Philip Abelson | |
|---|---|
 Philip Abelson | |
| Born | April 27, 1913 Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| Died | August 1, 2004 (aged 91) Bethesda, Maryland, United States |
| Alma mater | Washington State University University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | Discovery ofneptunium,isotope separation techniques |
| Awards | Kalinga Prize(1972) National Medal of Science(1987) Public Welfare Medal(1992) Vannevar Bush Award(1996) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nuclear physics |
Philip Hauge Abelson (April 27, 1913 – August 1, 2004) was an Americanphysicist,scientific editor andscience writer. Trained as anuclear physicist, he co-discovered the elementneptunium, worked onisotope separation in theManhattan Project, and wrote the first study ofnuclear marine propulsion for submarines. He later worked on a broad range of scientific topics and relatedpublic policy, includingorganic geochemistry,paleobiology andenergy policy.
Abelson served aseditor-in-chief of the journalScience from 1962–84, president of theCarnegie Institution of Washington from 1971–78, and president of theAmerican Geophysical Union from 1972-74. His frequenteditorials inScience, both during and after his term as editor, became known for their strident and thought-provoking views. A collection of 100 of his editorials was published as a book, entitledEnough of Pessimism. He may have been the original source of the phrase 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence'.
Abelson was born on April 27, 1913,[1] inTacoma, Washington, toNorwegian immigrant parents.[2] He attendedWashington State University, where he received degrees inchemistry andphysics, and theUniversity of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), where he earned his PhD innuclear physics. As a young physicist, he worked forErnest Lawrence at the UC Berkeley. He was among the first American scientists to verifynuclear fission in an article submitted toPhysical Review in February 1939.[3] From 1939 until 1941, he worked as an assistant physicist at theCarnegie Institution inWashington, D.C. It was while he was here that he worked on a substance that emittedbeta rays and was produced by irradiation ofuranium withneutrons. After he collaborated with theNobel Prize laureateLuis Alvarez they isolated the material, and became the co-discoverer ofneptunium on 8 June 1940 withEdwin McMillan.[1] McMillan was awarded theNobel Prize for this discovery among other elements.
Abelson was a key contributor to theManhattan Project duringWorld War II, while working with theNaval Research Laboratory.[1] Although he was not formally associated with theatom bomb project, theliquid thermal diffusionisotope separation technique that he invented at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard was used in theS-50 plant inOak Ridge,Tennessee, and proved a critical step in creating the large amount of nuclear fuel required for building atomic bombs.
After the war, he turned his attention under the guidance ofRoss Gunn to applyingnuclear power tonaval propulsion. While not written at an engineering-design level, he wrote the first physics report detailing how anuclear reactor could be installed in asubmarine, providing bothpropulsion andelectrical power.[4] His report anticipated thenuclear submarine's role as amissile platform. This concept was later supported byAdmiralHyman G. Rickover and others. Under Rickover, the concept became reality in the form ofUSS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine.[5]
In 1946, he returned to work at theCarnegie Institution, which published his report "Atomic Energy Submarine," in March of that year.[6] From 1953 until 1971 he served as the director of theCarnegie Institution of Washington'sGeophysical Laboratory, and as president from 1971 to 1978, and as a trustee from 1978 on.[1] From 1962 to 1984 he was editor ofScience, one of the most prestigiousacademic journals, and served as its actingexecutive officer in 1974, 1975 and 1984. From 1972 until 1974 he served as the president of theAmerican Geophysical Union.
Abelson was outspoken and well known for his opinions on science. In a 1964 editorial published inScience magazine, Abelson identifiedoverspecialization in science as a form ofbigotry. He outlined his view that the pressure towards specialization beginning in undergraduate study and intensifying in PhD programs leads students to believe that their area of specialization is the most important, even to the extreme view that other intellectual pursuits are worthless. He reasoned that such overspecialization led to obsolescence of one's work, often through a focus on trivial aspects of a field, and that avoidance of such bigotry was essential to guiding the direction of one's work.[7]
In a 1965 article he described his work inpaleobiology and reported evidence ofamino acids recovered fromfossils hundreds of millions of years in age andfatty acids in rocks dating over a billion years old.[1] He estimated that based on his experimentsalanine would be stable for billions of years.[8]
Abelson may have been the original source of the phrase 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence', which he used in 1978 and was subsequently popularised byCarl Sagan.[9][10][11]
Perhaps his most famous work from this time period is an editorial entitled "Enough of Pessimism" ("enough of pessimism, it only leads to paralysis and decay"). This became the title of a 100 essay collection.[12]
During the 1970s he became interested in the problem of world energy supplies. Books on the topic includeEnergy for Tomorrow (1975), from a series of lectures at the University of Washington, andEnergy II: Use Conservation and Supply. He pointed out the possibilities of mining theAthabascan tar sands, as well asoil shale in theColoradoRockies. In addition, he urged conservation and a change of attitude towards public transit.[13]
After 1984, he remained associated with the magazine. Some have claimed him to be an earlyskeptic of the case forglobal warming on the basis of a lead editorial in the magazine dated March 31, 1990, in which he wrote, "[I]f the global warming situation is analyzed applying the customary standards of scientific inquiry one must conclude that there has been more hype than solid fact." However, this contrasts what is said in a US National Research Council, Energy and Environment report on which his name appears along with Thomas F. Malone over a decade earlier in 1977:
What is important is not that there are differences [in the models] but that the span of agreement embraces a fourfold to eightfold increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the latter part of the twenty-second century. Our best understanding of the relation between an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and change in global temperature suggests a corresponding increase in average world temperature of more than 6°C, with polar temperature increases of as much as three times this figure. This would exceed by far the temperature fluctuations of the past several thousand years and would very likely, along the way, have a highly significant impact on global precipitation.
— Philip H. Abelson, Thomas F. Malone, Cochairmen, Geophysics Study Committee[14]
Abelson died on August 1, 2004, from respiratory complications following a brief illness. He was married toNeva Abelson, a distinguished researchphysician who co-discoveredRh factor testing (withL. K. Diamond). Their daughter,Ellen Abelson Cherniavsky, worked as anaviation researcher for theMITRE corporation inVirginia.
Abelson received many distinguished awards, including theNational Medal of Science in 1987,[15] theNational Science Foundation'sDistinguished Achievement Award, theAmerican Medical Association'sScientific Achievement Award, theNavy Distinguished Civilian Service Award and theWaldo E. Smith Award in 1988. In 1992 he was awarded thePublic Welfare Medal, theNational Academy of Sciences's highest honor.[16] He was elected a fellow of theAmerican Physical Society in 1949[17] and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.[18] He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1961.[19]
The mineralabelsonite is named after Abelson in recognition of his contribution toorganic geochemistry.[20]
The Philip and Neva Abelson Hall atWashington State University was named in his honor.[21]
TheAAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize is named after Philip Abelson.
Philip H. Abelson, editor of the authoritative journalScience, agrees that parapsychological research has improved markedly, but he is dubious about the results. "These extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," he contends.
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