Physics and Astronomy Department
Weekly Newsletter
Vol 33, No 31, Friday 26 August 2016
From the HOD –Professor Mike Reid
This week marks a small landmark in the rebuilding of the City, with the opening of Rutherford’s
Den. Richard Hartshorn had a tour yesterday, and a number of us will be able to see the
refurbishment this afternoon. It is open to the public from tomorrow. Scroll down to learn more
about UC’s involvement with the Den itself from Jeff Field and further down John Campbell sheds
some light on some common misconceptions that exist in the media around Rutherford’s
achievements.
Next Wednesday, 31st August we have our Departmental Conference - always a good chance
to catch up on the wide variety of research we have around the department and also a good
chance to socialise afterwards at the Staff Club! Audrey is looking for two volunteers to chair a
session each. In the meantime you can view the programme by clicking here.
Up and coming Seminars in September… 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Rutherford 531, Level 5 –
All Welcome….
Friday, 9th September
Associate Professor Nick Tsamis
Universit of Crete, Department of Physics Nicholas Tsamis obtained his BSc in Physics from
Brown University (USA) in 1977 and his PhD in Theoretical Physics from Harvard University
(USA) in 1983. He was a postdoctoral research associate at Stanford University (USA), CERN
(Switzerland), and Ecole Polytechnique (France) before being elected as an Associate Professor
at the University of Crete in 2002.
Title and Abstract to be advised.
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Friday, 16th September
Professor Luis Seijo, joint visiting Erskine visitor (with Professor Zoila Barandiaran)
The Departamento de Quimica, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, who have been visiting with
Mike Reid and Jon-Paul Wells from 18 July to the 23 September 2016 based in Room 716 on
Ext. 6563.
Title and Abstract to be advised.
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Friday, 23rd September
Dr Cheng Yang Lee
Former theoretical student in the Department
Title and Abstract to be advised.
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Friday, 30th September
Assoc Prof Bronwyn Hayward
Background...Bronwyn Hayward is head of the Department of Political Science and international
relations at UC and leads the Sustainable Citizenship and Civic Imagination Research group: Hei
Puāwaitanga. She is also one of 9 coinvestigators with UK’s CUSP the Centre for Understanding
Sustainable Prosperity an ESRC funded team based headed by Professor Tim Jackson and a
coinvestigator with Professor Karen O’Brien (PI) and Dr Elin Selboe of the University of Oslo on
project titled Voices of the Future: Values and Visions of Norwegian Youth on Responses to
Climate Change this is a NORKLIMA funded research grant (NZ $1.18 Million) headed by
Professor Obrien. She is also a Fellow with Stories of Energy Change lead by Professor Joe
Smith, Open University UK and a member of the world International Social Science Council
Transformations Steering Group which funds innovative world thinking to address global
challenges. In 2014 Associate Professor Hayward was jointly awarded the inaugural College of
Arts Conscience and Critic of Society Research Award, an award held for five years.
Title and Abstract to be advised.
Rutherford’s Den a recent history– Jeff Field reflects here…
Jeff was on the Rutherford’s Den Trust at its inception and made the presentation to the
Canterbury Community Trust which resulted in a $500,000 donation to enable them to develop
the Den as a teaching resource and a visitor attraction. Jeff took over as Chair and served in this
role until his resignation in 2006 when he was appointed Registrar here at UC. The baton was
then handed to Prof Peter Cottrell as the UC rep and has more recently has been passed on to
Assoc. Prof Richard Hartshorn.
There is a significant back story as well, says Jeff. As the University’s Information Officer in the
1990s he frequently showed the Rutherford Medals to various VIP visitors and in researching
their gifting to UC he became aware of “our stated commitment to make them accessible to the
public”. An exhibition was staged of the 36 medals at the Canterbury Museum and the curator
Mark Stocker (UC SOFA) was commissioned to write a book called Golden Atoms (Jeff has
copies available), which outlined the medallic history of the collection. Jeff says “It is a very
significant collection, not just for honouring Rutherford’s scientific achievements, but also as a
unique insight into the history of the medals. The Royal Society’s Copley Medal, for example,
goes back to the 17th century.”
The exhibition was very popular and was taken to the Suter Gallery in Nelson, this was followed
up with a travelling show created by the Science Roadshow Trust based around the medals. The
Rutherford Exhibition toured the country in a semi-trailer for a year and created the awareness of
Rutherford which enabled the Den Trust to be set up and attract the necessary funding to restore
and develop the Den and the adjoining lecture theatres.
When insuring the medals to tour Jeff says they were told by the British Museum that the Nobel
Medal was priceless and as a result two sets of replica medals were commissioned, one of which
was permanently loaned to Rutherford’s Den and the other set gifted to the College of Science.
Rutherford [John Campbell]
We appear to be getting into the silly season again with Rutherford.
The Press Wed 17/8/16) stated "Rutherford, a Nobel Peace Prize winner...".
(This is not the first time I have seen this statement in a newspaper.) The Press never used my
immediate letter to the editor:
"To set the record straight, Ernest Rutherford was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize in chemistry "for
his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive
substances. His was the first Nobel prize awarded for work carried out in Canada."
