In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain. In this episode we discuss the the various pictures of doing science from Bacon's experimental philosophy through Whewell's "Discover's Induction".
An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.
A link to "The Complete Collection of the English Poems which have Obtained the Chancellor's Medal at Cambridge University" in which one can find Whewell's "Boadicea"
A look at the early life of the scholar and natural philosopher William Whewell. We all look at the dynamics of what it's like to be a first generation college student through the poetry of Edward Whitelock and the experiences of the podcast producer.
In our final episode of the biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at the last twenty years of his life in the United States. We consider his conversations with the mathematician Kurt Godel, the letters to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that helped initiate what would become the Manhattan Project, his post-war efforts to promote peace and his principled defiance of McCarthyism.
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey, we delve more deeply into Einstein's religious views and recap the months up to his emigration to the United States to take a position at the Institute of Advanced Study.
In 1930, Albert Einstein wrote,
“I believe that the most important mission of the state is to protect the individual and to make it possible for him to develop into a creative personality.”
This concise statement of his political philosophy would guide his actions through much of the 1920's and early 30's as he used his fame and celebrity to advance causes important to him.
In this episode, we'll examine those actions and causes.
In the words of physicist John Wheeler,
“In all the history of human thought, there is no greater dialogue than that which took place over the years between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein about the meaning of the quantum.”
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey we explore the relationship between the two men that began through journal articles on light quantum and the atom, was further entwined through Nobel Prizes awarded together and continued through debates shared in letters, papers and at scientific meetings.
This week we look at the period of Albert Einstein's life from 1905-1913 as he moved from one position to another on his rise among the European physics community
In the second half of 1905, Albert Einstein published tow papers that refined humanity's understanding of space and time as well as the relationship between mass and energy. In this episode, we examine the factors that led to these discoveries.
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five papers that changed the course of physics and the modern world. In this episode, we look at the first three of those works including his paper on the photoelectric effect, his derivation of Avogardo's number and his analysis of Brownian motion that more or less proved the existence of atoms.
In this second part of our examination of Einstein's life before the Miracle Year of 1905, we examine the period between his graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic and his being hired at the Swiss patent office. We discuss his scientific work as well as his relationship with Mileva Maric and the issues surround that.
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In 1896, Albert Einstein enrolled in the teacher preparation program for physics and mathematics at the Zurich Polytechnic. We look at the events that brought him to that point and what transpired while he was a student there, including the beginning of his romantic relationship with Mileva Maric.
In this first episode of our biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at his childhood growing up in Munich and the various influences that would shape him in many ways.
In this episode, we look at the dispute between British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and Indian prodigy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar over white dwarf objects and the fate of higher mass stars.
For A. S. Eddington, the most important thing a thinking person could do, whether they be a scientist or a person of faith, was to follow a path of inquiry that sought to uncover new insights and new truths.
In this episode, we look at how this value influenced Eddington's work in stellar structure and relativity. Additionally, we look at how his other valence values such as internationalism influenced his actions during the Great War.
In this episode we consider the question of whether a person can be both religious and a scientist by looking at the early life of the British astrophysicist and lifelong Quaker, Arthur Stanley Eddington.
In our third and final installment of the life of George Ellery Hale, we look at the establishment of the Mt. Wilson Observatory and his other endeavors. We also examine the psychological pressures that drove him and eventually lead to his mental breakdown.
In the decade between 1890 and 1900, George Hale went from being a promising graduate of MIT to the world famous director of the Yerkes Observatory. In this episode, we follow his life and work during this critical time.
This week we begin a biographical series on George Ellery Hale by covering his life from his childhood in Chicago up through his graduation and marriage.
The shift from astronomy to astrophysics necessitated the development of new tools of observation at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In this episode, we look at the rise of the reflecting telescopes and the men who use them including, James Keeler and George Ritchey, probably the greatest telescope designer in history.
