AA Michelson was not only the first American to win a Nobel prize for science, the nature of the man behind the science was an object of some mystery – even to members of his own family.
Many facets of his character were in fact brought to light by Elizabeth, a daughter of his second marriage as revealed in her book ‘The Master of Light’. This was, however, a difficult task. The character of Michelson was like an iceberg. For what appeared on the surface in his thoughts and perceptions, there were always much more by way of hidden depths.
Michelson's Family Beginnings
Michelson had been born in Strzelno, Poland in December, 1852. The prevalent levels of anti Semitism, however, led the family to emigrate to America through the gateway of New York. It was while staying there with relatives of his mother, Rosalie, that it was determined to travel west to link up with the prosperity of the California gold rush where all sorts of goods were in demand and his father, Samuel, anticipated opening a general store.
It was, however, no easy task to cross America from east to west before the completion of the railway system. The perilous journey that followed was to take them by steamer to the isthmus of Panama, overland to the Pacific coast through jungles and by canoe on river before eventually linking with a streamer to San Francisco. Eventually home was made in Murphy’s Camp some 150 miles east of San Francisco.
This ‘lively’ town with its legacy of sudden changes of fortune was home to Michelson from the time he was around four to around twelve, when in 1864 it was considered appropriate to send him to a ‘proper’ school in San Francisco. Michelson was to spend two years at the Lincoln Grammar School followed by some three years at what is now termed Lowell High School. Following his graduation there, efforts were eventually successful to enroll him in the Naval Academy at Annapolis as a candidate from the state of Nevada.
Michelson's Life at Annapolis
In 1869, the American Navy reflected some very conservative thinking. Training at sea was undertaken essentially in sailing vessels. There had been, however, the introduction of a solid core of mathematics and science within the college curriculum. It was within science -- and in particular optics -- that Michelson showed the most interest and aptitude. This enthusiasm, however, was to draw some criticism from his college superiors who anticipated that his country would be better served by more gunnery practice than delving into the mysteries of light. After a two year period aboard a range of ships, Michleson was able to continue his naval career in December 1875 as an instructor in Physics and Chemistry at Annapolis.
It was while thus engaged in his duties that he was to meet his future first wife -- Margaret Heminway -- a niece of the wife of Commander Sampson with whom Michelson worked. The young couple were married in April 1877.
Measuring Speed of Light
Michelson had been given a brief of demonstrating techniques of measurement of the speed of light as part of the college physics course. This provided an opportunity to review the techniques used so far by the eminent French scientists Foucault and Fizeau. Fizeau’s method had been to use a spinning toothed wheel and detect the extinction of light reflected from a mirror a distance of several kilometers. Foucault’s method had been to detect deflection of light by a rotating mirror.
Michelson was able to design a technique which not only provided greater accuracy and but could be implemented using low-cost optical components. Michelson’s modification allowed light to travel in a greater path length compared with Foucaut’s method and produce a resultant greater deflection. The equivalent value of speed of light in air that Michelson determined was only about +0.2% different from the absolute values now accepted. Michelson’s experiment was probably the first such experiment ever to have been made in America.
Even today, students of science can still review the data of the 100 value observations recorded by Michelson in 1878 – as evidence of measurement technique and methodical approach to scientific observation. This clear thinking, methodical approach to science -- often requiring the utmost patience and dedication -- was one of the key elements which set him apart from most of his contemporaries. These measurements were also being made in an era where America was as yet very much the junior partner in science. It was Europe, with the notable inclusion of British luminaries such as Lord Raleigh and Lord Kelvin that retained the leading edge in scientific discovery and theory.
Not being establish as yet within the scientific community, it was his father in law who provided funding for the next phase of development by way of $2,000 for improved optical equipment to make further determinations. An additional series of measurements were made during the spring of 1879 over an optical path length of around 2000 feet. An eventual revised figure of 299910 ± 50 km/s was identified; approximately + 0.12% adrift from absolute values now accepted. Word was now spreading of his achievements. His parents now living in Virginia City read extracts in their local newspaper of reports of their son’s work cited in The New York Times.
Joining the Scientific Community
The development of his skills in optical measurements, however, was becoming increasingly difficult to continue within the regimented framework of the Navy. The next phase entered upon was to be released from routine duties to provide assistance to the astronomer Professor Simon Newcomb in his separate determinations on the speed of light and where such work had attracted funding from Congress. This engaged his energies until the autumn of 1880 although the designs for the experiment did not use specific elements of his own technique. This process, however, introduced him to a wider ‘strata’ of the scientific community and would have been beneficial to managing scientific developments at the ‘human interface’ level in later work.
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