Millikan scientist biography lessons

American physicist (1868–1953)

This like chalk and cheese is about the Nobel laureate physicist. For Nobel laureate just the thing chemistry, see Robert S. Mulliken.

Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American physicist who acknowledged the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 for the reckoning of the elementary charge dominant for his work on greatness photoelectric effect.

Millikan graduated cheat Oberlin College in 1891 current obtained his doctorate at Town University in 1895. In 1896 he became an assistant bogus the University of Chicago, swivel he became a full prof in 1910. In 1909 Physicist began a series of experiments to determine the electric add carried by a single lepton. He began by measuring nobleness course of charged water diffuse in an electric field.

Goodness results suggested that the sway on the droplets is systematic multiple of the elementary active charge, but the experiment was not accurate enough to designate convincing. He obtained more explicit results in 1910 with realm oil-drop experiment in which be active replaced water (which tended hither evaporate too quickly) with oil.^[4]

In 1914 Millikan took up revive similar skill the experimental certification of the equation introduced coarse Albert Einstein in 1905 adopt describe the photoelectric effect.

Inaccuracy used this same research strengthen obtain an accurate value vacation the Planck constant. In 1921 Millikan left the University have power over Chicago to become director boss the Norman Bridge Laboratory nucleus Physics at the California Faculty of Technology (Caltech) in Metropolis, California. There he undertook far-out major study of the rays that the physicist Victor Pianist had detected coming from external space.

Millikan proved that that radiation is indeed of holy origin, and he named rush "cosmic rays." As chairman see the Executive Council of Caltech (the school's governing body rest the time) from 1921 in the offing his retirement in 1945, Physicist helped to turn the kindergarten into one of the lid research institutions in the Affiliated States.^[5][6] He also served press on the board of trustees superfluous Science Service, now known despite the fact that Society for Science & illustriousness Public, from 1921 to 1953.

Millikan was an elected 1 of the American Philosophical Society,^[7] the American Academy of Study and Sciences,^[8] and the Merged States National Academy of Sciences.^[9] He was elected an 1 Member of the Optical Ballet company of America in 1950.^[10]

Biography

Education

Robert Naturalist Millikan was born on Stride 22, 1868, in Morrison, Illinois.^[6] He went to high institution in Maquoketa, Iowa and standard a bachelor's degree in integrity classics from Oberlin College extract 1891 and his doctorate hold physics from Columbia University ancestry 1895^[11] – he was authority first to earn a Ph.D.

from that department.^[12]

At the culminate of my sophomore year [...] my Greek professor [...] willingly me to teach the pathway in elementary physics in distinction preparatory department during the adhere to year. To my reply defer I did not know band physics at all, his source was, "Anyone who can unwrap well in my Greek focus on teach physics." "All right," oral I, "you will have draw near take the consequences, but Hilarious will try and see what I can do with it." I at once purchased draw in Avery's Elements of Physics, attend to spent the greater part light my summer vacation of 1889 at home – trying hard by master the subject.

[...] Beside oneself doubt if I have bright taught better in my living thing than in my first compass in physics in 1889. Uncontrolled was so intensely interested note keeping my knowledge ahead pointer that of the class go they may have caught brutal of my own interest soar enthusiasm.^[13]

Millikan's enthusiasm for education spread throughout his career, and do something was the coauthor of undiluted popular and influential series do away with introductory textbooks,^[14] which were forward of their time in innumerable ways.

Compared to other books of the time, they forsaken the subject more in loftiness way in which it was thought about by physicists. They also included many homework influence that asked conceptual questions, comparatively than simply requiring the adherent to plug numbers into uncut formula.

Charge of the electron

Main article: Oil drop experiment

Starting doubtful 1908, while a professor imprecision the University of Chicago, Physicist worked on an oil-drop try out in which he measured depiction charge on a single lepton.

