Albert A. Michelson

German-born American physicist

• Born: December 19, 1852
• Birthplace: Strelno, Prussia (now Strzelno, Poland)
• Died: May 9, 1931
• Place of death: Pasadena, California

Michelson was the first American to win a Nobel Prize in Physics, which he received for determining the length of the standard meter in terms of wavelengths of light. His significant contributions to physics and optics include measurement of the velocity of light, of the ether drift, of the rigidity of the earth, and of the diameter of stars, as well as development of the interferometer.

Early Life

Strelno (modern Strzelno), the town in which Albert Abraham Michelson was born, was predominantly Polish in population and tradition but was located in German territory at time of Michelson’s birth. Michelson’s mother, Rosalie Przlubska, was the daughter of a businessperson, and the effect of her early teachings made Albert resist the lure of easy money all of his life. At the time of Albert’s birth, his father, Samuel Michelson, was the proprietor of a dry-goods shop. Political upheavals in Europe in 1848 accelerated anti-Semitism there, and late in 1855, the Michelsons decided to emigrate to California. They traveled by steamer to Panama; made the laborious trip across the Isthmus by muleback, canoe, and train; and boarded another boat to San Francisco, where Samuel’s sister and brother-in-law, Belle and Oscar Meyer, were living.

After arriving in Northern California, the Michelsons settled in Murphys, a mining town in the heart of the gold country, where Samuel opened a store. Young Albert took violin lessons from a local prospector who was a fine musician. Albert’s parents realized that their son was bright and decided that he needed a better education than was available in the mining town. They boarded him with his cousins in San Francisco to finish the last two years of grammar school, and he matriculated to San Francisco Boys High School. The principal, Theodore Bradley, recognized the boy’s exceptional mechanical abilities and took him into his own home.

While Michelson was in high school, his father moved the family to Virginia City, Nevada, and opened a business there. After graduation at the age of sixteen, Michelson went to Nevada’s famous mining town and took the competitive examination for the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis at the Storey County Court House. He lost the appointment to the son of a man who had been injured in the Civil War. Undaunted, the young man solicited letters of recommendation and made the long train trip alone across the country, determined to petition the president for an appointment.

After arriving in Washington, Michelson learned that President Ulysses S. Grant walked his dogs at a regular hour. He then waited on the White House steps and approached the president with his petition. The president advised him that the appointments-at-large had been filled, but Michelson implored the president to consider another appointment. Impressed with the young man who would not take no for an answer, the president suggested that Albert visit Annapolis. Three days later, President Grant named him the eleventh appointee-at-large. This characteristic of attempting the impossible became a pattern in Michelson’s life.

When Michelson entered Annapolis in June, 1869, he made a striking figure clad in his naval uniform with his chiseled features, jet-black hair, and deep-set hazel eyes. He appeared taller than his five feet seven or eight inches because of an elegant and dignified bearing. While at the academy, he excelled in optics, acoustics, and drawing but always had time for fencing, boxing, music, and painting. His spirited independence and youthful exuberance were not evident in gunnery class, and a superior officer scolded that he might eventually be of some use to his country if he paid more attention to his gunnery than to science. No one knew at that time that this ensign would become one of the greatest American scientists.

Upon graduation, Michelson served for two years at sea and then returned to the academy as an instructor in the department of physics and chemistry headed by Admiral William T. Sampson. He met the admiral’s niece, Margaret Heminway, and they married in 1877 and had two sons and a daughter.

Life’s Work

The speed of light had interested scientists for centuries, including Galileo Galilei, Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau, and Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault. This was to become the all-consuming question of Michelson’s life. Eager to use demonstrations in his physics class, he gathered crude pieces of apparatus lying about the laboratory, spent ten dollars of his own money, and modified Foucault’s earlier experiment. The young ensign was able to make a more accurate measurement of the speed of light than had ever before been achieved. The superintendent of the United States Navy’s nautical almanac office, Simon Newcomb, appointed Michelson to a position in a government-sponsored project to determine the velocity of light. Michelson quickly surpassed his peers and even his seniors, as he had an uncanny ability to devise experimentation techniques.

In 1880, Michelson secured a leave of absence from the Navy and spent two years in Europe studying under Hermann von Helmholtz at the University of Berlin, Georg Hermann Quincke at Heidelberg University, and Marie Alfred Cornu at the Collège de France and the École Polytechnique in Paris. Scientists of the nineteenth century believed that light was propagated through a luminiferous ether that filled all space around the earth. The inquisitive Michelson wondered whether the existence of this luminiferous ether could be proved or disproved. This was a big idea, but big ideas appealed to him. He began studying light interference patterns and reasoned that an instrument was needed for measuring distances that would be far beyond the range of the most powerful microscope invented. In 1881, he developed this delicate instrument, which became known as the Michelson interferometer, and performed his first ether-drift experiment in Europe. He calculated a negative result on the motion of the ether relative to the earth, but scientists at that time hesitated to accept this challenge to their belief.

