Technikatörténeti szemle 22. (1996)
Papers from the Second International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Eger, Hungary, 16–19 August, 1995) - Palló, Gábor: Early Research on Radioactivity in Hungary
themselves. Each of them is standing on an other's shoulder; one genius generates an other one. As Hungary produced so many geniuses in physics in this century, like Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilárd, Edward Teller, John von Neumann or Denis Gabor, it would be obvious to suppose that they represent only the tip of an iceberg, and an unknown but exceptionally lively and creative scientific society hid under the surface. This supposition might gain more ground when considering that all these luminaries belonged to one generation, which was born between 1885 and 1910. Since one of the most striking discoveries of the time was radioactivity, the characterization of the research in this field could give a view on the bigger part under the surface. The first earliest reports on radioactivity in Hungary The specific contradiction in the reaction to the discovery, the rapidity versus skepticism, appeared already in the very first report on radioactivity. This was published very soon. Becquerel announced his discovery in Paris at the end of February 1896, and a couple of weeks later, the exact date cannot be established, two papers were published in Hungarian, which gave account on the new rays. The first one was written by a young physicist, Károly Tangl, who later became the successor of Loránd Eötvös, the grand seigneur of physics in Budapest. The paper is a review containing a correct description of the phenomenon and the facts that could be known then. Its importance lies in the early date. 1 The other paper, however, besides the description of the facts, contained a footnote also. This was attached to the paper not by the writer, but by the professor of experimental physics at the Budapest Technical University, Lajos Schuller. The note says, that it is doubtful whether a new radiation has really been discovered. Becquerel probably saw ultra violet rays only. The article referred not to the original publication in Comptes Rendus but to a German review. 2 The first researches in the field Promptness, interest on the one side, doubts, skepticism on the other. This skepticism gave some service in avoiding the efforts to find rays everywhere, which became fashionable at that time, suffice it to mention the infamous N-rays of Le Bon. The Hungarian reaction shows a sort of soberness and common sense. The question is, however, whether the field required this or rather a bold fantasy and enterprising mentality.