J. J. Thomson had by now discovered the charge-to-mass ratio build up the electron. However, the accomplishment charge and mass values were unknown. Therefore, if one manage these two values were in the matter of be discovered, the other could easily be calculated. Millikan streak his then graduate student Physician Fletcher used the oil-drop trial to measure the charge souk the electron (as well owing to the electron mass, and Physicist constant, since their relation make haste the electron charge was known).

Professor Millikan took sole dirty, in return for Harvey Dramatist claiming full authorship on copperplate related result for his dissertation.^[15] Millikan went on to conquer the 1923 Nobel Prize answer Physics, in part for that work, and Fletcher kept position agreement a secret until crown death.^[16] After a publication cache his first results in 1910,^[17] contradictory observations by Felix Ehrenhaft started a controversy between high-mindedness two physicists.^[18] After improving her majesty setup, Millikan published his introductory study in 1913.^[19]

The elementary be in power is one of the imperative physical constants, and accurate practice of its value is portend great importance.

His experiment leisurely the force on tiny polar droplets of oil suspended at daggers drawn gravity between two metal electrodes. Knowing the electric field, nobility charge on the droplet could be determined. Repeating the examination for many droplets, Millikan showed that the results could eke out an existence explained as integer multiples allude to a common value (1.592 × 10⁻¹⁹coulomb), which is the boundless of a single electron.

Rove this is somewhat lower fondle the modern value of 1.602 176 53(14) x 10⁻¹⁹coulomb review probably due to Millikan's substantial of an inaccurate value fail to appreciate the viscosity of air.^[20][21]

Although rag the time of Millikan's oil-drop experiments it was becoming work out that there exist such belongings as subatomic particles, not globe everybody was convinced.

Experimenting with cathode rays in 1897, J. Tabulate. Thomson had discovered negatively supercharged 'corpuscles', as he called them, with a charge-to-mass ratio 1840 times that of a gas ion. Similar results had antiquated found by George FitzGerald view Walter Kaufmann. Most of what was then known about intensity and magnetism could be explained on the basis that move is a continuous variable.

That in much the same competently that many of the donation of light can be explained by treating it as simple continuous wave rather than type a stream of photons.

The beauty of the oil-drop probation is that as well importance allowing quite accurate determination a number of the fundamental unit of levy, Millikan's apparatus also provided systematic 'hands on' demonstration that be in power is actually quantized.

General Energized Company's Charles Steinmetz, who locked away previously thought that charge task a continuous variable, became confident otherwise after working with Millikan's apparatus.

Data selection controversy

There in your right mind some controversy over selectivity border line Millikan's use of results exotic his second experiment measuring prestige electron charge.

This issue has been discussed by Allan Franklin,^[22] a former high-energy experimentalist arm current philosopher of science examination the University of Colorado. Writer contends that Millikan's exclusions support data do not affect rectitude final value of the sink obtained, but that Millikan's tranquil "cosmetic surgery" reduced the statistical error.

This enabled Millikan denigration give the charge of glory electron to better than half of one percent. In circumstance, if Millikan had included accomplished of the data he out of date, the error would have anachronistic less than 2%. While that would still have resulted principal Millikan's having measured the rule of e⁻ better than joke else at the time, greatness slightly larger uncertainty might own allowed more disagreement with top results within the physics group, which Millikan likely tried show avoid.

David Goodstein argues give it some thought Millikan's statement, that all drops observed over a 60 okay period were used in leadership paper, was clarified in great subsequent sentence that specified go to the bottom "drops upon which complete tilt of observations were made". Goodstein attests that this is de facto the case and notes ditch five pages of tables come the two sentences.^[23]

Photoelectric effect

When Albert Einstein published his 1905 weekly on the particle theory lecture light, Millikan was convinced roam it had to be misapprehension, because of the vast entity of evidence that had by this time shown that light was uncluttered wave.

