A remarkable variety of teaching and research has taken place within the field of physics at the University of Toronto since the first physics laboratory was established in the University College building in 1878. One way of recording and representing this history is through objects, typically collected by researchers and staff, that have survived to the present day.
Examining the objects in this display case will give you an overall sense of major landmarks in the history of this department. However, objects, like any kind of historical document, often survive haphazardly and can only tell an incomplete story. We keep what we feel is important at a given moment, but our values change with time, and so do the kinds of stories that we consider important. Consider, for instance, the lack of artifacts associated with the relatively few women researchers and teachers from the Department’s early history.
Out of necessity, most scientific equipment is simply discarded, and it them the material evidence of countless hours of work and ingenuity. We can’t keep everything, but we ought to keep a representative sample of what’s important. Properly researched and documented, a minor artifact like a piece of apparatus or a prepared sample can preserve the memory of a major research project. You will find a few such examples here.
It is important that students and researchers contribute to the stories being told. If you know of any objects or stories that ought to be kept and documented, or any stories that ought to have been told here, let us know.
Exhibit Themes
James Loudon and Rudolph Koenig: Protagonists of the Brass and Glass Era
The first U of T physics laboratory was founded at University College in 1878. The two most responsible for equipping the lab, a Canadian professor and a Parisian instrument maker, formed a lasting friendship.
Liquifying Helium and the Discovery of Superfluidity
After the First World War, the University of Toronto’s Department of Physics became the second site on Earth to successfully liquify helium. Researchers who worked with liquid helium made discoveries fundamental to the establishment of condensed matter physics.
The 1938 University of Toronto Electron Microscope
In 1938, University of Toronto physicists Albert F. Prebus (1913-1997) and James Hillier (1915-2007), led a small team that built North America’s first practical electron microscope.
During this building’s first decade, it housed a powerful particle accelerator on its subbasement level. This instrument did not live up to expectations, but it laid the foundations for a successful particle physics program.
Collaborative Research With the High Energy Physics Group
Ultimately, the U of T Linac proved to be a footnote in the local history of particle physics. Much subsequent research has taken place as part of collaborative international projects.
ISOTRACE: A Revolution in Radiocarbon Dating
For over thirty years, from 1979 to 2013, the McLennan building hosted ISOTRACE, a world centre for Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS) research.
Derek York’s Lab Changed the Field of Potassium-Argon Dating
Founded in the 1960s, the laboratory of Derek York (1936-2007) was a major centre for innovation in the study of Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) dating.
Throughout its history, the University of Toronto has been a world leader in applied geophysics. It has trained hundreds of scientists, many of whom have worked in industry, and has contributed to the development of many other geophysics programs.
Women at the Department of Physics
A challenge in representing the history of science at the University of Toronto is that few artifacts have been collected from women scientists. Still, women researchers have been present at the Department of Physics for longer, and in greater numbers, than one might guess.
Beauty and Order in Nature: Nonlinear Physics and Nonequilibrium Pattern Formation
Pattern formation is the study of self organized ordered states in extended classical systems. It is a branch of physics with a close affinity to art and aesthetics.