Places and Persons

PLACES AND PERSONS THE WASHINGTON SCIENCE SCENE Soon after my arrival in Washington, I was ad Standards, the Naval Observatory, the Coast and vised to join the American Chemical Society, which Geodetic Survey, the Bureau of Chemistry of the De made me automatically a member of the local section partment of Agriculture, the Surgeon General's Of of the Chemical Society of Washington, and also to fice, the Hygienic Laboratory, the Carnegie Institu join the Philosophical Society of Washington. When tion, the Naval Research Laboratory, the Geological the regular meetings started in the fall of 1924, I was Survey, the Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of introduced to a number of the members and officers. Ethnology, and others had attracted men of out I have never regretted the time I spent during the next standing scientific caliber who, while engaged in re 25 year~ in participating in the activities of scientific search inspired by practical problems, retained a societies and informal colloquia. These activities deep interest in the fundamentals of their specific dis brought to me the acquaintance and, indeed, the ciplines, keeping themselves abreast of these disci friendship of many very interesting people, vastly ex plines not only for their own intellectual satisfaction, tended my education, and gave me much intellectual but also as sources of material for their applied re pleasure. search. These men and women pooled their knowl Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithson edge and experience in the meetings of the various ian Institution, expressed my feeling more generally scientific societies. and more elegantly years before I was born. Let me give a description of two of the societies. The oldest, the Philosophical Society of Washington, Man is a sympathetic being, and no incentive to held its first meeting on March 13, 1871, with Joseph mental exercise is more powerful than that which Henry in the Chair. The society "embraced all springs from a desire for the approbation of his fel sciences, except those, if they be sciences, of specula low men; besides this, frequent interchange of ideas tive thought." In those days, a well educated, intel and appreciative encouragement are almost essential lectual man could be expected to take an intelligent to the success ful prosecution of labors requiring pro interest in the whole spectrum of the sciences, from found thought and continued mental exertion. mathematics to descriptive biology. Recognizing this, Hence it is important that those engaged in similar Joseph Henry in his first presidential address (Nov pursuits should have opportunities for frequent ember 1871) remarked: meetings at stated periods .... Furthermore, a society of this kind becomes a means of instruction to all it s With so many facilities as exist in the City of Wash members, the knowledge of each becoming, as it ington for the pursuit of science, this Society would were, the knowledge of the whole. be derelict in duty did it fail to materially aid, through communication of thought and concert of In the first three decades of this century, the scien action, the advancement of the great cause of human tific life of Washington was young, vigorous, and un improvement. complicated. Organizations such as the Bureau of These descript ions are excerpted fro m an as yet un published aut o Today, people are still trying feverishly to imple biography by R. E. Gibson . ment, without much knowledge of the past, the wis- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington. 232 Johns Hopkins A PL Technical Digest dom of Joseph Henry. Although the Philosophical WASHINGTON PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM Society made provision for the establishment of sec tions to accommodate members with specialized in The year 1926 saw the rise of quantum mechanics terests, that proved to be inadequate to cope with the with its profound implications for the future course rapid advances in all branches of science. As a result, of theoretical physics and chemistry. Gregory Breit specialists formed societies of their own - the anthro (Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie In pologists in 1878, the biologists in 1880, the chemists stitution of Washington) read the articles of Heisen in 1884, the entomologists in 1884, the geographers berg, Schrodinger, and other pioneers in this field as in 1888, the geologists in 1893 - so that for a long they appeared in the journals. In order to crystallize time, the chief interests of members of the Philo his own new knowledge and to share it with his col sophical Society lay in the fields of the more mathe leagues, Breit organized a small colloquium that met matically dependent sciences: physics, astronomy, every two weeks, sometimes more frequently, in the geodesy, geophysics, meteorology, etc. library of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Prior to the end of World War II, the meetings of (DTM). Usually about a dozen young physicists from the Philosophical Society of Washington were de laboratories all over Washington were in attendance. voted chiefly to papers and informal communica After Dr. Breit left Washington to become profes tions by members or local people introduced by sor of physics at New York University in 1929, the members. It formed a valuable forum where an in Washington Physics Colloquium kept its unorgan vestigator could present a recently completed piece of ized identity, meeting at irregular intervals. The ad work for the edification and criticism of his fellows, vent of George Gamow (1934) and Edward Teller or where interesting pieces of information gained by (1935) at The George Washington University saw an reading or experience could be aired. increase in the frequency and a broadening of the dis cussions at the Colloquium's meetings. Several dis Furthermore, through the bulletin of the Society, cussions stand out in my memory. One evening, and later, through minutes published in the Journal Sterling B. Hendricks gave a fascinating and masterly oj the Washington Academy oj Sciences, the priority account of his work on the X-ray examination of cer date of the presentation of a paper was established. tain clay minerals, correlating the structure he found (That was before the days when newspapers became a with those properties of clay recognized as of prac common vehicle for the early publication of scientific tical importance to some and a nuisance to others in results and also before the days when the lecturer terested in the use of soils. from out of town, with accompanying expenses, be Another memorable meeting was held on January came popular.) 26, 1939. Professors Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi The Chemical Society of Washington was organ were present. The discussion centered around the ex ized in 1884, some nine years before the national so perimental work of O. Hahn and O. Strassman in ciety of which it is now a local section. The Society is Germany on the bombardment of uranium with neu very proud of its seniority and always adheres to its trons. Bohr and Fermi told of the interpretation of original name. I enjoyed very much the meetings of, those results that had just been given by Otto R. and the social contacts made in, the Society. The in Frisch and Lise Meitner, who both used the term tellectual fare served up at its meetings was choice, "atomic fission" for the first time. Much excitement, the membership consisting of chemists, mainly hand modified by some skepticism, prevailed. That even picked men and women attracted to Washington by ing, R. B. Roberts, R. C. Mayer, and L. R. Hafstad senior officials of international reputation and by the repaired to their laboratory at DTM to search for the opportunity to tackle vital and interesting problems. extremely high energy particles that Frisch and In those days, the regulatory activities of the federal Meitner suggested would be produced when uranium government were minimal. was bombarded with neutrons. By the end of the Compared with the somewhat serious and staid meeting, Roberts, Mayer, and Hafstad were able to members of the Philosophical Society, the chemists demonstrate the existence of these very high energy were a rather earthy and convivial bunch. They particles to Bohr and Fermi. It was thought at the smoked pipes, enjoyed a glass or two of beer, played time that that was the first time the experiment poker, and had an inexhaustible supply of diverting (which pioneered the Atomic Age) had been done in anecdotes in addition to taste for music and the other the United States. Subsequently it was learned that arts. I found their company much to my liking. In Fowler and Dodson had observed these particles on those days the Chemical Society was run largely by the same day at The Johns Hopkins University and members from the Bureau of Standards, the Bureau that a day before (January 25), Dunning and his co of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture, and workers had successfully performed similar ex the Geophysical Laboratory. I was soon involved in periments at Columbia University. various committees and was elected president in The last meeting of the Washington Physics Collo 1931, succeeding H. T. Herrick of the Bureau of quium was held at DTM on April 29, 1954. It was not Chemistry, a man who was not only a good chemist so much a meeting as a reunion of participants who and administrator, but who always could be relied on went on to distinguished careers in industry, univer for the latest in bawdy anecdotes. sities, and government establishments. Vo lume 4, N Ull1ber4, 1983 233 R. E. Gibson - Places and Persons The Washington Physics Coll~qui. um at its final meeting on Aprtl 29, 1954. The diagram identifies those who attended (including three directors of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory).

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