Sir Basil Schonland and the genesis of atomic physics in South Africa^†

† This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Professor Robin David Cherry (1933–2019), the author’s earliest mentor in the field of Physics.

Abstract

This paper describes and discusses, mainly in terms of principles, the experimental work on energetic electron scattering by atomic nuclei, carried out by B. F. J. (later Sir Basil) Schonland, both at the Cavendish Laboratory under the direction of Sir Ernest Rutherford, and thereafter at the University of Cape Town. The theoretical basis of this work is examined in some detail, in order to elucidate the complexity of the problem of correct data analysis. Whereas the success achieved in this area might have led to the establishment of an active research group working in the field of quantum mechanics and its application to atomic physics, the decision was made ca. 1926 to terminate these investigations in favour of a field where South Africa offered natural advantages, and where considerable research experience in electron physics would prove valuable: lightning research. Several decades would elapse before quantum mechanics as an area of active research gained a foothold in South Africa.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My acquaintance with the life and career of Basil Schonland dates from an invitation by Professor Michael Cherry, now at the University of Stellenbosch, to contribute a review of the substantial biography by Brian Austin (2001) to the journal Nature (Hey, 2002). During my years as a student and staff member of the Physics Department of the University of Cape Town, my attention was frequently drawn to the enigmatic smile in the portrait of Professor Schonland hanging in the entrance foyer of the R. W. James Building. There, I had the privilege of knowing the senior laboratory technician, Mr L. G. Fowle, who had trained under Jock Linton, the technician responsible for constructing Schonland’s cathode-ray equipment. Leslie Fowle, a fount of immense general knowledge of so many aspects of science, and possessing seemingly unlimited scientific curiosity, was a source of personal inspiration. I am also indebted to the late Mr Willem de Beer, thanks to whom I obtained the invaluable collection of physics and mathematics texts in French acquired by David J. Malan during and after his years of study and research in Paris, a veritable treasure trove including the published text of his doctoral dissertation, and a mathematical preface by Prince Louis de Broglie. Lastly, the author expresses his thanks to the anonymous referee, whose careful reading of and critical comments on the original manuscript proved most useful.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

J. D. Hey http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3651-3660

Notes

† This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Professor Robin David Cherry (1933–2019), the author’s earliest mentor in the field of Physics.