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Marietta Blau in the History of Cosmic Rays Per Carlson Physics Today Marietta Blau in the history of cosmic rays Per Carlson Citation: Physics Today 65(10), 8 (2012); doi: 10.1063/PT.3.1729 View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.1729 View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/65/10?ver=pdfcov Published by the AIP Publishing Reuse of AIP Publishing content is subject to the terms at: https://publishing.aip.org/authors/rights-and-permissions. Download to IP: 149.28.91.2 On: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:53:16 readers’ forum Marietta Blau in the history of cosmic rays er Carlson, in his article “A century have been formed by cosmic particles ex- contributions deserve a prominent and Pof cosmic rays” (PHYSICS TODAY, plosively disintegrating heavy nuclei in permanent place in any history of February 2012, page 30), states that the emulsion. That discovery, in 1937, cosmic-ray and particle physics. And I the investigation of cosmic rays opened created a sensation among nuclear and believe it is also important, given the up the field of particle physics. How- cosmic-ray physicists worldwide, and by much-discussed problem of the under- ever, he neglects the importance of nu- demonstrating that nuclear emulsions representation of women in physics, clear emulsions in the progress of par- had come of age for recording rare high- that PHYSICS TODAY take care not to ticle physics, and he fails to mention a energy nuclear events, it paved the way overlook women who, like Blau, made key figure, Austrian physicist Marietta for further research in particle physics. major contributions to physics. Blau (1894–1970), who pioneered the Cecil Powell, for example, began using References development of photographic emul- photographic film only in 1938 after he, 1. L. Halpern, M. M. Shapiro, in Out of sions capable of reliably and quantita- like all others in the field, recognized the the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth- tively imaging high-energy nuclear significance of Blau and Wambacher’s Century Women to Physics, N. Byers, particles and events, including reac- discovery and the advantages of the G. Williams, eds., Cambridge U. Press, tions induced by cosmic radiation.1 emulsion method.2 (See also the article by New York (2006), p. 109; see also Between 1923 and 1937, Blau con- Peter Galison in PHYSICS TODAY, Novem- http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/Phase2 tributed to essentially every aspect of ber 1997, page 42, and his response to let- /Blau,[email protected]. emulsion physics. In 1925 she success- ters in August 1998, page 81.) 2. P. Galison, Image and Logic: A Material Cul- fully distinguished the tracks of alpha In considering 20th-century history, ture of Microphysics, U. Chicago Press, one must be alert to the effects of racial Chicago (1997), chap. 3. particles, fast protons, and background 3. B. Strohmaier, R. Rosner, Marietta Blau— events in commercial emulsions, and in persecution and forced emigration on Stars of Disintegration: Biography of a Pio- 1927 she determined proton energies by the attribution and recognition of scien- neer of Particle Physics, P. F. Dvorak, ed., measuring the distances between the tific work. Blau, a Jew, was forced out of Ariadne Press, Riverside, CA (2006). exposed grains in their tracks. To record Austria in 1938. For 10 years she led a 4. A. E. Lindh, “Utredning över Marietta the long tracks of fast protons more ac- fragile existence as a refugee in Oslo, Blaus och Hertha Wambachers till pris- curately, she enlisted British film man- Norway; Mexico City; and New York, belöning föreslagna arbeten” (Evaluation ufacturer Ilford to thicken the emulsion unable to pursue her own research. of work by Marietta Blau and Hertha on its commercial film, and she experi- Meanwhile, in Vienna, her former asso- Wambacher proposed for the prize), ciates, all ardent Nazis (including 1 July 1950, p. 132, Royal Swedish Acad- mented with every other emulsion emy of Sciences, Center for History of parameter—grain size, latent image Wambacher), expropriated her work Science, Stockholm; C. F. Powell, Nobel 3 re tention, development conditions—to and suppressed her name. Prize lecture, http://www.nobelprize.org improve the visibility of alpha-particle Blau’s marginalization is apparent in /nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1950 and fast-proton tracks. the decision process for awarding the /powell-lecture.pdf. See also R. L. Sime, in Beginning in 1932 Blau and her assis- 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics to Powell. Kernforschung in Österreich: Wandlungen tant Hertha Wambacher determined Blau and Wambacher were also nomi- eines interdisciplinären Forschungsfeldes neutron energies by measuring the nated that year, by Erwin Schrödinger. 