Capturing the stories of sixteen women who made significant contributions to the development of quantum physics, this anthology highlights how, from the very beginning, women played a notable role in shaping one of the most fascinating and profound scientific fields of our time. Rigorously researched and written by historians, scientists, and philosophers of science, the findings in this interdisciplinary book transform traditional physics historiography. Entirely new sources are included alongside established sources that are examined from a fresh perspective. These concise biographies serve as a valuable counterweight to the prevailing narrative of male genius, and demonstrate that in the history of quantum physics, women of all backgrounds have been essential contributors all along. Accessible and engaging, this book is relevant for a wide audience including historians, scientists and science educators, gender theorists and sociologists.
This book recovers the stories of sixteen women who made important and enduring contributions to the development of quantum physics. Rigorous yet accessible, it is relevant for a wide audience including historians, scientists and science educators, gender theorists and sociologists.
Muu info
This engaging book recovers the stories of sixteen women who made significant contributions to the development of quantum physics.
Introduction Patrick Charbonneau, Michelle Frank, Margriet van der
Heijden and Daniela Monaldi;
1. The spectrum of He+ as a proving ground for
Bohr's Model of the atom: a legacy of Williamina Fleming's astrophysical
discovery Maria McEachern and Bretislav Friedrich;
2. H. Johanna van Leeuwen:
the other scientist behind the BohrVan Leeuwen theorem Miriam Blaauboer and
Margriet van der Heijden;
3. Hertha Sponer, Maven of quantum spectroscopy
Elise Crull;
4. Angular and career momentum: what Lucy Mensing contributed to
physics and why she left the field Gernot Münster and Michel Janssen;
5.
Discouraging Jane: Dewey among the lucky generation of US physicists Adriana
Minor;
6. Laura Chalk and the stark effect Daniela Monaldi;
7. Elizabeth
Monroe Boggs: from quantum chemistry to the Manhattan project Patrick
Charbonneau;
8. Excelsior! John Wheeler, Katharine Way, and the role of women
in the exploration of the microcosm Stefano Furlan;
9. Sonja Ashauer from São
Paulo to Cambridge: a journey to quantum electrodynamics Barbra Miguele and
Ivã Gurgel;
10. Untangling entanglement history: early quantum contributions
of Chien-Shiung Wu Michelle Frank;
11. From quantum physics to ethics: Grete
Hermann on Heisenberg's Cut Andrea Reichenberger;
12. Women take the lead: a
physics laboratory under the dictatorship in Portugal, 1940s1960s Ana Simões
and Maria Paula Diogo;
13. Carolyn Parker's electronic frequencies Charnell
Chasten Long;
14. The ChewLowSalzman method and Freda Friedman Salzman: a
physicist between nuclear and social interactions Jens Salomon;
15. Out of
the ivory tower: Maria Lluïsa Canut and X-ray crystallography Marta Jordi
Taltavull;
16. Ana María Cetto Kramis: light in quantum mechanics and open
science Mar Rivera Colomer; Index.
Patrick Charbonneau is Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Duke University. His research focuses on theoretical aspects of soft matter and statistical physics. He also co-curated an exhibit on macromolecular visualization, leads an oral history project, and lectures on the history of chemistry. Michelle Frank is a 20242025 Public Scholar with the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was the 20232024 Sloan Fellow at the Leon Levy Center for Biography. She holds a JD from the University of Michigan and an MA from the CUNY Graduate Center. She is a former fellow with the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Margriet van der Heijden is a particle physicist by training and a part time Professor of Science Communication in Physics at the Applied Physics Department of Eindhoven University of Technology. She is also a renowned science journalist and writer in the Netherlands, having published several nonfiction books on women's contributions to physics and mathematics. Daniela Monaldi is Assistant Professor in the Science, Technology and Society Department of York University, Canada. She teaches science and technology studies, the history of science, gender in STEM, and science, technology, and food. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max-Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany.
