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Tag Archives: Geoffrey Duffield

Looking at the sun

From Wallal, in Australia’s far north-west, to Goondiwindi, near the New South Wales-Queensland border, local and international scientists watched the sun and waited. A total solar eclipse was due on 21 September 1922. An eclipse always held scientific interest, but this one offered the chance to confirm one of the most revolutionary theories in science. [...]

Posted 01 August 2008 † tim § magazine articles § weather ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Stromlo: an Australian observatory

Few institutional histories could boast such a dramatic conclusion as Stromlo: an Australian observatory. The manuscript was substantially complete when a savage firestorm swept through the pine plantations flanking Mount Stromlo, destroying all the major telescopes and many of the observatory’s buildings. Among the losses was the Oddie Dome, built in 1911 to test the [...]

Posted 01 June 2004 † tim § history of australian science § reviews and review essays ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Atomic wonderland

The development and use of the atomic bomb was a turning point in history. It seems so obvious—the world was changed, a new age dawned. But this was not the first turning point, nor the last. History is littered with critical moments, crossroads, watersheds and points of decision. Each brings a new sense of urgency, [...]

Posted 31 July 2003 † tim § atomic age § history of australian science § theses ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,