Quantum Physics and the Stars (I): The Establishment of a Stellar Temperature Scale

Menzel Donald H. , “The history of astronomical spectroscopy”, History of and education in modern astronomy , ed. by Berendzen Richard ( Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , cxcviii (1972)), 225–44.

Secchi A. , “On stellar spectrometry”, Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1868), 165–70. See also: Secchi A. , “Nouvelle note sur les spectres stellaires”, Comptes rendus, lxiv (1867), 774–8; McCarthy M. J. S.J. , “Fr. Secchi and stellar spectra”, Popular astronomy, lviii (1950), 153–69, esp. pp. 164–6.

Secchi , “Nouvelle note”, 778, trans. by McCarthy , op. cit., 166.

“Report of the Council”, Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, xxv (1865), 69–119, pp. 112–14.

Hale G. E. Ellerman Ferdinand , and Parkhurst J. A. , “The spectra of Secchi's Fourth Type”, Publications of the Yerkes Observatory, viii (1903), 253–385; Alfred Fowler to G. E. Hale (19 October 1906), George Ellery Hale papers microfilm edition, California Institute of Technology and American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics (hereinafter referred to as “Hale papers”).

Hale G. E. and Adams W. S. , “Sun-spot lines in the spectra of red stars”, The astrophysical journal, xxiii (1906), 400–5; Adams W. S. , “Sun-spot lines in the spectrum of Arcturus”, The astrophysical journal, xxiv (1906), 69–77.

William Huggins to G. E. Hale (9 November 1903), Hale papers.

See Meadows A. J. , Science and controversy: A biography of Sir Norman Lockyer (London, 1972), chs 6 and 7.

Hale G. E. to Huggins William (15 June 1903), Hale papers.

See King A. S. , Contributions of the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory, nos 32, 35, 38; Struve Otto and Zebergs Velta , Astronomy of the 20th century (New York, 1962), 126.

Adams W. S. , “Some results of a study of the spectra of Sirius, Procyon, and Arcturus with high dispersion”, The astrophysical journal, xxxiii (1911), 64–71.

See DeVorkin David H. , “Community and spectral classification in astrophysics: The acceptance of E. C. Pickering's system in 1910”, Isis, lxxii (1981), 29–49.

See the letter by Fowler cited in ref. 5.

Herrmann Dieter , Geschichte der Astronomie von Herschel bis Hertzsprung (Berlin, 1975), 161; “Karl Friedrich Zöllner and die ‘Potsdamer Durchmusterung’, versuch einer Rekonstruktion”, Die Sterne, 1 (1974), 170–80.

Hertzsprung Ejnar , “Über die optische Stärke der Strahlung des schwarzen Körpers und das minimale Lichtaquivalent”, Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Photographie, iv (1906), 43–54.

Stratton F. J. M. , Astronomical physics (New York, 1925), 71ff.; Payne Cecilia H. , Stellar atmospheres (Harvard College Observatory monograph no. 1; Cambridge, Mass., 1925), 29–31. See also Wilsing J. and Scheiner J. , “Temperatur Bestimmung von helleren Sternen aus spektralphotometrischen Beobachtungen”, Publikationem des Astro-physikalischen Observatoriums zu Potsdam , xix, no. 56 (1909); Wilsing J. Scheiner J. and Münch W. , “Effektive Temperaturen von 199 helleren Sternen nach spektralphotometrischen Messungen”, ibid. , xxiv, no. 74 (1919); Wilsing J. , “Messungen der Farben, der Helligkeiten und der Durchmesser der Sterne mit Anwendung der Planckschen Strahlungsgleichung”, ibid., xxiv, no. 76 (1920).

Kidwell Peggy , “Prelude to solar energy: Pouillet, Herschel, Forbes and the solar constant”, Annals of science, xxxviii (1981), 457–76.

Clerke Agnes , A popular history of astronomy during the nineteenth century , 2nd edition (Edinburgh, 1887), 260–5. Newton's “law of cooling” first appeared in a short anonymous paper on the temperature scale in 1701: “Scala graduum caloris”, Philosophical transactions, xxii (1700–01), 824–9 (cf. Brewster David , Memoirs of the life, writings, and discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton , ii (Edinburgh, 1855), 362–5). In the following years it was developed into a general statement that the rate of cooling of a body increases with the difference in temperature between the body and its surroundings. The constant of proportionality depends upon the mass, surface area and the nature of the substance. It is a fairly good approximation for small differences in temperature, and remained unchallenged until the early nineteenth century. This challenge came from the work of Dulong and Petit (“Recherches sur la mesure des températures et sur les lois de la communication de la chaleur”, Annales de chimie et de physique, vii (1818), 113–54), who re-examined the law of cooling and presented a more exact formulation of it, finding that the simple proportionality breaks down at high temperature differences; the rate of cooling increases at greater differences in temperature. See Wright Mark , Heat (New York, 1893), 254–9; Fox Robert , The caloric theory of gases from Lavoisier to Regnault (Oxford, 1971), 236.

