Maxwell’s legacy lives on here at the Old Labs. The Cavendish Laboratory has an extraordinary history. It is a place of discovery and innovation in physics since its opening in 1874.
The Old Labs was established when practical training for scientists and engineers became essential. Before its establishment, physics was mainly theoretical. Mathematicians were its main practitioners. Isaac Newton contributed much in this area. Thomas Young and George Gabriel Stokes also contributed while working at their colleges.
William Cavendish, the Seventh Duke of Devonshire, made the Old Labs possible. He was the Chancellor of the University. He donated money to build a physics laboratory. The Colleges had to fund a Professorship of Experimental Physics. This led to the appointment of James Clerk Maxwell as the first Cavendish professor at the Old Labs.
Maxwell’s theories cover electricity and magnetism. They also include statistical physics. Experiments later confirmed these theories. Maxwell designed and equipped the new Old Labs. He died in 1879 at only 48 years old.
Lord Rayleigh succeeded Maxwell. He set up a systematic course in experimental physics. This course remains central to the Old Labs teaching today.
J.J. Thomson took over from Rayleigh in 1884. He started a revolution in physics. This revolution led to quantum mechanics in the 1920s. During Thomson’s time, the University allowed external students to study for a Ph.D. Ernest Rutherford and Charles Wilson were among the first physics graduate students. They later won Nobel Prizes with J.J. Thomson.
Thomson discovered the electron. Wilson invented the Cloud chamber. Rutherford achieved artificial nuclear fission. These advances ushered in modern physics at the Old Labs.
Rutherford succeeded Thomson in 1919. Francis Aston discovered isotopes. Patrick Blackett photographed nuclear interactions. James Chadwick discovered the neutron. John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton produced controlled nuclear disintegrations. They also proved E = mc2 experimentally for the first time. All this took place at the Old Labs.
Lawrence Bragg became Cavendish professor in 1938. He used X-ray crystallography to understand biological molecules. Francis Crick and James Watson determined DNA’s double-helix structure. This became the culmination of these studies at the Old Labs. Research expanded to low temperatures in the Mond Laboratory. It also expanded to high energies with particle accelerators.
Nevill Mott succeeded Bragg in 1954. He led pioneering studies in condensed matter physics. His work on amorphous semiconductors led to his Nobel prize. The Old Labs expanded. The central Cambridge site became overcrowded. A move to West Cambridge became necessary in 1974. Brian Pippard, Mott’s successor, managed this move.
The Old Labs fostered new disciplines. Sam Edwards focused on soft condensed matter. This led to initiatives in biological physics and the physics of medicine. Richard Friend advanced polymer semiconductor physics. The 21st century brought nanotechnology, cold atoms and ultra-low temperature physics.
The Old Labs continues its tradition of innovation. A major redevelopment program helps it meet 21st-century challenges. The Old Labs stands as a testament to scientific progress.