ABSTRACT
Society.HehadresignedfromtheCavendishchairtomakeroomfor Rutherford,theyoungerman,whohadcomedownfromManchester justasThomsonhaddonefortyyearsbefore.Thomsonhad,however, stayedonintheCavendish,beingallocatedroomsbyRutherford.This didnotworkoutverywell.Rutherford,whilegood-hearted,wasa naturalimperialistofthekindthatisfoundinmostsciencedepartments. Thomsonthereforefoundhimselfsqueezedtomoreandmoreremote localitiesuntilheandhisstudentswereinaroomcalledtheGarage, hotinsummer,perishingcoldinwinter.Thomsonwassixtyyears old,andthoughhewasthediscovereroftheelectron,remainedby temperamentaclassicalphysicist.Thefewstudentshehadhadafter Rutherfordarrivedfoundthemselvesonworkwhichwasnotofthe firstimportance.OppenheimerdiscoveredinCambridgethathewasa naturaltheoretician.Quantummechanicswasemergingbuthecould notcontributesignificantly,desperatelyashetried.Itisdoubtful whetherJJThomsonwasabletohelphimverymuch.Oppenheimer did,however,managetomakesomeusefulcontributionsinthefield ofappliedquantummechanics.Thewholeofspectroscopy,andthe behaviourofhigh-energyelectronsandgamma-rays,werewideopen toinvestigationbythenewmethods.Hepublishedtwopaperson rotationalandvibrationalspectra,intheProceedingsoftheCambridge PhilosophicalSociety.Itwasnotthemostfashionablejournal,butit wasastart.HerealizedthatCambridgewasnottheplaceforhim. MorecongenialsurroundingswerefoundatGottingen,wherehewas invitedbyMaxBorn.Itwasthecentreofthenewquantumtheory,with
OppenheimerandtheAEC
HeisenbergandBorn,andthemathematicianJordan.ThegreatDanish physicistNielsBohrwasafrequentvisitor,aswereSchrooingerand manyothers.
