Discover
/
Article

Recollections of Rutherford and the Cavendish

DEC 01, 1971
During his years as head of the laboratory, Rutherford came to symbolize its greatness, and the two remain intertwined in the memories of a former Cambridge student.
Samuel Devons

A cat may look at a king, and in Cambridge in the 1930’s there were many kings—eminent, renowned or celebrated in the sphere of learning and yet in Cambridge quite homely figures. Cambridge was their home, as it was ours, the lowly undergraduates. There was Hardy the “pure” mathematician, Housman the scholar‐poet, Keynes the economist, Gowland‐Hopkins the “father” of biochemistry, Wittgenstein the iconoclast of philosophy, Eddington, Dirac and many others. We might only occasionally see, and seldom hear, these illustrious individuals, but their presence gave us a sense of living in history. Education at Cambridge seemed, then, to be more a matter of inspiration by example than instruction by precept.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. International Conference of Physics, London 1934. Volume 1, The Physical Society, London.

More about the authors

Samuel Devons, Columbia University.

Related content
/
Article
Figuring out how to communicate with the public can be overwhelming. Here’s some advice for getting started.
/
Article
Amid growing investment in planetary-scale climate intervention strategies that alter sunlight reflection, global communities deserve inclusive and accountable oversight of research.
/
Article
Although motivated by the fundamental exploration of the weirdness of the quantum world, the prizewinning experiments have led to a promising branch of quantum computing technology.
/
Article
As conventional lithium-ion battery technology approaches its theoretical limits, researchers are studying alternative architectures with solid electrolytes.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1971_12.jpeg

Volume 24, Number 12

Get PT 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.