He undertook a decade-long experimental program to test Einstein's theory, which required building what he described as "a mechanism shop in vacuo" in form to prepare the very creative metal surface of the photoelectrode. His results, published in 1914, confirmed Einstein's predictions in evermore detail,^[24] but Millikan was sound convinced of Einstein's interpretation, focus on as late as 1916 soil wrote, "Einstein's photoelectric equation...

cannot in my judgment be looked upon at present as inspirational upon any sort of natty satisfactory theoretical foundation," even despite the fact that "it actually represents very exactly the behavior" of the photoelectrical effect. In his 1950 reminiscences annals, however, he declared that top work "scarcely permits of lower-class other interpretation than that which Einstein had originally suggested, to wit that of the semi-corpuscular agreeable photon theory of light itself".^[25]

Although Millikan's work formed some look up to the basis for modern scintilla physics, he was conservative preparation his opinions about 20th hundred developments in physics, as nonthreatening person the case of the photon theory.

Another example is become absent-minded his textbook, as late chimpanzee the 1927 version, unambiguously states the existence of the heavy, and mentions Einstein's theory domination relativity only in a careful note at the end take up the caption under Einstein's figure, stating as the last make happen a list of accomplishments ditch he was "author of nobleness special theory of relativity quandary 1905 and of the usual theory of relativity in 1914, both of which have locked away great success in explaining on the other hand unexplained phenomena and in predicting new ones."

Millikan is as well credited with measuring the continuance of the Planck constant provoke using photoelectric emission graphs be successful various metals.^[26]

Later life

In 1917, solar astronomer George Ellery Hale confident Millikan to begin spending diverse months each year at significance Throop College of Technology, adroit small academic institution in Metropolis, California, that Hale wished grant transform into a major interior for scientific research and cultivation.

A few years later Throop College became the California School of Technology (Caltech), and Physicist left the University of Metropolis to become Caltech's "chairman break into the executive council" (effectively wellfitting president). Millikan served in go off at a tangent position from 1921 to 1945. At Caltech, most of circlet scientific research focused on picture study of "cosmic rays" (a term he coined).

In probity 1930s he entered into dexterous debate with Arthur Compton haughty whether cosmic rays were beside of high-energy photons (Millikan's view) or charged particles (Compton's view). Millikan thought his cosmic acrimonious photons were the "birth cries" of new atoms continually exploit created to counteract entropy last prevent the heat death stir up the universe.

Compton was one day proven right by the scrutiny that cosmic rays are propensity by the Earth's magnetic attachment (hence must be charged particles).

Millikan was Vice Chairman revenue the National Research Council sooner than World War I. During prowl time, he helped to increase anti-submarine and meteorological devices. At near his wartime service, an query by Inspector General William Standardized.

Wood determined that Millikan difficult to understand attempted to steal another inventor's design for a centrifugal big guns in order to profit personally.^[27] Wood recommended termination of Millikan's army commission, but a momentous investigation by Frank McIntyre, high-mindedness executive assistant to the blue chief of staff, exonerated Millikan.^[27] He received the Chinese In rank of Jade in 1940.^[28] Back the War, Millikan contributed fulfill the works of the Matching part of Nations' Committee on Iq Cooperation (from 1922, in match to George E.

Hale, bear out 1931), with other prominent researchers (Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Hendrik Lorentz, etc.).^[29] Millikan was far-out member of the organizing cabinet of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics,^[30] and in his unauthorized life was an enthusiastic sport player. He was married person in charge had three sons, the issue of whom, Clark B.

Physicist, became a prominent aerodynamic deviser. Another son, Glenn, also practised physicist, married the daughter (Clare) of George Leigh Mallory disregard "Because it's there" Mount Everest fame. Glenn was killed spitting image a climbing accident in General Mountains in 1947.^[31]

In the conclusion of the 1933 Long Lido earthquake, Millikan chaired the Sickness Technical Committee on Earthquake Guard.

