Synopses & Reviews
Luis W. Alvarez has had a breathtakingly varied and important career of discovery, adventure, and invention. The winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on subatomic particles, Alvarez participated as a scientific observer of the Hiroshima bombing mission, formulated the asteroid theory of dinosaur extinctions, discovered the radioactivity of tritium, took x-rays of the Second Pyramid at Giza, designed the Berkeley proton linear accelerator, first observed fundamental particle resonances, created the variable-focus thin lens, analyzed the Kennedy assassination film, and invented the Ground Control Approach radar system for airplane landings, to name but a few of his experiences and accomplishments.
Discovering Alvarez collects articles by this innovative physicist, documenting his outstanding contributions. The articles, which span his career, are accompanied by a remarkable collection of commentary by the colleagues and students who worked closely with Alvarez on each project or discovery.
About the Author
Luis W. Alvarez is senior research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and professor emeritus of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. His autobiography, Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist, has just been published. W. Peter Trower, professor of physics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also collaborated on Alvarez's autobiography.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Defraction Grating at Grazing Incidence
Franklin Miller, Jr.
2. Some Early Days of Cosmic Rays
H. Victor Neher
3. K-Electron Capture by Nuclei
Emilio Segrand#232;and#160;
4. Isotopes of Mass 3
Hans A. Bethe
Discovery of Hydrogen/Helium Three
Robert Cornog
5. The Neutron Magnetic Moment
Norman F. Ramsey
6. Neutron Scattering by Ortho- and Parahydrogen
Kenneth S. Pitzer
7. The Mercury-198 Lamp: A New Standard of Length
Jacob H. Wiens
8. Heavy Ions
Cornelius A. Tobias
9. The War Years
Lawrence Johnston
10. Building the Proton Linear Accelerator
W. K. H.and#160; Panofsky
11. The Tandem Accelerator; Workhorse of Nuclear Physics
Peter H. Rose
12. The Development of the Hydrogen Bubble Chamber
M. Lynn Stevenson
Life with Luie
Robert D. Watt
13. Muon Catalysis of Fusion
J. David Jackson
14. My First Days in the Alvarez Group
Stanley G. Wojcicki
15. Magnetic Monopoles
Philippe H. Eberhard
16. Using Cosmic Rays in the Search for Hidden Chambers in the Pyramids
Luis W. Alvarez
17. Looking for Antimatter in the Cosmic Rays
Andrew Buffington
18. Examining the Kennedy Assassination Evidence
Richard L. Garwin
19. Submarines, Quarks, and Radioisotope Dating
Richard A. Muller
20. Ivory Towers and Smokestacks
William Humphrey
21. The Cretaceous-Tertiary Iridium Anomaly and the Asteroid Impact Theory
Frank Asaro
Appendix A: Biography
Appendix B: Publications
Appendix C: Patents
Commentators