1900–1978, S. Fengler, C. Sachse, eds., Böhlau, Vienna (2012), p. 211. tracks of recoil protons in the hydrogen- Although the 1936 physics Nobel for Ruth Lewin Sime rich emulsions; in 1936 they began using Victor Hess and Carl Anderson pro- vided a precedent for dividing the ([email protected]) emulsions for quantitative studies of cos- Sacramento City College mic radiation by exposing stacks of pho- award between a fundamental early Sacramento, California tographic plates for several months at an discovery and one that came later, it is Carlson replies: elevation of 2300 meters. As expected, evident that the women were not objec- ■ Ruth Lewin Sime they recorded the tracks of extraterres- tively considered. Instead, the docu- correctly points out the important con- trial protons and neutrons, but to their mentation shows that the Nobel tributions to the nuclear emulsion tech- surprise they also discovered several physics committee prepared a blatantly nique by Marietta Blau, which are unfor- “stars,” which they realized could only inaccurate assessment that denied the tunately often forgotten. Blau, together importance and priority of Blau’s and with Hertha Wambacher, observed Letters and commentary are encouraged Blau and Wambacher’s work. The cosmic-ray-induced “stars” in 1937. In and should be sent by email to women’s names are entirely absent my article, I pointed out that many re- [email protected] (using your surname from the published Nobel texts for that sults of fundamental importance were as the Subject line), or by standard mail year, although other scientists are men- indeed obtained using nuclear emul- tioned who were never nominated and sions, in particular the discovery of the to Letters, PHYSICS TODAY, American Center contributed far less. Powell himself did pion that earned Cecil Powell the 1950 for Physics, One Physics Ellipse, College 4 not cite Blau in his Nobel lecture. Nobel Prize in Physics. Park, MD 20740-3842. Please include As a result, Blau was almost entirely In 1950 Blau and Wambacher were your name, work affiliation, mailing written out of the history of 20th- nominated for the Nobel Prize in address, email address, and daytime century physics. Although recent re- Physics for the method of exposing sets phone number on your letter and search has helped to bring her back in, of emulsion plates at high altitude and attachments. You can also contact us Carlson’s article shows how persistent for observing cosmic-ray-induced 1 online at http://contact.physicstoday.org. the established narrative can be. In the stars. Among the other 28 nominees interests of basic accuracy and histori- that year was Cecil Powell, who re- We reserve the right to edit submissions. cal sensibility, Marietta Blau and her ceived 16 nominations. Reuse of8 AIPOctober Publishing 2012 content Physics is subject Today to the terms at: https://publishing.aip.org/authors/rights-and-permissions. Downloadwww.physicstoday.org to IP: 149.28.91.2 On: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:53:16 Contrary to what Sime says, the names of Blau and Wambacher are not absent from the “Nobel texts.” In its 1950 recommendation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Committee for Physics included as an enclosure a nine-page detailed and accurate account, written by com- mittee member Axel Lindh, 2 on the work by Blau and Wambacher. Lindh wrote that without any doubt Blau and Wambacher were the first to use plates of emulsions to study cosmic rays and the first to use the technique to observe cosmic-ray-induced stars, a phenome- non earlier observed in cloud chambers. Lindh noted that Wambacher, in a 1938 paper,3 wrote that E. G. Steinke was the one who had proposed using emulsions to study cosmic-ray stars. In his conclu- sion, Lindh acknowledged the pioneer- ing work by Blau and Wambacher but noted that it was not of sufficient signif- icance for a Nobel Prize. The committee report4 discussing the nomination of Blau and Wambacher states that among the notable descrip- tions of progress made using the emul- sion technique are a 1925 article in which Blau says that protons also can be observed and one by Blau and Wambacher in 1937 reporting cosmic- ray-induced stars. The report ends with the proposal to award the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics to Powell. References 1. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sci- ences, Stockholm (1950), p. 391. 2. Ref. 1, p. 132. 3. H. Wambacher, Phys. Z. 39, 883 (1938). 4. Ref. 1, p. 81. Per Carlson Stockholm Reuse of AIP PublishingOctober content2012 is Physics subject toToday the terms9 at: https://publishing.aip.org/authors/rights-and-permissions. Download to IP: 149.28.91.2 On: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:53:16.
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