astronomy

Russell McCormmach

Russell McCormmach is a astronomy 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 Russell McCormmach rather than just read about it. In short: Russell Keith McCormmach (born 9 October 1933) is an American historian of physics. Early life and education McCormmach grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and studied physics at Washington State College, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1955.

Key takeaways

Russell McCormmach belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Russell McCormmach to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Russell McCormmach from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Russell Keith McCormmach (born 9 October 1933) is an American historian of physics.

Early life and education McCormmach grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and studied physics at Washington State College, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1955. As a Rhodes Scholar, he studied politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford, earning a second bachelor's degree in 1959. He worked as an electronics engineer at Bell Laboratories before receiving a Ph.D. in the history of science from Case Institute of Technology in 1967 under Martin J. Klein. He was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University until 1983, and later at the University of Oregon, where he is professor emeritus.

Career McCormmach studied the history of German physics in the 19th and 20th centuries. His novel Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist consists of the fictional reminiscences of an elderly German physics professor named Viktor Jacob who reflects on the revolutionary developments (relativity theory, quantum theory, and atomic physics) at the beginning of 20th century physics. The fictional character Viktor Jacob is partly based on Paul Drude (who died by suicide in 1906). In the novel, Viktor Jacob recalls Paul Drude as a friend. In 1969 he founded the journal Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences (now named Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences), for which he was the editor-in-chief for its first ten years. With his wife, Christa Jungnickel, Russell McCormmach co-authored a biography of Henry Cavendish and a history of German theoretical physics in the 19th and early 20th century. His biography of the 18th century English naturalist John Michell was published in 2012.

Honors and awards McCormmach received in 1987 the Pfizer Award from the History of Science Society and in 2010 the Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics from the American Physical Society.

Selected publications Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist. Harvard University Press 1982, ISBN 978-0674624603) with Christa Jungnickel: Intellectual Mastery of Nature: Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein. 2 vols., University of Chicago Press 1986, 1990. vol. I The torch of mathematics 1800-1870, vol. II The now mighty theoretical physics 1870-1925, ISBN 978-0226415857 with Christa Jungnickel: Cavendish. American Philosophical Society, 1996 with Christa Jungnickel: Cavendish - the Experimental Life, Bucknell University Press 1999, ISBN 978-0838754450 Speculative Truth: Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science. Oxford University Press 2004, ISBN 978-0195160048 Weighing the World. The Reverend John Michell of Thornhill. Springer, Dordrecht-Heidelberg-London-New York 2012, ISBN 978-9400720213, e-ISBN 978-9400720220 Power Lines: Giant Hydroelectric Power in the Pacific Northwest, an Era and a Career. Palimpsest Books, 2012, ISBN 9780982411025 The Personality of Henry Cavendish - a Great Scientist with Extraordinary Peculiarities. Vol. 36. Springer 2014, ISBN 978-3-319-02437-0 with Christa Jungnickel: The Second Physicist: On the History of Theoretical Physics in Germany. Springer, 2017 (a revised and shortened version of The Intellectual Mastery of Nature with a new introduction), ISBN 9783319495651 Constellations: A Scientific Novel. Independently Published, 2020. ISBN 9798656596657

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Russell McCormmach

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Russell McCormmach claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Russell McCormmach 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 Russell McCormmach 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 Russell McCormmach

In research: Russell McCormmach appears in astronomy 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 Russell McCormmach 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: Russell McCormmach is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, Academics from Walla Walla, Washington, Alumni of the University of Oxford, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Russell McCormmach 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 Russell McCormmach in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Russell McCormmach 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 Russell McCormmach in simple terms?

Russell Keith McCormmach (born 9 October 1933) is an American historian of physics. Early life and education McCormmach grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and studied physics at Washington State College, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1955.

Why does Russell McCormmach matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Russell McCormmach?

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 Russell McCormmach.