Michelson decided to devote his life to science, reasoning that staying in the Navy would thwart this career. He resigned to become professor of physics at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio. He was appointed corresponding member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1884, named associate fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1885, and received his first honorary doctoral degree from Western Reserve University the following year.

In 1885, Michelson met Professor Edward Williams Morley, a well-established chemist. Michelson must have learned much from this versatile scientist, and Morley’s influence on Michelson’s work has not been adequately acknowledged. They collaborated on light experiments, and Michelson worked day and night, neglecting food and rest. He reached the point of nervous exhaustion and had to take time away from the experiments. When he returned, Michelson and Morley submitted a joint paper to the American Journal of Science reporting negative results from the ether-drift experiment. In 1887, they conducted an experiment to see if light traveled in the same velocity in any direction and discovered no observable difference.

Scientists of the nineteenth century had reasoned that because the earth moves around the sun at approximately eighteen miles per second, the speed of a light beam traveling with the earth’s orbital motion should be greater than that of a beam traveling in the opposite direction. The negative result of the Michelson-Morley experiment provided the raw material that stimulated the theory of relativity. It proved that there were not different velocities of light. This discovery was catastrophic to the mechanical theory of science, which had received support since the time of Sir Isaac Newton. The two scientists worked together until 1889.

Michelson left Case Institute to teach at Clark University between 1889 and 1892. His first sojourn into astronomy began at this time when he took his equipment to Lick Observatory in California and actually measured Jupiter’s satellites. In 1892, he moved to the University of Chicago and assumed the position as head of the department of physics but continued working on experiments in astronomy, spectroscopy, geophysics, and optics. He also lectured to graduate students.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Michelson was considered to be one of the twelve greatest scientists in the world, yet he remained modest. When he was teaching, he gave credit to all the scientists for their contributions, but the students noticed that when he started describing current experiments and results that were clearly more significant than the preceding ones, he neglected to cite the author. The puzzled students questioned another instructor about this strange behavior. The instructor laughingly resolved the problem. The mysterious experiments had been those of Albert Abraham Michelson, and the renowned scientist had not wanted to call undue attention to his own work.

Michelson was more interested in his scientific work than in a social life, and his first marriage ended in divorce in 1897. Some sources present an austere, forbidding, overwrought picture of him at that time, but in December, 1899, he married Edna Stanton, a former student, and life with his second wife and their three daughters seemed to be happier.

Michelson continued to be productive during this period of time and developed an echelon spectroscope with high enough resolution to indicate optical evidence of molecular motion associated with temperature. By 1905, he had completed a ruling engine that had 110,000 lines on a six-inch square of glass, which he referred to as the “she-devil.” This instrument was later used by astronomers to discover the innermost secrets of the atom.

In 1907, Michelson received the Nobel Prize in Physics for establishing the length of the meter in terms of cadmium light. A few years earlier, the International Conference on Weights and Measures had made the metric system the scientific standard and deposited a platinum-iridium bar in a well-guarded vault at Severes. The Franco-Prussian War brought to the forefront the idea that the bar, which established the length of the meter, would be lost. Scientists suggested that measurement of a length of light wave would be more permanent. Michelson attempted this experiment, as he was able to measure the wavelengths of various gases with his versatile interferometer. After experimenting with sodium and mercury, he settled for the bright red line of cadmium light. He announced that 1,553,163.5 wavelengths of the red line of the metal cadmium were equal to the length of the platinum-iridium standard. The Nobel Prize was awarded to him for accomplishment in precision measurements.

Michelson was also interested in zoology. He related the phenomenon of the iridescent colors of hummingbirds, butterflies, and beetles to interference and reflection of light. In his book Studies in Optics (1927), he noted that the diamond beetle had diffraction grating ruled on its wings as fine as two thousand to the inch. Meanwhile, Michelson remained active in naval affairs throughout his life. He commanded the Illinois Naval Militia for years. During World War I, he served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy and patented five optical range-finders for naval vessels.

Ever reaching for new planes, Michelson used his interferometer to indicate the substance of the earth’s interior, and, in 1920, he was the first to measure the angular diameter of a distant star. The Royal Astronomical Society of England recognized this achievement by presenting its gold medal to him, but this was only one of numerous medals and prizes from scientific societies that he was awarded. Michelson received six honorary doctoral degrees during his lifetime. Although he disliked publicity, he did realize the value of promotion in obtaining money for his projects, and was always gracious in his dealings with people.

In his later years, Michelson still held himself erect, maintaining the quiet demeanor of his youth. His hair was white, and he wore a close-cropped gray mustache. He enjoyed tennis, bridge, chess, and billiards. He would discuss these subjects socially, but he preferred to keep his science and art, which were so dear to his heart, in the laboratory and the studio.

