An Historical Overview, 1900–1949

Abstract

As suggested by Figure 1, science and its applications—which we would today call technology—have been valued in American society from the very beginning. As we approach the close of the twentieth century, it is entirely appropriate that we celebrate the role of our particular sector of this science and technology—that is, physics and its applications. It is obviously impossible to cover so rich a field with anything approaching completeness, so I will apologize in advance to all those who feel that their work has been slighted. It has often been said that one picture is worth a thousand words, I shall therefore include a large number of pictures. My goal in this part of this report is to remind the reader of some of the high points of physics during the first half of our century that laid the foundation for modern physics and of the importance of these discoveries to society and to the human race in general.