frederick Soddy Trust; Regina Frey, Chemistry Department, Washington University at St. Louis; Peter Graf and the Zentralbibliothek fr Physik in Vienna; Dennis and Donna Grossman, James Hornell, and Earl W. Hall. Many thanks to all.