University of Chicago - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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3lntprnattonal Ifottors tn Prnfpsaor iHirhplHnn HE first X()l)fl prize tu come to thi country was awarded this year to Professor Albert A. Alichelson, head of the De- partment of Physics of the University of Chicago. Simttl- taneously with the receipt of the Nobel prize, Professor Michelson had conferred u]; on him the Copley medal, the ' jhest honor within the gift of the Royal Society of Great Britain. This is a combination of honors which is probably iinicjue in the history of science. According to the terms of the award, the Copley medal was bestowed upon Professor Michelson for his investigations in optics. Since practically all of Professor jMichelson ' s researches have been in the field of optics, it is probable that the medal was intended as a recognition of his work as a whole, rather than of any particular part of it. The most salient features of this work may be summarized as follows: 1. Determinations of the velocity of light (1879-18s(i). The final value obtained, namely 299,860 kilometers per second, is still the world ' s standard. 2. E.xperiments on the relati -e motion of the earth and ether { 188fi- 1887). 3. Investigations with the interferometer (1888-1895). This is an instru- ment devised by Prof. Alichelson and used for the double purpose of making accurate linear measurements and studying the nature of the bright lines of the sceptra of incandescent gases and vapors. This latter problem is one of especial importance since there seems to be no more promising means of extending our knowledge of that most fundamental of all the problems of science — the problem of the nature of matter, than by studying with suffi- ciently powerful instruments the character of the light waves emitted by incandescent gases and vapors, the simplest types of matter available for experiments. The chief result of Professor Michelson ' s investigations with the interferometer in this field was to show that light from even the simplest sources is much more complex than had been supposed, and to determine in a measure the character of the complexity. 4. The invention of the echelon spectroscope (1898). The echelon is another instrument of great power for analyzing light waves, and one which has the advantage over the interferometer of giving more direct indications. 5. The improvement of the diffraction grating (1903-1908). The grat- ings which are now being produced at Ryerson Physical Laboratory are considerably more powerful and more perfect than any others which have hitherto been made, and some interesting and new results on the nature of certain simple kinds of light have just been obtained with them. It was these results in part which led to the award of the Xobel prize. According to the terms of this year ' s award, the Xobel prize was given to Albert A. Michelson for his optical instruments of precision and his spectroscopic and metalogical investigations carried out therewith. The optical instruments of precision refer, doubtless, to the interferometer, the echelon spectroscope, and the new ten-inch gratings, including under this last head the ruling engine with which these gratings were made. Robert A.xprews Millikex.