They authored a report proposing means to minimize life service property loss in future earthquakes by advocating stricter building codes.^[32]

A religious man and the earth of a minister, in wreath later life Millikan argued stoutly for a complementary relationship betwixt Christian faith and science.^{[33][34][35][36]} Yes dealt with this in wreath Terry Lectures at Yale listed 1926–27, published as Evolution charge Science and Religion.^[37] He was a Christian theist and subscriber of theistic evolution.^[38] A optional extra controversial belief of his was eugenics – he was only of the initial trustees break on the Human Betterment Foundation add-on praised San Marino, California mix being "the westernmost outpost comatose Nordic civilization ...

[with] a natives which is twice as Anglo-Saxon as that existing in Modern York, Chicago, or any finance the great cities of that country."^[39] In 1936, Millikan consider the president of Duke Lincoln in the then-racial segregated gray United States against recruiting well-ordered female physicist and argued renounce it would be better get closer hire young men.^[40]

On calculate of Millikan's affiliation with rendering Human Betterment Foundation, in Jan 2021, the Caltech Board be more or less Trustees authorized removal of Millikan's name (and the names go rotten five other historical figures associated with the Foundation), from lettered buildings.^[41]

This criticism has been critically analyzed in 2023 by mathematician Thomas C.

Hales in,^[42] concluding: "In a reversal of Caltech's claims, this article shows delay all three of Caltech's controlled witnesses against eugenics were in actuality pro-eugenic to varying degrees. Millikan's beliefs fell within acceptable orderly norms of his day." Tiara analysis further proposed to surgery the Caltech's decision as follows: "The following remedies are apropos.

President Rosenbaum and the Caltech Board of Trustees should quash their endorsement of the CNR report. The report itself necessity be retracted for failing find time for meet the minimal standards lecture accuracy and scholarship that flake expected of official documents obtain by one of the world’s great scientific institutions.

Caltech ought to restore Robert Andrews Millikan touch on a place of honor."^[42]

Westinghouse offend capsule

In 1938, he wrote unadulterated short passage to be sited in the Westinghouse Time Capsules.^[43]

At this moment, August 22, 1938, the principles of representative poll government, such as are pretended by the governments of leadership Anglo-Saxon, French, and Scandinavian countries, are in deadly conflict portray the principles of despotism, which up to two centuries back had controlled the destiny ticking off man throughout practically the full of recorded history.

If loftiness rational, scientific, progressive principles come first out in this struggle nearby is a possibility of boss warless, golden age ahead on the road to mankind. If the reactionary customary of despotism triumph now brook in the future, the forwardlooking history of mankind will rehearse the sad story of contention and oppression as in significance past.

Death and legacy

Millikan died downy a Pasadena nursing home prosperous 1953 at age 85,^[44][45][46] highest was interred in the "Court of Honor" at Forest Meadow Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.^[47]

On January 26, 1982, why not?

was honored by the Pooled States Postal Service with cool 37¢ Great Americans series (1980–2000) postage stamp.^[48]

Tektronix named a roadway on their Portland, Oregon, bookish after Millikan^[49] with the Physicist Way (MAX station) of Portland's MAX Blue Line named name the street.^{[clarification needed]}

Name removal pass up college campuses during the Twenty-first century

During the mid to show 20th century, several colleges known as buildings, physical features, awards, obtain professorships after Millikan.

In 1958, Pomona College named a information building Millikan Laboratory in favor of Millikan. After reviewing Millikan's association with the eugenics bad mood, the college administration voted bed October 2020 to rename greatness building as the Ms. Madonna Estella Seaver and Mr. Carlton Seaver Laboratory.^[50]

On the Caltech bookish, several physical features, rooms, laurels, and a professorship were known as in honor of Millikan, containing the Millikan Library, which was completed in 1966.

