Arthur Roberts (physicist)
Encyclopedia
Arthur Roberts was a physicist and a composer.
He is remembered for several humoristic and satirical songs on scientific subjects, which he sung to piano accompaniment.
).
His song Take away your billion dollars (1948) invects against Berkelitis, the mega-project mania inspired on the Manhattan project
that took over physics research after World War II
; and he calls for a return to brains-before-dollars science:
In The Cyclotronist’s Nightmare (1947) he painted a farcical image of the heroic life in a cyclotron
lab. The not-so-bright Lab Boss walks in one day and tells his graduate students:
and then gave his students the impossible task to produce the activated iron for the President, overnight — Eighty millicuries by half-past nine!
and a master's degree in physics from Columbia University
.
During World War II
, Roberts traveled to Britain while working on the development of radar technology with a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
scientists.
After the war, Roberts was a professor at the University of Chicago
physics department, and worked at the Argonne National Laboratory
and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He became a fellow of the American Physical Society
. During the 1960s and 1970s he used to have occasional music jam sessions with eminent scientists and Nobel laureates who worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
. He moved to Hawaii in the late 1970s.
Arthur Roberts died April 22, 2004 of Alzheimer's disease
at his home in Honolulu.
He is remembered for several humoristic and satirical songs on scientific subjects, which he sung to piano accompaniment.
Songs
His best-known songs are preserved in a 78rpm vinyl record made in 1947. The songs are performed by faculty and students of the "State University of Iowa" (now the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
).
His song Take away your billion dollars (1948) invects against Berkelitis, the mega-project mania inspired on the Manhattan project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
that took over physics research after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; and he calls for a return to brains-before-dollars science:
- It seems that I'm a failure, just a piddling dilettante,
Within six months a mere ten thousand bucks is all I've spent
With love and string and sealing wax was physics kept alive
Let not the wealth of MidasMidasFor the legend of Gordias, a person who was taken by the people and made King, in obedience to the command of the oracle, see Gordias.Midas or King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the...
hide the goal for which we strive.
In The Cyclotronist’s Nightmare (1947) he painted a farcical image of the heroic life in a cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
lab. The not-so-bright Lab Boss walks in one day and tells his graduate students:
- "Boys," said the Boss, "The President is coming here.
The President of the Reekanstinkle Fund
Giving all that money away is awfully tiring
The doctor said the President was ripe for retiring,
The doctor said he ought to take some activated iron,
Eighty millicuries twice a day!"
and then gave his students the impossible task to produce the activated iron for the President, overnight — Eighty millicuries by half-past nine!
Biography
Arthur Roberts was born July 6, 1912, in the Bronx, the son of an Austrian immigrant. In 1933, he got a piano diploma from the New York's Manhattan School of MusicManhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
and a master's degree in physics from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Roberts traveled to Britain while working on the development of radar technology with a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
scientists.
After the war, Roberts was a professor at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
physics department, and worked at the Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...
and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He became a fellow of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
. During the 1960s and 1970s he used to have occasional music jam sessions with eminent scientists and Nobel laureates who worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
. He moved to Hawaii in the late 1970s.
Arthur Roberts died April 22, 2004 of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
at his home in Honolulu.
See also
- Tom LehrerTom LehrerThomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...