SMI – STEFAN MEYER INSTITUTE

Stefan Meyer and the age of the sun

J. Marton Stefan Meyer Institute (SMI) Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna Boltzmanngasse 3 1090 Vienna Email: [email protected]

WWW:OEAW.AC.AT/SMI OePG-SPG Tagung 2017 1 Why the „age of the sun“ connected to Stefan Meyer is interesting?

• In the literature the dating method with uranium-lead of the age of the earth (4.55 x109 yrs) is traced back to Fritz Houtermans (1953) and Clair C. Patterson (1955).

• Less known is a publication in MIR by Stefan Meyer in 1937 finding an age of the sun 4.6 x 109 yrs.

2 Stefan Meyer and his legacy

• Radiuminstitut founded 1910 • First Director: Stefan Meyer

• 1st institute of Austrian Academy • Pioneer in radioactivity research • 2 nobel laureates (V. Hess, G. Hevesy)

• 1987 Renamed "Institute for Medium Energy Physics“

• 2004: Renamed to Stefan Meyer Institute (SMI)

3 Pioneer of radioactivity research

• Many studies and publications related to Stefan Meyer exist, e.g.

Wolfgang Reiter: Stefan Meyer: Pioneer in Radioactivity. In: Physics in Perspective. Bd. 3(1), 106–127

Maria Rentetsi, Trafficking materials and Gendered Experimental Practices, www.gutenberg- e.org/rentetzi/

Stefan Sienell, Christine Ottner: Das Archiv des Instituts für Radiumforschung. In: Anzeiger der math.- nat. Klasse der ÖAW. II 140, 2004, S. 11-53, bes. S. 23–33.

Silke Fengler, Carola Sachse, Kernforschung in Österreich: Wandlungen eines interdisziplinären Forschungsfeldes 1900–1978. Wien: Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2012.

Berta Karlik, Erich Schmid: Franz Serafin Exner und sein Kreis. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1982.

Festschrift Inst. f. Radiumforschung, Sitzungsberichte ÖAW, 159. Band (1950).

• The legacy of Stefan Meyer is not only the Institute for Radium Research and its well-known success but has outreach to present and future times.

• Legacy for our institute SMI (and Institute for Isotope Research) which together with the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Communication is located at the Radium Institute.

4 Curriculum Vitae Stefan Meyer

• Born April 27th, 1872, Vienna, Dr. Gotthelf Karl Meyer and his wife Clara Regine Goldschmidt • 1892 PhD (Dr. phil.), Physics, University Vienna • Assistant of Ludwig Boltzmann • 1899 Docent (“Privatdozent”) at University Vienna • 1902-1911 Docent at Vienna Conservatorium (acoustics) • 1908 a.o. Prof. • 1910 head of Institut f. Radiumforschung • 1913 “Lieben” Prize (Radioaktivität) • 1916 “Radioaktivität” with Egon Schweidler • 1920 o. Prof. (full Professor of Physics) • 1932 Member Academy of Sciences Vienna • 1937 President Int, Radium Standard Commission • 1938 (Forced) retirement • 1946-1947 Honarary Professor • 1947 Retirement • Deceased December 29, 1949 in Bad Ischl J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 5 J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 6 First Research Centers and nobel laureates

Paris Wien M. Curie Cambridge 1903(Physik), Victor F. Hess E. Rutherford 1911 (Chemie) 1936 (Physik) 1908 (Chemie) also Kaiser Wilhelm Institut, Berlin J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 7 About 60 female researchers From Diploma Thesis, K. Zelger, Univ. Vienna, 2008.

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 8 St. Meyer as Nobel Laureate Nominator

>10 nominees got the Nobel Prize

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 9 Radium Standard

Certificate:

Stefan Meyer Marie Curie Ernest Rutherford

Hönigschmid Standards

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve https://www.nist.gov/image-2381710 Radiuminstitut: Hot Topics

• Definition of the Radium Standard (Hönigschmid) – Standard (Etalon) • Properties of Radium • Application of the new radioactivity • Radio-Chemistry • In Physics: new source of particles and gamma rays • Development of particle detectors – e.g. M. Blau nuclear emulsion • Medicine e.g. Radon • Age determination (Dating with long-lived isotopes, decay rate/half life has to be known)

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 11 From „Radioaktivität“by Meyer/Schweidler

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 12 St. M.: What means “age“ of the sun?