Clerke , A popular history…. See also Rosetti F. , “Experimental researches on the temperature of the Sun” (trans. by Watt John ), Philosophical magazine, ser. 5, viii (1879), 324–32, p. 325.

Stefan Josef , “Über die Beziehung zwischen der Wärmstrahlung und der Temperatur”, Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, lxxix, part 2 (1879), 391–428.

Clerke , op. cit. (ref. 18), 271.

Young C. A. , “Lane's law of increase of temperature in a gaseous sphere contracting from the loss of heat”, Popular astronomy, vii (1899), 225–7, p. 227.

Clerke Agnes , The system of the stars , 2nd edition (London, 1905), 72.

Payne , op. cit. (ref. 16); Milne E. A. , “Recent work in stellar physics”, Proceedings of the Physical Society, London, xxxvi (1924), 94–113.

See DeVorkin David H. , “The origins of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram”, In memory of Henry Norris Russell, ed. by Philip A. G. D. and DeVorkin David H. (Albany, 1977), 61–78.

Russell H. N. , “Relations between the spectra and other characteristics of the stars”, Popular astronomy, xxii (1914), 275–94, 331–51.

Ibid., 279.

Russell H. N. to Parkhurst J. A. (12 November 1912), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell H. N. to Abbot C. G. (10 March 1915), and Abbot to Russell (17 March 1915), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell H. N. to Pickering E. C. (21 July 1917), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell H. N. , “Some problems in sidereal astronomy”, Popular astronomy, xxviii (1920), 212–24 and 264–75, p. 218.

Eddington A. S. to Adams W. S. (18 May 1916), Hale papers.

Adams W. S. to Eddington A. S. (n.d.), Hale papers.

Adams W. S. to Russell H. N. (22 January 1917), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library. The “enhanced line problem” was the increased intensity of lines known after Bohr's and Saha's work to have lost one or more electrons.

Ibid.

Russell H. N. to Adams W. S. (15 March 1917), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell H. N. to Schlesinger Frank (26 June 1916), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell H. N. to Pickering E. C. (22 November 1917), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library (emphasis in original).

Russell H. N. to Shapley Harlow (19 February 1919), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell , op. cit. (ref. 31), 273.

Milne , op. cit. (ref. 24), 95.

Struve and Zebergs , op. cit. (ref. 10), 216.

Saha M. N. to Plaskett H. H. (18 December 1946), quoted in Kothari D. S. , “Megnad Saha”, Biographical memoirs of the fellows of the Royal Society, v (1959), 217–36, p. 221. See also Eggert J. , “Über den Dissoziationzustand der Fixsterngase”, Physikalische Zeitschrift, xx (1919), 570–4, p. 573.

Saha to Plaskett , ibid.

Saha M. N. , “Ionisation in the solar chromosphere”, Philosophical magazine, xl (1920), 472–88, p. 478.

Saha M. N. , “Elements in the Sun”, Philosophical magazine, xl (1920), 809–24, p. 811.

Ray Kamalesh , The life and work of Megnad Saha (New Delhi, 1968), 23.

Ibid. , and Saha M. N. to Hale G. E. (9 July 1921), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library. See also Anderson R. S. , Building scientific institutions in India: Saha and Bhabha (Occasional papers series, no. 11, Centre for Developing-area Studies, McGill University; Montreal, 1975), 10–12. We are indebted to Brigitte Schroeder for this source.

Russell , op. cit. (ref. 26).

Saha M. N. , “On a physical theory of stellar spectra”, Proceedings of the Royal Society, A xcix (1921), 135–53, p. 136.

Ibid., 137, Table II.

Ibid., 152.

Ibid., 153.

Ibid., 136, Table I.

Ibid., 150.

Meadows , op. cit. (ref. 8).

Saha , op. cit. (ref. 50), 153.

Fowler Alfred , “Personal notes”, 117 (unpublished autobiographical essay, courtesy A. J. Meadows, Leicester).

Kothari , op. cit. (ref. 43), 222.

See the letter cited in ref. 48.

Saha also sought funds for the upgrading of his own laboratory in Calcutta, but was unsuccessful in his appeal both to Indian and American sources. See Saha M. N. to Russell H. N. (18 September 1924), Russell to Millikan R. A. (21 October 1924), Millikan to Saha (21 October 1924), Russell to Millikan (27 October 1924), all in Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Anderson , op. cit. (ref. 48).

