Fritz London: A Scientific Biography

by Kostas Gavroglu

Overview

Fritz London was one of the twentieth century's key figures in the development of quantum physics. A quiet and self-effacing man, he was one of the founders of quantum chemistry, and was the first to give a phenomenological explanation of superconductivity. This thoroughly researched biography gives a detailed account of London's life and work in Munich, Berlin, Oxford, Paris, and finally in the United States. Also, by following his correspondence, collaborations, and controversies with other leading physicists and chemists including Erwin Schrödinger, Walter Heitler, Linus Pauling, Robert Mulliken, John van Vleck, Max von Laue, and Lev Landau, it examines the process by which scientific theories become legitimized. Covering a fascinating period in the development of theoretical physics, and containing an appraisal of London's work by the late John Bardeen, this book will be of great interest to physicists, chemists, and to anyone interested in the history of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521023191
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/24/2005
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. From Philosophy to Physics: The years that left nothing unaffected; 1. The appeal of ideas; 2. Goëthe as a scientist; 3. How absolute is our knowledge?; 4. How do we come to know things?; 5. London's teachers in philosophy; 6. Husserl's teachings; 7. Expectations of things to come; 8. The thesis in philosophy; 9. Tolman's principle of similitude; 10. The necessary clarifications; 11. Work on quantum theory; 12. Transformation theory; 13. Unsuccessful attempts at unification; Part II. The Years in Berlin and the Beginnings of Quantum Chemistry: The mysterious bond; 14. London in Zürich; 15. Binding forces; 16. The Pauli principle; 17. Reactions to the Heitler-London paper; 18. Polyelectronic molecules and the application of group theory to problems of chemical valence; 19. Chemists as physicists?; 20. London's first contacts in Berlin; 21. Marriage; 22. Job offers; 23. Intermolecular forces; 24. The book which could not be written; 25. Leningrad and Rome; 26. Difficulties with group theory; 27. Linus Pauling's resonance structures; 28. Robert Mulliken's molecular orbitals; Part III. Oxford and Superconductivity: The rise of the Nazis; 29. Going to Oxford; 30. Lindemann, Simon and Heinz London; 31. Electricity in the very cold; 32. The end of old certainties; 33. The thermodynamic treatment; 34. The theory of Fritz and Heinz London; 35. Initial reactions by von Laue; 36. The discussion at the Royal Society; 37. Termination of the ICI fellowship; Part IV. Paris and Superfluidity: The Front Populaire; 38. The article in Nature 1937 and 'Nouvelle Conception'; 39. Laue again; 40. The structure of solid helium; 41. The peculiar properties of helium; 42. Bose-Einstein condensation; 43. The note in Nature; 44. The two-fluid model; 45. The trip to Jerusalem; 46. Leaving again; 47. The observer in quantum mechanics; Part V. United States and the Typing up of Loose Ends: Duke University, North Carolina; 48. The Soviet Union, Kapitza and Landau; 49. The war years; 50. The 1946 Cambridge Conference; Unsettled and unsettling issues in superfluidity and superconductivity; 51. Heisenberg's theory and London's program for a microscopic theory; 52. More problems with Laue; Hopeful signs from helium-3; 53. 'Second sound' at very low temperatures; 54. Writing Superfluids; 55. The trip to Europe; 56. Some developments in superconductivity; 57. An ugly finale; 58. Could Landau be right?; 59. The worrisome realities of the post-war era; 60. The second volume of Superfluids; 61. William Fairbank; 62. Further developments; 63. The Lorentz Model; 64. Consultantship at Los Alamos and the interview for security clearance; 65. The last days; List of publications of Fritz London; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"Covering a fascinating period in the development of theoretical physics, and containing an appraisal of London's work by the late John Bardeen, this book will be of great interest to physicists, chemists, and to anyone interested in the history of science." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society

"Gavroglu has given proper attention to the physics, and has done particularly well to use it as a framework for the story of a troubled life. I am personally grateful for the full-length picture of a man from whom I learnt many things, who always had time for serious discussion and whose welcoming smile is among my happiest of memories." Sir Brian Pippard, Nature

"The book itself is a microhistory of an age of exploration into the uncharted realms of chemistry and the quantum physics of superfluidity and conductivity, something that we may not experience for decades and perhaps longer..." The Chemist

""...this is truly a scientific biography; it is not simply a history of a scholar; it is a serious discussion of London's thought, his contributions to physics and his life....As such, I found it interesting and exciting." Russell J. Donnelly, American Journal of Physics

"Gavroglu gives a fascinating account of London's peregrinations by sketching their political and social backgrounds, including the side trips to Leningrad and Rome. It is the historian's tour de force to produce such convincing background pictures with a few brush strokes....the definitive book on Fritz London's life and oeuvre...." Laszlo Tisza, Isis

"It is organized to be accessible to less scientifically sophisticated readers. It contains much that will interest readers concerned with the public and private aspects of life as talented in important areas of modern physics and chemistry...Gavroglu has successfully interwoven the details that compose the tapestry of London's short life." American Historical Review

"The book is organized to be accessible to less scientifically sophisticated readers. It contains much that will interest readers concerned with the public and private aspects of life as a scientist in the early twentieth century. london was talented in important areas of modern physics and chemistry....Gavroglu has successfully interwoven the details that compose the tapestry of London's short life." Katherine R. Sopka, American Historical Review

"Superconductors are a hot research frontier. Electric conduction with no electrical resistance and at not too low temperatures suggests vast commercial profit....The liquid has the most peculiar properties, such as the ability to creep uphill. It will not solidify under its own pressure even at 0K. By far the most important step toward understanding the[se] phenomena writes John Bardeen in an afterward to Kostas Gavroglu's Fritz London: A Scientific Biography, was the recognition by Fritz London that both superconduction and superfluid helium are macroscopic quantum systems....The book also presents a very sensitive and human account of the lives of Fritz and Edith London as they responded to the slings and arrows of their outrageous fortunes." Chemical Heritage

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