Coming to Terms with the Atom

This seminar will examine the development of ideas and applications concerning the atom from the late 19^th through the mid-20^th century (no later than 1963). The course will focus on three topical themes:

I. Observations, Models, and Theories of the Atom

Early models of the atom

Thomson’s “Plum Pudding” model

Rutherford’s “Solar System” model

Theoretical difficulties and development of Bohr atom

II. The Military Atom

Discovery and understanding of fission phenomenon

Recognition of military potential

Development of fission weapons

Development of fusion weapons

Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

III. The Civilian Atom

Early medical applications

Civilian impact of atomic weapons

Civil Defense and the Cold War

Peaceful uses of atomic energy

Class Requirements:

Although shorter assignments will determine a portion of the student’s grade for the course, the primary exercise will be a research paper of appropriate rigor (approx. 25 pages) that examines ONE of the above themes. In each case, the papers will be based on the responses to the ideas and developments as presented in contemporary published sources. Students with suitable scientific background will be encouraged to examine the response to the various atomic models as revealed in scientific periodicals of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Other students will likely prefer to examine the public response to atomic weapons as recorded in newspapers, mass circulation magazines, and similar sources. These sources would also be appropriate to considerations of the peaceful uses of atomic energy, but technical periodicals from medicine and engineering would be valuable sources as well.

Reading assignments for the course remain tentative, but are likely to include Paul Boyer, By the Bomb’s Early Light, and a selection of article-length studies of the course themes.