Anderson , op. cit. (ref. 48), 11. Anderson notes that “Lindemann and Kramers had been working on the same problem of solar chromosphere ionization independently suggested to them by Bohr and Tolman”. Also Struve, op. cit. (ref. 10), 216, recalls that Bengt Strömgren told him that Bohr examined ionization in the solar atmosphere, but did not publish his investigation.

Russell H. N. to Adams W. S. (18 December 1920), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Russell , op. cit. (ref. 31), 214.

Russell H. N. to Hale G. E. (25 January 1921), Hale papers.

Saha , op. cit. (ref. 46), 814.

Russell H. N. to Saha M. N. (3 August 1921), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library. See also Russell H. N. , “The properties of matter as illustrated by the stars”, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, xxxiii (1921), 275–90, pp. 281–2; “Rubidium in the Sun”, ibid., 202–4, p. 202.

Russell to Saha , ibid.

Russell , “The properties of matter …” (ref. 68), 280.

Ibid., 282.

Russell to Saha (ref. 68). See also Nernst Walther , Theoretical chemistry (London, 1923), 526–9.

Russell H. N. , “The theory of ionization and the sunspot spectrum”, The astrophysical journal, lv (1922), 119–44, p. 122.

King Arthur S. , “Electric furnace experiments involving ionization phenomena”, The astrophysical journal, lv (1922), 380–5, p. 385.

Saha M. N. to Russell H. N. (7 December 1921), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Milne E. A. , “Ionisation in stellar atmospheres”, The observatory, xliv (1921), 261–9, p. 261.

Fowler R. H. and Darwin C. G. , “On the partition of energy”, I, Philosophical magazine , S. 6, xliv (1922), 450–79; II, ibid. , 823–42; Fowler R. H. , “Dissociation equilibria by the method of partitions”, Philosophical magazine, ser. 6, xlv (1923), 1–33.

Fowler R. H. and Milne E. A. , “The intensities of absorption lines in stellar spectra, and the temperatures and pressures in the reversing layers of stars”, Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, lxxxiii (1923), 403–24, pp. 403–4.

Ibid., 404.

Russell H. N. , The composition of the stars (Oxford, 1933; Russell's Halley lecture, delivered on 1 June 1933), 11–12.

Fowler and Milne , op. cit. (ref. 78), plate 16.

Ibid., 422.

Ibid., 404.

Ibid., 424.

Shapley Harlow to Russell H. N. (25 October 1923), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Kidwell Peggy , “Introduction”, The dyer's hand (Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's manuscript autobiography). We are indebted to Dr Kidwell for allowing us to read a draft of this introduction prior to publication.

Menzel Donald H. , “A study of line intensities in stellar spectra”, Harvard College Observatory circular no. 258 (summer, 1924).

Ibid., 19.

Ibid., 16.

Oral History Interview, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, 11 (American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics, New York City).

Payne Cecilia H. , “On the absorption lines of silicon in stellar atmospheres”, Harvard College Observatory circular no. 252 (1 March 1924).

Russell , op. cit. (ref. 73), 140–4.

Payne Cecilia H. , “On ionization in the atmospheres of the hotter stars”, Harvard College Observatory circular no. 256 (5 June 1924), 8.

Payne , op. cit. (ref. 16).

Ibid., 138.

Ibid., 192.

Ibid., 193.

Based upon an analysis by Karl Hufbauer of articles on astrophysics cited in journals scanned by the Institute for Scientific Information project for the period 1920–29. Hufbauer found that Saha's Ionisation in the solar chromosphere (ref. 45) garnered 40 citing articles; Elements in the Sun (ref. 46), 23; and On a physical theory of stellar spectra (ref. 50), 15. We are indebted to Dr Hufbauer for supplying this information, which was contained in his “Core literature of theoretical astrophysics during 1920–1929”, Institute for Scientific Information workshop on historical applications of citation data, 10–11 December 1982.

Based upon work in progress.

See Plaskett J. S. , “Appendix”, to report of iau Commission 29 Committee on Spectral Classification, in Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, ii (1925), 117–23, esp. 121–3.

H. N. Russell to the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences (26 November 1924), Henry Norris Russell papers, Princeton University Library.

Struve Otto , “Review of Stellar atmospheres”, The astrophysical journal, lxiv (1926), 204–8, p. 208.

Ibid., 206.

Struve and Zebergs , op. cit. (ref. 10), 220–1.

Milne , op. cit. (ref. 76), 264.

Fowler Alfred , Report on series in line spectra (London, 1922), 68–69.

Cf. White H. E. , Introduction to atomic spectra (New York, 1934), 92–93.

Hughes A. L. , “Report on photo-electricity, including ionising and radiating potentials”, Bulletin of the National Research Council, no. 10 (1921), 84–169.

Payne , op. cit. (ref. 16), 15–17.