History of physics in the University of Oxford
History of physics in the University of Oxford
DOES SCIENCE REALLY take place at Oxford? Yes and it has done for some hundreds of years. It really began with meetings in Wadham College that led to the founding of the Royal Society of London in 1660. A brief history of physics in the University of Oxford (9 Kbytes) gives an overview but for more details and lots of dates and names read... A history of physics in the University of Oxford (25 Kbytes). This article first appeared in the European Journal of Physics in 1988 published by the Institute of Physics (>6 Kbytes) and appears here with permission. It is hoped shortly to add a sequel to this history to bring the story up to the present. Henry (Harry) Gwyn Jeffreys MOSELEY did his famous work on the relationship of X-rays to the structure of the emitting atom in the original Electrical Laboratory. This work is described in Moseley and X-rays at the University of Oxford (14 Kbytes) and you can still see some of his original apparatus in The Museum of the History of Science ( >6 Kbytes) in Oxford. Charles Vernon BOYS determined G, the universal constant of gravitation, in the cellars of the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford. An illustrated article with previously unpublished photographs describes this experiment. There is an archive room in the Clarendon Laboratory with a collection of historic instruments and documents. The Archive is available on-line but those wishing to visit in person should contract the librarian.
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