In 1925, the astronomer Henry Norris Russell read a paper at the 33rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The paper, written by Edwin Hubble, a staff astronomer at the Mt. Wilson observatory, detailed observations of Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Nebula. These observations and the analysis of them showed that the spiral was a million light years outside the Milky Way Galaxy, thus establishing it as an island universe once and for all. The Great Debate was settled and the size of the universe was expanded to a scale unimaginable just a decade earlier.
In 1914, Harlow Shapley moved to work at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. Over the course of five years, using the 60 inch reflector there, he observed the 75 visible globular clusters and developed a whole new model of the Milky Way Galaxy and our place in it.
In our final episode of this mini-series on the women who worked at the Harvard College Observatory, we dive into the life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin from her time at Cambridge University to her life in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt would form the core of the calculation staff at the Harvard College Observatory for nearly two decades. They oversaw the transition of the Observatory from the directorship of Edward Charles Pickering to Harlow Shapley and established the dominant classification systems and physical laws for stellar spectra and variable stars in the early 20th century that would lead to foundational discoveries in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
In the first part of a multi episode series, we look at the lives of two very different women. Williamina Fleming and Antonia Maury both made significant contributions to the field of stellar spectroscopy by developing classification systems to better understand the light from stars but their different backgrounds and training meant that they understood the role of being a calculator very differently.
In 1782, William Herschel entered the service of his Royal Majesty, King George III of the United Kingdom. Over the next 20 years, he, along with his brother Alexander, would build hundred of telescopes including the largest research instruments in Europe as well as create the largest catalogue of deep sky objects ever compiled. Assisting him in this was his sister, Caroline Herschel, who would become an exceptional astronomer in her own right.
He would seek to answer questions about the Sun's motion through space, the behavior of variable stars, the nature of stellar spectra, the shape of the Milky Way galaxy and the Sun's position in it and the composition of nebulae.
In 1788, he married Mary Pitt (nee Baldwin) and, in 1792, fathered a son, John Herschel, who would go on to be the preeminent scientist of the mid-18th century; competing his father's catalogue work by extending his observations to the Southern Hemisphere and doing much to create the technology of photography as well as making significant contributions to the philosophy of science.
John and his wife, Margaret, would have 12 children, three of whom would become scientists that would make significant contributions during their lifetimes.
William Herschel was a Hanoverian musician turned British astronomer. In this episode we look at his journey from military band oboist to the court astronomer of King George III. Along the way we look at his work as a composer and orchestral director, his entry into the field of astronomical instrument construction and his bringing of the techniques of natural history to astronomical investigation.
We also discuss telescope design, what's the best telescope for a beginner to invest in and the idea of scientific serendipity.
In our second episode devoted to the life and work of Edmond Halley, we recount his three voyages aboard the Paramour to create a map of magnetic variation, his predictions on the return of the comet of 1682, now known as Halley's Comet, his discovery of the proper motion of the stars, his translation of the works of Apollonius, and his work as Britain's Astronomer Royale among a host of other accomplishments.
This week we look at the earlier career of astronomer, mathematician and natural philosopher Edmond Halley. We look at the first part of his career but through about 1693 including his trips to St. Helena, Danzig and Paris. We also look at his ideas on measuring the size of the solar system, terrestrial magnetism, ocean salinity and the cause of the Biblical flood.
In this episode we finally conclude our biographical sketch of Isaac Newton by looking at his life in the years following the publication of the Principia. We look at his political activities following the Glorious Revolution, his friendship with John Locke, the circle of young followers the gathered around him in London, including David Gregory, and his intense and troubled relationship with Nicolas Fatio de Duillier. We look at the emotional breakdown that took place in 1693 and his work afterwards including his publication of Opticks. Finally, we consider his legacy though the words of those who followed him.
In 1687, Issac Newton, through the hard work and auspices of Edmund Halley, published the greatest scientific work of all time. In this episode we examine the events that led to the book's creation including Newton's correspondences with Robert Hooke and John Flamsteed. We also spend a bit of time considering the work's content.