Michelson always believed that his greatest experimental work was still ahead of him. He considered it great fun to do the arduous work involved in setting up experiments and overseeing the technical difficulties. When he was in his seventies, he once again determined to measure the velocity of light. He worked with George Ellery Hale at Mount Wilson Observatory on five sets of light measurements between 1924 and 1927. He was dissatisfied with these tests because of the obstruction of valley haze and smoke and constructed an experiment in a vacuum tube where light could travel in empty space. He was directing this work when he became ill, but the dedicated man, then in his late seventies, carried on the work from his sickbed. He dictated the introduction of a scientific paper to astronomer Francis Pease, and when the report was published posthumously, the title was “On a Method of Measuring the Velocity of Light,” the same title of his first paper when he was an ensign in the Navy. He died on May 9, 1931, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Significance

Albert Abraham Michelson obtained world attention for American science at a time when European scientists were inclined to characterize Americans as lacking in scientific capabilities. It is evident that his contributions helped forward the theory of relativity, though it would be an overstatement that Albert Einstein’s theory was a generalization of the Michelson-Morley experiment or that the theory of relativity could not have been arrived at without this experiment. Michelson has often been called “the man who measured the stars,” but he was more than this. His major contributions include precision optical measurements of the velocity of light, of the ether drift, of the length of the standard meter, of the angular diameters of stars, and of the rigidity of the earth; developmental experimentation in the young field of spectroscopy; and invention of the harmonic analyzer, in addition to the Michelson interferometer. His efforts extended to the precision of measurement represent an extraordinary contribution to scientific knowledge.

Michelson always had the greatest respect for the Navy, where he received his start. The Navy did not forget him and, in 1948, honored his memory with the construction of a laboratory for basic and applied research at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake in California’s Mojave Desert. In 1969, Michelson Hall, housing the science department, was dedicated at Annapolis in honor of its graduate of the class of 1873. The building stands over the area of the old seawall where Michelson made his earliest measurements of the speed of light. His papers, accumulated over a period of thirty years by Ted McAllister, curator of Michelson Museum at the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, have been transferred to this facility.

Few Americans are chosen for the Hall of Fame. Michelson was selected to receive this honor; the tribute ceremony and unveiling of the bust took place on October 21, 1973, at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University. His own words were chosen as the inscription on the bronze tablet that accompanies the sculpture:

It seems to me that scientific research should be regarded as the painter regards his art, as the poet his poems, and the composer his music.

Michelson was a splendid scientist, a fine naval officer, a talented artist, and an honored educator. He will be long remembered for his significant contributions to physics and optics.

Bibliography

Ball, Philip. “Quantum Gravity: Back to the Future.” Nature 472, no. 6974 (February 5, 2004): 492. Describes how Michelson and Morley’s experiments with light waves influenced Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Bennett, Jean M., D. Theodore McAllister, and Georgia M. Cabe. “Albert A. Michelson, Dean of American Optics: Life, Contributions to Science, and Influence on Modern Day Physics.” Journal of Applied Optics 12 (October, 1973): 2253. Excellent article that not only summarizes Michelson’s life but also details his scientific experiments in a readable fashion. Compiled by the curator of the Michelson Museum, who spent thirty years compiling the Michelson papers. One of the most concise sources available. Well documented. Thorough bibliography.

Holton, Gerald. Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973. Systematically attacks any relationship between Einstein, Michelson, and the “crucial” experiment. Persuasive that the Michelson-Morley experiment had no effect on Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Jaffe, Bernard. Men of Science in America. New York: Arno Press, 1980. Jaffe has done a considerable service for students of the history of science in this assortment of materials dealing with scientists in the United States. Sound and scholarly, the book presents Michelson’s participation as a catalyst in the revolution of modern physics.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Michelson and the Speed of Light. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960. A well-balanced biography of Michelson. Includes descriptions of his experiments. Designed for popular reading but contains relatively few errors. Excellent bibliography. Thematic approach correlated chronologically.

Livingston, Dorothy Michelson. The Master of Light: A Biography of Albert A. Michelson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973. An admirable book that falls short of being a scientific biography as it lacks the critical analysis of scientific and technical matters essential in such a work. Written by Michelson’s daughter, it gives a picture of the man rather than the scientist.

Ronan, Colin A. Science: Its History and Development Among the World Cultures. New York: Hamlyn, 1982. Mentions Michelson in passing but provides a detailed account of the events, in chronological order, in the fields of science during Michelson’s life. Relates to the Michelson-Morley experiment.

Swenson, Loyd S., Jr. Genesis of Relativity: Einstein in Context. New York: Burt Franklin, 1979. Good detail of the Michelson-Morley experiment and its contribution to the theory of relativity. Readable and within reach of the average student. A valuable study.

Tyson, Neil deGrasse. “Speed Limit.” Natural History 114, no. 1 (February, 2005): 18. Discusses the various studies that determined the speed of light, including the experiments of Michelson and Morley.