A Passion for Physics; The Story of a Woman Physicist

Freeman, Joan

ISBN 10: 0750300981 / ISBN 13: 9780750300988

Published by Adam Hilger/IOP Publishing Limited, Bristol, 1991

About this Item

x, 229, [1] pages. Illustrations. Index. Joan Maie Freeman (7 January 1918 - 18 March 1998) was an Australian physicist. While still a girl, she took evening classes at Sydney Technical College. The school hid her attendance from inspectors, as they thought a girl in the class would reflect negatively on the college. She completed her Intermediate Certificate Examination and earned a place at the University of Sydney in 1936. Freeman studied mathematics, chemistry, physics and zoology, and was often the only woman. She received her BSc in 1940 and was awarded a Commonwealth Research Scholarship to continue her MSc. Freeman took a position at the Radiophysics Laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as a research officer in June 1941. She researched radar during World War II. After the war ended, Freeman engaged in research on the behavior of low-pressure gas discharges at microwave frequencies. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research then awarded her a Senior Studentship that allowed her to read for her Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in England. She studied short-range alpha particles with Alex Baxter, working on the HT1 accelerator. In 1951 Freeman became Senior Scientific Officer at the Harwell Tandem Accelerator Group. She later led the group and received the Rutherford Medal and Prize in 1976 with Roger Blin-Stoyle, for their research of the beta-radioactivity of complex nuclei. She was the first woman to win the Rutherford Medal. Freeman wrote the 1991 book A Passion for Physics. Few research scientists write their autobiographies. Consequently, their motivations, aspirations, and the ways in which they operate are poorly understood by the outside world. Putting a human face to physics, A Passion for Physics: The Story of a Woman Physicist is a welcome addition to the small number of examples of its kind. As the author vividly describes, it was not easy for young women to acquire a broad scientific education, particularly before World War II in Australia, where she was born and grew up. Although their prospects are much better now than they were, women today still meet some discouragement in taking up physics as a career. Beginning with an account of her early life, Dr. Freeman describes her struggles to gain a physics education, the vicissitudes of the Depression, her experiences at Sydney University, and her years in the wartime radar establishment in Sydney. The story continues with the tribulations and triumphs of the author's period at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, her meeting with physicist John Jelley whom she ultimately married, her transition to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, and her adventures in the United States. The book captures Dr. Freeman's sense of excitement and awe in gaining through her profession a fresh insight into the beauty, the intricacies, and the mystery of the physical world, and her admiration of the advances in understanding that have been achieved through continuing human endeavor. Dr. Freeman's story provides an encouraging role model for aspiring young women physicists. Avoiding emphasis on technical aspects of physics, the book is a source of many, often humorous, anecdotes about the author and her contemporaries.

Seller Inventory # 73542

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Passion for Physics; The Story of a Woman Physicist
• Publisher: Adam Hilger/IOP Publishing Limited, Bristol
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750300981
• ISBN 13: 9780750300988
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: Presumed First Edition, First printing.
• Condition: Very good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Radar

About this title

Synopsis

Few research scientists write their autobiographies. Consequently, their motivations, aspirations, and the ways in which they operate are poorly understood by the outside world. Putting a human face to physics, A Passion for Physics: The Story of a Woman Physicist is a welcome addition to the small number of examples of its kind. As the author vividly describes, it was not easy for young women to acquire a broad scientific education, particularly before World War II in Australia, where she was born and grew up. Although their prospects are much better now than they were, women today still meet some discouragement in taking up physics as a career. Beginning with an account of her early life, Dr. Freeman describes her struggles to gain a physics education, the vicissitudes of the Depression, her experiences at Sydney University, and her years in the wartime radar establishment in Sydney. The story continues with the tribulations and triumphs of the author's period at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, her meeting with physicist John Jelley whom she ultimately married, her transition to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, and her adventures in the United States. The book captures Dr. Freeman's sense of excitement and awe in gaining through her profession a fresh insight into the beauty, the intricacies, and the mystery of the physical world, and her admiration of the advances in understanding that have been achieved through continuing human endeavor. Dr. Freeman's story provides an encouraging role model for aspiring young women physicists. Avoiding emphasis on technical aspects of physics, the book is a source of entertainment for the general reader, with its many, often humorous, anecdotes about the author and her contemporaries.

Review

..."a delightfully written account...we enjoyed her wit, her sense of drama..." American Journal of Physics ..."The book is objectively and elegantly written, with many humorous touches." Physics World ..."an enchanting account of a unique career...It deserves to be widely read." Historical Records of Australian Science "The account of her early years is honest without being sentimental, easy to read, personalised and non-technical. The reader is swept along in an adventure...It is the story of a woman who sees the best in everyone...the book is full of personal courage and persistence, excitement and achievement, and a deep love of physics...an enchanting account of a unique career, of important aspects of physics teaching and research in Australia earlier this century, of nuclear physics in the UK thereafter, and of the success of a woman against the odds - all told with a refreshing lightness of touch." Historical Records of Australian Science "Dr. Freeman chronicles her love of physics from that of a curious five-year-old with a Meccano set to that of an award-winning beta-decay researcher...delightfully written account of her research career in physics." American Journal of Physics elightfully written account...we enjoyed her wit, her sense of drama..." American Journal of Physics ..."The book is objectively and elegantly written, with many humorous touches." Physics World ..."an enchanting account of a unique career...It deserves to be widely read." Historical Records of Australian Science "The account of her early years is honest without being sentimental, easy to read, personalised and non-technical. The reader is swept along in an adventure...It is the story of a woman who seesthe best in everyone...the book is full of personal courage and persistence, excitement and achievement, and a deep love of physics...an enchanting account of a unique career, of important aspects of physics teaching and research in Australia earlier this century, of nuclear physics in the UK thereafter, and of the success of a woman against the odds - all told with a refreshing lightness of touch." Historical Records of Australian Science "Dr. Freeman chronicles her love of physics from that of a curious five-year-old with a Meccano set to that of an award-winning beta-decay researcher...delightfully written account of her research career in physics." American Journal of Physics