physics

J. Cecil Maby

J. Cecil Maby is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand J. Cecil Maby rather than just read about it. In short: Joseph Cecil Maby, B.Sc., ARCS, FRAS, (1902-1971) was a British biophysicist, dowser and psychical researcher. Maby was born in the Colony of Natal and his family returned to England in 1903, shortly after he was born.

Key takeaways

J. Cecil Maby belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reference excerpt

Joseph Cecil Maby, B.Sc., ARCS, FRAS, (1902-1971) was a British biophysicist, dowser and psychical researcher. Maby was born in the Colony of Natal and his family returned to England in 1903, shortly after he was born. His father, Joseph Maby (1865-1927) had been a railway contractor, building various railways in Natal and the Transvaal. His mother, Annie Leila (née Yates), was from Abergavenny. His father was of mostly English heritage but had also been born in Wales. They settled in Marle Hill, Cheltenham, where Joseph Maby had a small farm where he kept a herd of pedigree Jersey cows. Maby believed that he had experienced paranormal events at his family's home. He developed a lifelong interest in psychical research. Maby was educated at Cheltenham College, Imperial College London, and the University of London. After leaving university, he found employment as a research assistant at the Forest Products Research Laboratory, Buckinghamshire, and subsequently became a teacher at the Imperial Forestry Institute, Oxford. Several of Maby’s scientific papers related to the study of woods are currently available as downloads on the Internet. Micellar Structure of the Tracheide Wall in Certain Woods, in Relation to Morphogenetic and Mechanical Factors, first published in 1935, is available on the New Phytologist Foundation website. The identification of wood and wood charcoal fragments (1931) and Further notes on the identification of woods and charcoals (1932) are available from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Wood Fragments from a Lake Settlement at Auvernier, Switzerland (1928) is available from the Cambridge University Press. With physicist T. Bedford Franklin, Maby wrote the book The Physics of the Dowsing Rod (1939). They postulated that dowsing occurred due to some form of radiation. A review in Nature noted that there is "no direct evidence for such waves and the author's discussion of their polarization cannot be justified on our present physical knowledge." Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe wrote that claims in the book have no scientific validity. However, a review of the book in Scientific American (Feb.1941) was somewhat more positive, stating that, “The whole subject is treated at great length and entirely in terms of modern physical science.” Maby was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was a member of the British Society of Dowsers and Society for Psychical Research.

Publications

Books Walls of Jericho (1932) OCLC 2980019 By Stygian Waters (1933) OCLC 6717220 The Physics of the Divining Rod; being an account of an experimental investigation of water and mineral divining (1939, 1978) [with Thomas Bedford Franklin] OCLC 221162635, 2311518 Co-operative healing: the curative properties of human radiations (1947) [with Leon Ernest Eeman] OCLC 4812229, 559677865 Confessions of a Sensitive: a critical study of the paranormal and of occult faculties in man (1966) OCLC 6621144 Physical Principles of Radiesthesia; collected papers: 1944-65 (1966) OCLC 14502425 A Naturalist at Large: a candid commentary upon modern life and fashions (1967) OCLC 30282781

Papers Maby, C. (1935). An Experimental Test of Astrological Claims. Journal of the British Astronomical Association 45: 165-166. Maby, C. (1936). Micellar Structure of the Tracheide Wall in Certain Woods, in Relation to Morphogenetic and Mechanical Factors. New Phytologist 35 (5): 432-455. Maby, C. (1940). Science and the Divining Rod. Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 88 (4559): 520-539.

References

External links Maby, Joseph Cecil in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with J. Cecil Maby

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what J. Cecil Maby claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to J. Cecil Maby before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about J. Cecil Maby ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of J. Cecil Maby

In research: J. Cecil Maby appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses J. Cecil Maby in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: J. Cecil Maby is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1902 births, 1971 deaths, 20th-century British physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for J. Cecil Maby outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study J. Cecil Maby in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what J. Cecil Maby means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is J. Cecil Maby in simple terms?

Why does J. Cecil Maby matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study J. Cecil Maby?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on J. Cecil Maby.