Helge Kragh

Ludvig Lorenz and nineteenth century optical theory: the work of a great Danish scientist.

The career of the Danish physicist Ludvig V. Lorenz (1829-1891) is outlined and his contributions to optical theory between 1860 and 1891 are discussed: the elastic theory of light (1860-1861), the phenomenological wave equation (1862-1864), the electrodynamic theory of light (1867), the Lorenz-Lorentz refraction theory (1869), and the theory of scattering of plane waves by spherical particles (1890). The differences between the Lorenz and the Maxwell theories of light are pointed out, and it is argued that Lorenzs phenomenological attitude and indifference to Maxwellian theory were the main reasons why his mature works in optics exerted little influence.

Elements No. 70, 71 and 72: Discoveries and Controversies

The history of the discovery of the two last rare earth elements, ytterbium and lutetium, is a history of two priority disputes separated by a period of 16 years. The principal concern of the later and more bitter controversy was element 72, which is not a rare earth, but a zirconium homologue. Nonetheless, from a historical point of view the discovery of hafnium is an integral part of the discovery histories of the rare earths, which would be incomplete without hafnium. The two main contestants in the priority disputes, Georges Urbain and Carl Auer von Welsbach, were specialists in rare earth chemistry and highly regarded for their many contributions to this branch of chemistry. As an indication of their stature in the chemical community, both were nominated several times for a Nobel prize. Auer was nominated 10 times between 1918 and 1929, and Urbain 56 times between 1912 and 1936 (Crawford et al. 1987). All of Auer’s nominations came from either Germans or Austrians, and almost all of Urbain’s nominations were French. Their disagreements over the discoveries of elements did not, apparently, hurt their reputation. But it may well have contributed to the Swedish Nobel Committee’s decision not to award either of them the valued award.

Resource Letter HEPP‐1: History of elementary‐particle physics

This Resource Letter provides a guide to literature on the history of modern elementary‐particle physics. Histories that treat developments from the 1930s through the 1980s are focused on and a sampling is included of the historiography covering the period c. 1890–1930, the prehistory of elementary‐particle physics as a discipline. Also included are collections of scientific papers, which might be especially valuable to individuals who wish to undertake historical research on particular scientists or subfields of elementary‐particle physics. The introduction presents some statistical data and associated references for elementary‐particle physics and surveys historiographical approaches and issues that are represented in historical accounts in the bibliography. All references are assigned a rating of E (Elementary), I (Intermediate), or A (Advanced) based on their technical or conceptual difficulty or their appropriateness for a person attempting a graduated study of the history of modern particle physics....