Henry Norris Russell
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-04918-2 (ISBN)
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Henry Norris Russell lived in two universes: that of his Presbyterian forebears and that of his science. Sharp-witted and animated by nervous energy, he became one of the most powerful voices in twentieth-century American astronomy, wielding that influence in calculated ways to redefine an entire science. He, more than any American of his generation, worked to turn an observation-centered discipline into a theory-driven pursuit centered on physics. Today, professional and amateur astronomers alike know Russell for the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the playing field for much of stellar astrophysics, as well as for his work on the evolution of stars and the origin of the solar system. But of far greater importance than his own research, which was truly remarkable in its own right, is Russell's stamp on the field as a whole. Functioning as a "headquarters scientist"--some called him General--Russell was an astronomer without a telescope. Yet he marshaled the data of the Hales and the Pickerings of the world, injected theory into mainstream astronomy, and brought atomic physics to its very core, often sparking controversy along the way.
His students at Princeton went on to populate the most prestigious astronomical institutions in the United States, bringing with them Russell's beliefs that astronomy is really astrophysics and that researchers should be theoretically as well as empirically minded. This first-ever book-length biography of the "Dean of American Astronomers" interweaves personal and scientific history to illuminate how Russell's privileged Presbyterian family background, his education at Princeton and Cambridge, and his personal inclinations and attachments both served and were at odds with his campaign to modernize astronomy. This book will be of interest not only to astronomers and historians (particularly those interested in the emergence of astrophysics), but to anyone interested in the process of disciplinary change.
David H. DeVorkin is Curator of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and is a former Chair of the History Division of the American Astronomical Society. He is author of Science with a Vengeance: How the Military Created the U.S. Space Sciences after World War II, Race to the Stratosphere, and other books.
PREFACE xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii CHAPTER 1 Religious Heritage 3 CHAPTER 2 Russell at Princeton 21 CHAPTER 3 Graduate Years: Entering the Profession 39 CHAPTER 4 Postdoctoral Years at Cambridge 51 CHAPTER 5 Return to a New Princeton 68 CHAPTER 6 Parallaxes, Pedagogy, and the Lives of the Stars: Russell's First Years on the Princeton Faculty 79 CHAPTER 7 Building a Life at Princeton 98 CHAPTER 8 Building a Case for Giants 106 CHAPTER 9 At the Theoretical Interface: Defending His Theory 121 CHAPTER 10 Shifting Allegiance 138 CHAPTER 11 The Great War: Transformations 153 CHAPTER 12 Russell's Turn to Mount Wilson 166 CHAPTER 13 Rationalizing Stellar Spectra 177 CHAPTER 14 "A Reconnaissance of New Territory" 199 CHAPTER 15 Princeton Astronomy in the 1920s 221 CHAPTER 16 Stellar Evolution 236 CHAPTER 17 Binary Stars and the Formation of the Solar System 257 CHAPTER 18 The Royal Road 273 CHAPTER 19 A Summer Place: The Lowell Observatory 292 CHAPTER 20 Influencing Institutions and the Profession 309 CHAPTER 21 Astronomical Isolationism 327 CHAPTER 22 Searching for a Replacement 339 CHAPTER 23 Russell's Universe 361 ABBREVIATIONS AND ARCHIVAL SOURCES 373 NOTES 377 GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS 449 BIBLIOGRAPHY 451 INDEX 479
| Zusatzinfo | 33 halftones |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | New Jersey |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 235 mm |
| Gewicht | 907 g |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte |
| Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Weltraum / Astronomie | |
| Naturwissenschaften | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-691-04918-1 / 0691049181 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-691-04918-2 / 9780691049182 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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