This week we look at Isaac Newton's work in the area of alchemy and examine his heretical religious views centered on the ancient variant doctrine of Arianism.
In this episode we look at the emergence of Isaac Newton onto the public stage with the publication of his first work on Optics in the pages of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1672. We then examine the growing conflict between Newton and Robert Hooke and consider the work of the Society's secretary, Henry Oldenburg in fostering scientific communication during the turmoil.
In part 1 of our multipart biography of the father of physics, we look at the life of Isaac Newton from his early years in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire through his grammar school days to his time at Trinity College, Cambridge. We take some time to specifically look at the cultural and religious background that influenced his upbringing as well as his work on vision, color, light and optics.
In the final part of the part of our biography of Johannes Kepler, we look at his scientific work from 1612 to his death in 1630 including the Epitome of Copernicus, Harmonice Mundi and the Rudolphine Tables. We consider the accusations of witchcraft against his mother, Katharina, and a number of other personal tragedies. In conclusion we discuss the Somnium, Kepler's work of science fiction.
In part three of our biography of Johannes Kepler we look at his years in Prague and the scientific work he did there including Astronomiae Pars Optica, Dioptrice and Astronomia Nova. We discuss how he arrived at his first two laws of planetary motion and his description of how lenses produce images in various optical systems including the eye. We also follow the personal tragedy of the death of his son Frederick, how wife Barbara and the chaos that eventually engulfed Prague.
In part two of our biography of Johannes Kepler we look at the mathematician and astronomer's time in Graz and with Tycho Brahe in Prague. We specifically look at Kepler's role in the conflict between Brahe and Nicolas Reimars Bar (aka, Ursus).
Part 1 of our biography of of Johannes Kepler covering his early life from his seminary schooling to his time in Graz. We discuss his school in the lower seminary at Adelburg, the upper seminary at Maulbronn and at Sift at the University of Tubingen. After this we follow him to his assignment at the Protestant school in Graz and his work as the district mathematician. IN this we examine his attitudes on astrology and the publication of the Mysterium Cosmigraphicum.
In this final episode devoted to the life of the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, we look at his conflict with Nicolaus Reimers Bar (aka Ursus) as well as a number of other factors that led him to depart the island of Hven and eventually land in Prague where he would spend the last two years of his life.
This week we look at the construction of Uraniborg on the island of Hven and the astronomical work done on it. We also discuss the ideas that informed the facility's founding and the social structure that supported its construction and operation. Tycho's observatory and laboratory was the premier scientific research institution of its time and it marked a transition in how science was done throughout Europe.
A continuation of the the biographies of Nicolas Copernicus and Georg Joachim Rheticus from the time of the two men's meeting through the end of Rheticus' life and the publication of his trigonometric tables. Rheticus' work on the Narratio and the publication will be discussed as will the tragic outcomes of his career. The timely encounter with Valentin Otto is also covered.
The first part of a biographical examination of the two men who started the Scientific Revolution; Nicolas Copernicus and Georg Joachim Rheticus.
A brief scientific biography of the Islamic physicist, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen). We look at his work in optics, mathematics, astronomy and the development of a method of scientific inquiry.
In this continuation of our biography of the life and scientific work of Richard Feynman, we look at the work for which he would win his Nobel prize. Beginning with his move to Cornell after the end of the Manhattan Project, we cover his full development of the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, it's application to renormalization of quantum electrodynamics and the development of his Feynman Diagram. We also consider the contributions of Julian Schwinger and Freeman Dyson.
A continuation of the biography of Richard Feynman covering his time with the Manhattan Project beginning with hi work on Robert Wilson's assertion team to join Hans Bethe's T-Division and leading the T-4 (Diffusion) Group.
A continuation of the biography of American physicist Richard Feynman through his years in higher education at MIT and Princeton. His work on cosmic ray scattering, intermolecular forces, flexions and quantum field theory with John Archibald Wheeler are discussed along with events in his personal life at that time.