The zeroth theorem of the history of science (enunciated by E. P. Fischer) and widely known in the mathematics community as Arnol’d’s principle states that a discovery (rule, regularity, or insight) named after someone often did not originate with that person. I present five examples from physics: the Lorentz condition defining the Lorentz gauge of the electromagnetic potentials, the Dirac delta function , the Schumann resonances of the Earth-ionosphere cavity, the Weizsäcker–Williams method of virtual quanta, and the Bargmann, Michel, and Telegdi equation of spin dynamics. I give sketches of both the actual and reputed discoverers and quote from their “discovery” publications.
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XXV
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21.
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.” First published in The Electrician, March 15, 1895.31.
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), Sec. 267, p. 142
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.” First published in The Electrician, June 7, 1895
.32.
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.35.
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Heaviside
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,” Philos. Mag., Ser. 5
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39.
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Dirac
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Dirac
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Use of the height of the ionosphere instead of leads to different modes of much higher frequencies.
46.
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(Clarendon Press
, Oxford, 1893
).47.
W. O.
Schumann
, “Über die strahlungslosen Eigenschwingungen einer leitenden Kugel, die von Luftschicht und einer Ionosphärenhülle umgeben ist
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7
, 149
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(1952
).48.
See
B. P.
Besser
, “Synopsis of the historical development of Schumann resonances
,” Radio Sci.
42
, RS2S02
(1–20) (2007
). Besser’s paper contains an extensive history and a detailed discussion of Schumann’s work.49.
For just one example of the power spectrum see
J. D.
Jackson
, Classical Electrodynamics
(Wiley
, New York, 1988
), 3rd ed., Fig. 8.9. p. 377
.50.
G. F.
FitzGerald
, “On the energy lost by radiation by alternating currents
,” British Association meeting, 1883, reprinted in The Scientific Writings of George Francis FitzGerald
, edited by Joseph
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(Hodges
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See, for example,
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von Weizsäcker
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, New York, 1980
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See, for example,
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von Weizsäcker
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Shaw
(Seabury Press
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E. J.
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Bohr
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E. J.
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P. M. S.
Blackett
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(1947
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E. J.
Williams
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139
, 163
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(1933
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Williams's first application is to the ionization of atoms, followed by electrodistintegration of nuclei, bremsstrahlung, pair production by photons on nuclei, , and “bremsstrahlung” by photons on electrons or nuclei.
73.
V.
Bargmann
, L.
Michel
, and V. L.
Telegdi
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(1959
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L. H.
Thomas
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(1926
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Thomas
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. A delightful short reminiscence.76.
L. H.
Thomas
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3
, 1
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(1927
).77.
L. H.
Thomas
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I put FitzGerald’s name second because he treated only the lowest resonant mode.
85.
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(1984
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).© 2008 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2008
American Association of Physics Teachers
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