Discover
/
Article

APS and the Wider World

MAR 01, 1999
Founded a century ago, the American Physical Society not only has played a leading role in advancing and diffusing knowledge and understanding of physics, but has widened its influence and importance by speaking out on public issues.
Harry Lustig

Early America was not a fertile land for physics. Benjamin Franklin had been virtually alone in practicing physics in colonial times, and for nearly a century after him the seeds of physics hardly sprouted.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. G. H. Daniels, Science in American Society, Knopf, New York (1971).

  2. 2. D. J. Kevles, The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America, Harvard U. P., Cambridge, Mass, (1995).

  3. 3. A. G. Webster, Phys. Rev. 18, 306 (1904).https://doi.org/PHRVAO

  4. 4. M. Pupin, From Immigrant to Inventor, Scribner, New York (1925).

  5. 5. F. Bedell, Phys. Rev. 75, 1601 (1949).https://doi.org/PHRVAO

  6. 6. M. Phillips, Am. J. Phys. 58 (3), 219 (1990).

  7. 7. A. Halsted, “From Manhattan to Maryland—The American Physical Society and Its Relocation,” unpublished master’s thesis, Baruch College of the City University of New York (1993).

  8. 8. Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 1 (1899).

  9. 9. Various unpublished Minutes of the Council of the American Physical Society.

  10. 10. New York Times, 30 April 1939, p. 35.

More about the authors

Harry Lustig, University of New Mexico.

Related content
/
Article
Interviews now available to the public bring the famed physicist’s lesser-known early years to life.
/
Article
Graduate students in physics and astronomy struggle with mental health. Support from peers and advisers is critical; so is institutional change.
/
Article
Inside certain quantum systems, where randomness was thought to lurk, researchers—after a 40-year journey—have found order and unique wave patterns that stubbornly survive.
/
Article
A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1999_03.jpeg

Volume 52, Number 3

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.