But they did print the letter from a habitual letter-writer (The Press Thur 18/8/16), covering
another statement with which I had had no problem.
"Splitting atoms”. Once again we see the claim Rutherford split the atom (Aug 17). When I
studied nuclear physics, this honour was attributed to Hahn and Meitner in 1938, while Rutherford
was accorded the discovery of alpha particles, not quite the same thing."
Email [email protected] : Newsletter, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury,
Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, Phone: +64 3 364 2100
He must have been taught physics in a funny place. Internationally Rutherford is most famous for
3 great discoveries. He explained radioactivity as the natural transmutation of atoms, he
discovered the nuclear structure of atoms, and he was the first to split the atom (or as I more
usually say, was the world's first successful alchemist). Discovering and naming of the alpha and
beta particles was one of many "second tier" (for him) achievements, along with developing a
device for measuring the frequency of very high short electric current pulses along wires, setting
the then world record for the distance over which electric "wireless" waves were detected,
discovering radon, dating the age of the Earth, being the first to transmit a WT signal from station
to moving train, the logarithmic relation between the energy of an emitted alpha particle and the
half-life of the radioactive element it was emitted from (later known as the Geiger-Nuttall Law
which, two decades later, was immediate proof that alpha emission was quantum tunnelling), the
Rutherford-Geiger tube (now called the Geiger-Muller tube), the unidirectional hydrophone for
submarine detection, the discovery of the heaviest isotopes of hydrogen (H3 or tritium) and the
lightest isotope of helium (He3), and overseeing the development of the first proton accelerator
used for nuclear reactions.
However, on Fri 19/8/16 The Press did print a letter from another habitual letter-writer correctly
attributing splitting the atom to Rutherford at Manchester.
Yesterday’s The Press (26/8/16) contained the statement that "Rutherford started his research
career in the very rooms that house Rutherford's Den."
No, his first researches in 1893 were carried out in at least two rooms of the old Tin Shed and
then in the Great Hall. It wasn't until the 2nd of April 1894 that Rutherford and Erskine asked to
use a Den. (Bicky had asked for a den for them in Nov 1893, because the Hall was required for
exams and to avoid vibration problems with his sensitive apparatus.)
In the same article was a statement that it was the same room "where Rutherford conducted his
research on radio waves..."
No, he did his WT signalling at Cambridge, though at Canterbury he did use a Hertzian oscillator
to obtain the very short pulses of electrical current he needed for his magnetism researches.
If you are ever unsure as to whether or not a story about Rutherford is a myth, first check
www.rutherford.org.nz under Sponsors and Miscellaneous - Rutherford Mythology. I should shift
that page to be more prominent. For the full stories see my book Rutherford Scientist Supreme.
News from the Physical Sciences/ Engineering Library
New titles for Physics http://bit.ly/wafgjA; new titles for Astronomy http://bit.ly/xntPcH;
new-titles-list generator http://bit.ly/1brTI3E
• Library Liaison Officer for Physics, Dr Chris Gordon http://bit.ly/GEWv4z
• Subject Librarian for Physics and Astronomy, Brian McElwaine http://bit.ly/2bjMT77
From the Web
• Scientific Reports on Track to Become Largest Journal in the World (The Scholarly Kitchen)
http://bit.ly/2bTShSB
• Saving Science (The New Atlantis) http://bit.ly/2bMKTZf
• Life’s Dirty Secrets (plus.maths.org) http://bit.ly/2bvQBiG
• Planet Found in Habitable Zone around Nearest Star (ESO) http://bit.ly/2bjPyx1
• Increase Scholarly Visibility Using This One Weird Trick! [clickbaiting paper titles] (Inside
Higher Ed) http://bit.ly/2bON8IH
• Why Mess with Tradition? [beyond the lecture format] (e-Learning@UC)
http://bit.ly/2bkYtjE
On the lighter side…
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Dogbert's Particle Accelerator (Dilbert by Scott Adams) http://bit.ly/2bhKycN
John Arnold, EPS Library – Kā Puna Pūkahataka me te Pūtaiao
http://bit.ly/johnarnold-uc
Email [email protected] : Newsletter, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury,
Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, Phone: +64 3 364 2100
The Den – Rutherford’s Den
Television, radio, sonar and telephones – just some of the great inventions we enjoy today
thanks to the scientific discoveries made by Ernest, Lord Rutherford and his peers.
From Saturday August 27, you can step inside Rutherford’s Den and enjoy fun, hands-on
activities as you learn about science in the actual rooms where Rutherford studied.
Wheelchair access to ground floor space only.
OPENING HOURS AND TICKETS
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10am – 5pm, Wednesday – Sunday (last entry 4.30pm)
2.30pm – 5pm, Monday and Tuesday during school terms (last entry 4.30pm
Open every day except Good Friday and Christmas Day
Timed entry system in place
From August 27, buy tickets at the on-site shop
Online ticketing available last week of August
Information on parking and getting here
ADMISSION FEES
Email [email protected] : Newsletter, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury,
Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, Phone: +64 3 364 2100