Controversy and Consensus

The book describes in detail the considerable efforts by theoretical and experimental physicists to understand the beta spectra of atomic nuclei. After a brief prehistory, the main narrative spans the period from 1911, when Rutherford and collaborators in Manchester established that the atom had an extremely massive nucleus, until 1934, when the question of beta decay was settled theoretically by Fermi and others. It includes prominently the intense controversy over several years between Lise Meitner from Germany and C. D. Ellis from England about the origin of beta rays. Aside from providing a rich story in its own right, the narrative is uniquely suited to illuminate currently debated issues such as the relationship between theory and experiment, scientific controversy, the role and resolution of anomalies, and national differences in the approach to science.