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Memoirs of a Physicist in the Atomic Age
Memoirs of a Physicist in the Atomic Age Elsasser, Walter M.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 9, 2017
Elsasser was the founder of the dynamo theory of the Earth's magnetic field, and also had a successful career in other areas of physics, nuclear physics in Paris with the Joliot-Curies, for example, as well as meteorology. He was prolific, and published many journal articles in these areas. In his later life he turned to biology, and wrote three books on biophysics that never were quite accepted by the biological community.
In this book, he gives a more personal view of famous physicists of the early 20th century (Curie, Born, Oppenheimer, Wigner, Schroedinger, etc) than the well-known histories by Gamow and Segre - i.e., less physics - but interesting and enjoyable. His philosophical ideas I sometimes could not follow (or agree with), but the fact that he interacted professionally with so many famous physicists made for an interesting life - and an interesting read.
One scene that depicted 1922 Germany was especially eye-opening. While I knew that Philipp Lenard (Nobel Prize Physics 1905) was a strong supporter of the Nazi party, I didn't realize the extent to which this permeated his lectures, and the extent to which anti-Semitism had quickly escalated after World War I. Elsasser describes his first physics lecture at the University of Heidelberg like this:
“Every seat in the hall was taken. In walked Professor Lenard wearing an impeccably tailored suit; to his left breast there was fastened a silver swastika of gigantic proportions, perhaps ten centimeters square. This was most unusual, if one remembers that in spite of war and revolution, Germany had then still remained a place of law and order. A distinguished senior professor was most certainly not expected to brandish symbols of political extremism in class. But the students thought otherwise. They applauded intensely. They clapped, and then they shouted; they kept on clapping and shouting, on and on and on. How long this continued I cannot say precisely, but it was certainly the most dedicated and loudest ovation I ever witnessed in my life, before or after."
The recent (2017) biography on Einstein on the National Geographic channel, "Genius," depicts a similar scene in one of Lenard's lectures. There, he refuses to cancel class for the funeral of the assassinated Jewish politician, Walther Rathenau, and instead lectures to supportive students about the need to abolish the "Jewish physics of relativity" and return to "pure German physics."
In this book, he gives a more personal view of famous physicists of the early 20th century (Curie, Born, Oppenheimer, Wigner, Schroedinger, etc) than the well-known histories by Gamow and Segre - i.e., less physics - but interesting and enjoyable. His philosophical ideas I sometimes could not follow (or agree with), but the fact that he interacted professionally with so many famous physicists made for an interesting life - and an interesting read.
One scene that depicted 1922 Germany was especially eye-opening. While I knew that Philipp Lenard (Nobel Prize Physics 1905) was a strong supporter of the Nazi party, I didn't realize the extent to which this permeated his lectures, and the extent to which anti-Semitism had quickly escalated after World War I. Elsasser describes his first physics lecture at the University of Heidelberg like this:
“Every seat in the hall was taken. In walked Professor Lenard wearing an impeccably tailored suit; to his left breast there was fastened a silver swastika of gigantic proportions, perhaps ten centimeters square. This was most unusual, if one remembers that in spite of war and revolution, Germany had then still remained a place of law and order. A distinguished senior professor was most certainly not expected to brandish symbols of political extremism in class. But the students thought otherwise. They applauded intensely. They clapped, and then they shouted; they kept on clapping and shouting, on and on and on. How long this continued I cannot say precisely, but it was certainly the most dedicated and loudest ovation I ever witnessed in my life, before or after."
The recent (2017) biography on Einstein on the National Geographic channel, "Genius," depicts a similar scene in one of Lenard's lectures. There, he refuses to cancel class for the funeral of the assassinated Jewish politician, Walther Rathenau, and instead lectures to supportive students about the need to abolish the "Jewish physics of relativity" and return to "pure German physics."
May 16, 2022
I don't recognize this physicist, but his story is kinda dope. Brushing elbows with "golden age" physicist during his studies, contributing to fundamental research on crystallography which was still novel at the time, escaping Nazi Germany, and contribute to major breakthrough in earth science. (I took a crystallography-related course at university, so it is fun to recognize some physicists' names and topics Elsasser crossed path with).
His life and professional experience during rise of Nazi in Germany is also interesting to read. He managed to escape Germany, so his story is not dramatic. What is interesting though, is how he managed to get a job in different field, being kick-ass in new job simply by being physicist, and eventually the whole field benefit from it. Since this is autobiography, I don't know how much of it is true, but reading his story in first person POV is fun: Elsasser doing math in geology when none or maybe only a few of his colleagues did (what an anti-mainstream guy, LOL) and he blew people's mind.
I'd recommend this book if you are a fan of physics or non-fiction reader. If you ever took a university class on crystallography or solid state physics, you'd appreciate the book even more as you'll recognize physicist names (and their contribution), understand the physics concepts being told, and how the timing of major discoveries played an impact on the studies of young Elsasser (PhD equivalent, it was old German system). I'd imagine if you are familiar with earth science, you'll find equally rewarding easter eggs.
It's too bad this book is so old. A physicist youtuber or PhD youtuber should pick up on this book and share their thoughts on it. Truly a tale from different era. From what I read, doing PhD in Elsasser's time is ancient history compared to today (2020s).
His life and professional experience during rise of Nazi in Germany is also interesting to read. He managed to escape Germany, so his story is not dramatic. What is interesting though, is how he managed to get a job in different field, being kick-ass in new job simply by being physicist, and eventually the whole field benefit from it. Since this is autobiography, I don't know how much of it is true, but reading his story in first person POV is fun: Elsasser doing math in geology when none or maybe only a few of his colleagues did (what an anti-mainstream guy, LOL) and he blew people's mind.
I'd recommend this book if you are a fan of physics or non-fiction reader. If you ever took a university class on crystallography or solid state physics, you'd appreciate the book even more as you'll recognize physicist names (and their contribution), understand the physics concepts being told, and how the timing of major discoveries played an impact on the studies of young Elsasser (PhD equivalent, it was old German system). I'd imagine if you are familiar with earth science, you'll find equally rewarding easter eggs.
It's too bad this book is so old. A physicist youtuber or PhD youtuber should pick up on this book and share their thoughts on it. Truly a tale from different era. From what I read, doing PhD in Elsasser's time is ancient history compared to today (2020s).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews