Which Came First, Theory or Experiment?
DOI: 10.1063/1.4796487
Wolfenstein Replies: Norman Ramsey’s account of his conversation with Julian Schwinger is a very valuable historical item indicating how a theoretical calculation was motivated by an experimental result. It is worth noting, however, that the experiment of Willis Lamb was motivated, at least in part, by the belief that there should be higher-order corrections to the hydrogen spectrum, a subject much discussed in the Oppenheimer group with which Lamb worked in the 1930s.
More about the authors
Lincoln Wolfenstein, (lincoln@cmuhep2.phys.cmu.edu) Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US .