• „Age“ assumes the sun epoche which corresponds to the present sun behavior.

• Age of this epoche is larger than the time since the separation of the earth from the sun.

• The „age“ is determined from material found on earth

• Weight of mixed lead is the same all over earth. Lead to large extent as a donation of the sun.

• One ssumes that at the time of separation the distribution of lead to uranium of earth and sun is the same.

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 13 Expectations about the age of the sun

Old expectations of 1012 yr astronomers P.A.M Dirac (1937) 2 x 109 yr W. Nernst (1921) 3 x 109 yr

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 14 Dating with uranium

Decay series starting with uranium isotopes having lead isotopes as final product

Uranium-Radium serie: 238U  ......  206Pb half life 4.5x109 yr

Uranium-Actinium serie: 235U  ......  207Pb half life 0.704x109 yr

15 Pb-Pb Dating Method

Pb-Pb dating  powerful method for chronology of the first 10Myr of solar system 2 long-lived Uranium isotopes decaying into Pb isotopes

One has to know the ratios of the uranium and lead isotopes and the decay rates. At the time of Stefan Meyer‘s paper the decay rate of 235U (called Actinium-uranium) was not known. 16 STEFAN MEYER 1937

This paper was submitted in April 1937. Stefan Meyer stepped back („voluntary“, i.e. forced) as Director and Member of the Academy in 1938.

17 What happened around 1937?

Eminent nuclear scientists (and fiends) of Stefan Meyer passed away • 1934 Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) • 1937 Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937)

1937 Stefan Meyer became President of the Int. Radium Standard Commission as successor after E. Rutherford

1936 Victor Hess and Anderson got the nobel prize in physics

1938 March: „Anschluss“ Austria to Germany 22.4 1938 Stefan Meyer dismissed from Univ. Vienna 24.11.1938 Withdrawal from Academy

18 The paper on the age of the sun was published in „Mitteilungen des Instituts für Radiumforschung“. It can be seen as „hidden“ since written in german in a not wide-spread journal.

Nevertheless it is cited in Nature in 1943 (F.F. Kocy)

19 Mass Spectroscopy – impact

Francis William Aston 1877 – 1945 First Mass Spectrometry 1919 Nobel Prize (Chemistry) 1922

F.W. Aston, Proc. Roy. Soc. London 140 (1933) 535

20 Half-life of AcU (235U)

E. Rutherford 4.2 x 108 a 1929 A. Holmes 4 x 109 a 1930 A.F. Kovarik 2.7 x 108 a 1930 A. v. Grosse 4 x 108 a 1934 F. Western and A.E. Ruark 4.45 x 108 a 1934

21 22 Rose and Stranathan

F.W. Aston, Cavendish Laboratories, Cambridge

23 24 Decay rate 235U vs. AcU/U ratio for different Pb/U scenarios

25 Conclusion

Age of the sun (4.6±0.4) 109 yrs 80 year later Bonanno, Fröhlich (2015) (4.587±0.007) 109 yrs

A. Bonanno, H.-E. Fröhlich, arXiv:1507.05847 [astro-ph.SR] (July 2015)

26 Stefan Meyer’s Work in Bad Ischl after the (compulsory) retirement

… “für Musikanten und Dilettanten”

“für Maler, Konstrukteure, Photographen und Bilderfreunde”

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 27 Thank you for your attention

J. Marton OePG/SPG, Geneve 28 Stefan Meyer - Director of the Radiuminstitut der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien – published 1937 a paper (1) on the “age” of the sun. The “age” of the sun was given as 4.6 (± 0.4) x 109 years and the half-period of actin-uranium was found to be 7.0 (± 0.5) x 108 years. 1938 soon after this publication Stefan Meyer had to retire and quit the Membership of the Academy when the national socialists took over. The outcome of this research was published by F.F. Koczy in 1943 in Nature (2) – thus at a time Stefan Meyer stayed in Bad Ischl escaping from the national socialist regime. This research topic will be discussed.

29 Stefan Meyer Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences 1090 Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 3 www.oeaw.ac.at/smi phone (secretary) (+43 1) 4277 29701 fax (+43 1) 4277 9297 e-mail [email protected]

30 Dacay rate 235U vs. AcU/U ratio λ =1.50x10-10 for different Pb/U scanarios 1

31 AcU/U ratio vs. Pb/U ratio

32 Th/U ratio vs. Pb/U ratio

33