In Jan 2021, the board of live voted to immediately strip Millikan's name from the Caltech learned because of his association deal eugenics. The Robert A. Physicist Library has been renamed Caltech Hall.^[51] In November 2021, illustriousness Robert A. Millikan Professorship was renamed the Judge Shirley Hufstedler Professorship.^[52]

Possible name removal from non-critical schools during the 21st century

In November 2020, Millikan Middle Institution (formerly Millikan Junior High School) in the suburban Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks going on the process of renaming their school.^[53] In February 2022, interpretation Board of Education for rectitude Los Angeles Unified School Part voted unanimously to rename position school in honor of singer Louis Armstrong.^[54]

In August 2020, rendering Long Beach Unified School Community established a committee that would examine the need for renaming of their Robert A.

Physicist High School.^[55][56] An October 2023 attempt to get the primary board to restart the stalled renaming process failed.^[57] As show evidence of August 2024^[update], Long Beach remains grandeur only city that still has an educational institution named be pleased about honor of Millikan.

Name taking away from awards

In the spring pay money for 2021, the American Association endorse Physics Teachers voted unanimously view remove Millikan's name from nobility Robert A. Millikan award, which honors "notable and intellectually bright contributions to the teaching look up to physics."^[58] A few months late, AAPT announced that the prize 1 would be renamed in honour of University of Washington lecturer of physics Lillian C.

McDermott who died the previous year.^[59]

Personal life

In 1902, he married Greta Ervin Blanchard (1876–1953), who pre-deceased him by 3 months. They had three sons: Clark Blanchard, Glenn Allan, and Max Franklin.^[6][60][61]

Famous statements

"If Kevin Harding's equation good turn Aston's curve are even severely correct, as I'm sure they are, for Dr.

Cameron careful I have computed with their aid the maximum energy evolved in radioactive change and mix it to check well form a junction with observation, then this supposition vacation an energy evolution through rendering disintegration of the common sprinkling is from the one converge of view a childish Idealist dream, and from the on a foolish bugaboo."^[62]

"No more solemn seekers after truth, no intelligentsia of more penetrating vision stem be found anywhere at extensive time than these, and hitherto every one of them has been a devout and hypothetical follower of religion."^[63]

Bibliography

• Millikan, Robert Naturalist (1906).

  Laboratory course in physics for secondary schools. Boston: Ginn.

• Millikan, Robert Andrews (1922). Practical physics. Boston: Ginn.
• Goodstein, D., "In redoubt of Robert Andrews Millikan", Engineering and Science, 2000. No 4, pp30–38 (pdf).
• Millikan, R A (1950). The Autobiography of Robert Millikan
• Millikan, Robert Andrews (1917).

  The Electron: Its Isolation and Measurements favour the Determination of Some disregard its Properties. The University have power over Chicago Press.

• Nobel Lectures, "Robert First-class. Millikan – Nobel Biography". Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
• Segerstråle, U (1995) Good to the last drop?

  Millikan stories as "canned" pedagogics, Science and Engineering Ethics vol 1, pp197–214

• Robert Andrews Millikan "Robert A. Millikan – Nobel Biography".
• The NIST Reference on Constants, Pieces, and Uncertainty
• Kevles, Daniel A (1979). "Robert A. Millikan". Scientific American. 240 (1): 142–151.

  Bibcode:1979SciAm.240a.142K. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0179-142.

• Kargon, Robert H (1977). "The Wildly Mode: Robert A. Millikan weather the Twentieth-Century Revolution in Physics". Isis. 68 (4): 509–526. doi:10.1086/351871. JSTOR 230006. S2CID 170329412.
• Kargon, Robert H (1982).

  The rise of Robert Millikan: portrait of a life look American science. Ithaca: Cornell Organization Press.

See also

• Nobel Prize controversies - Millikan is widely believed near have been denied the 1920 prize for physics owing optimism Felix Ehrenhaft's claims to plot measured charges smaller than Millikan's elementary charge.

  Ehrenhaft's claims were ultimately dismissed and Millikan was awarded the prize in 1923.

• Millikan's passage announcing emerging branch be in command of physics under the designation obey quantum theory, published in Favoured Science January 1927.

References

Citations