1926 - Science

Science

English physicist Paul A. M. (Adrien Maurice) Dirac, 24, advances a formal theory that will hereafter govern the study of submicroscopic phenomena. A cofounder of the modern theory of quantum mechanics, Dirac will extend his theory in the next 4 years to embrace ideas of relativity (see 1927; Einstein, 1916; 1929; Heisenberg, 1927).

Rome-born University of Florence mathematics teacher Enrico Fermi, 24, publishes a paper on the behavior of a perfect, hypothetical gas. Fermi and Paul Dirac describe the statistical properties of atomic particles that obey the Pauli exclusion principle (as distinct from particles that obey Bose-Einstein statistics) and will become known as fermions; they include protons, electrons, and neutrons (see Chadwick, 1932; Fermi, 1934).

A wave model of the atom constructed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, 39, makes a major contribution to modern quantum theory (see Planck, 1900). Schrödinger has seized upon a radical theory advanced by the French physicist Louis-Victor de Broglie that the electron, like light, should exhibit a dual nature, behaving both as particle and as wave, and in the Schrödinger model electrons wash around the nucleus (see Bohr, 1913; Einstein, 1929).

Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics by Budapest-born mathematics prodigy John (Janos) von Neumann, 22, is published in German (a lecturer at the University of Berlin, von Neumann published an elaborate theory of numbers as sets 3 years ago; he will move to America in 1930).

Helium liquefier Heike Kamerlingh Onnes dies at Leyden in the Netherlands February 21 at age 72. His former student Willem Hendrik Keesom has succeeded him as director of the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory at the University of Leyden and this year manages to solidify helium, a feat that defied the best efforts of Kamerlingh Onnes.

English-born astronomer Cecilia Payne, 26, of the Harvard College Observatory determines that helium is more abundant in the stars than on earth.

The Theory of the Gene by Columbia University zoologist Thomas Hunt Morgan proves a theory of hereditary transmission that will be the basis for all future genetic research (see 1909; Sturtevant, 1913). Now 60, Morgan has conducted experiments with fruit flies (Drosophila) to pinpoint the location of genes in the chromosomes of the cell nucleus (see Watson, Crick, 1953; Lewis, 1978).

New York-born University of Texas, Austin, biologist Hermann J. (Joseph) Muller, 35, finds that X-rays can produce mutations. His work will speed up the process of mutation for gene studies and makes him a leading advocate for limiting exposure to X-rays and for sperm banks to conserve healthy genes.

Canton, Mass.-born Cornell University biochemist James B. (Batcheller) Sumner, 38, crystallizes the enzyme urease and proves that enzymes are proteins.

Genetics pioneer William Bateson dies at London February 8 at age 64; American Museum of Natural History naturalist-explorer Carl E. Akeley dies at Albert National Park in the Belgian Congo November 17 at age 62, having developed the taxidermic method of mounting animals in their natural surroundings for museum displays.