A Vision for Science and Society
The Radical Nobel Laureate's Last Presidential Address to the Royal Society
At the end of November 1970, Lord Patrick Blackett stood before the Royal Society as its outgoing President. This Anniversary Meeting on 30 November 1970 marked the conclusion of his five-year term leading one of the world's most prestigious scientific organizations. Though the exact transcript of this specific address isn't available, understanding Blackett's remarkable career and the scientific context of 1970 reveals why this speech represented the culmination of a lifetime spent bridging science, society, and policy.
His address would have reflected on the changing relationship between science and society at the dawn of a new decade—a perspective desperately needed in an era grappling with both technological promise and environmental peril.
To understand Blackett's 1970 address, one must appreciate the extraordinary journey that shaped his worldview. Born in 1897, Blackett's career began not in the laboratory, but at sea as a naval cadet. He witnessed firsthand the Battle of Jutland during World War I, an experience that would later influence his approach to military strategy and his aversion for nuclear weapons 2 5 .
After resigning from the Navy in 1919, Blackett began his scientific career at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory under Ernest Rutherford. His experimental brilliance quickly emerged when, in 1925, he became the first person to prove that radioactivity could cause nuclear transmutation of one element into another 5 .
During World War II, Blackett revolutionized military strategy through operational research 5 . He applied statistical analysis to antisubmarine warfare, improving convoy survival odds and challenging the effectiveness of area bombing campaigns 5 9 . His wartime experiences shaped his postwar political stance—he became an outspoken critic of nuclear weapons and what he saw as the unjustified bombing of civilian populations 9 .
The year 1970 represented a pivotal moment for science—the perfect backdrop for Blackett's reflections as outgoing President. Several key developments would likely have informed his address:
| Field | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Space Exploration | Apollo 13 mission (April) | Successful failure demonstrating scientific problem-solving |
| Environmental Science | First Earth Day (April 22) | Growing public awareness of environmental issues |
| Astronomy | Venera 7 lands on Venus (December) | First successful data transmission from another planet |
| Physics | GIM mechanism paper published | Theoretical foundation for charm quark prediction |
| Computing | Floppy disk introduced | Revolutionized data storage possibilities |
The first Earth Day that same spring signaled growing public concern about environmental degradation, an area where Blackett believed science should play a crucial role in identifying and solving problems 7 .
In particle physics, the Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani (GIM) mechanism paper published in 1970 provided the theoretical foundation predicting the charm quark—a fundamental advancement in understanding the building blocks of matter 3 . This represented the cutting edge of the field Blackett had helped shape decades earlier.
While Blackett's 1970 address would have focused on broader scientific policy, his authority stemmed from his groundbreaking experimental work, particularly with cloud chambers.
Blackett's most important experimental contribution was his refinement of the Wilson cloud chamber. Working with Giuseppe Occhialini in 1932, he devised an ingenious system that only photographed cosmic ray events when particles actually traversed the chamber 2 5 .
| Component | Function | Innovation |
|---|---|---|
| Geiger-Muller Tubes | Placed above and below chamber | Detected passing charged particles |
| Coincidence Circuit | Triggered camera only when both tubes fired simultaneously | Eliminated random photographs |
| Cloud Chamber | Visualized particle tracks through condensed vapor | Made particle interactions visible |
| Magnetic Field | Bent charged particle paths | Allowed mass and charge identification |
In the spring of 1933, Blackett and Occhialini didn't merely confirm Carl Anderson's discovery of the positive electron (positron)—they demonstrated the existence of "showers" of positive and negative electrons in approximately equal numbers 2 . This provided crucial evidence for Dirac's theory of the electron and revealed two fundamental processes:
The transformation of gamma rays into two material particles (a positron and electron)
The reverse process where a positron and electron collide and transform into gamma radiation 2
Their work provided some of the earliest compelling evidence for antimatter's existence, fundamentally reshaping physicists' understanding of matter's fundamental nature.
Blackett's experimental breakthroughs depended on both sophisticated instruments and theoretical insight. The following table summarizes key components of his experimental approach:
| Tool/Concept | Function | Role in Discovery |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Chamber | Visualized particle tracks through vapor condensation | Made invisible radiation detectable and measurable |
| Geiger-Muller Tubes | Detected passing charged particles | Provided triggering mechanism for efficient data collection |
| Magnetic Fields | Bent paths of charged particles | Allowed identification of particle properties through curvature |
| Dirac's Electron Theory | Theoretical framework for antimatter | Guided interpretation of experimental observations |
| Counter-Control System | Automated photography of particle events | Increased efficiency by orders of magnitude |
This combination of experimental ingenuity and theoretical understanding characterized Blackett's approach throughout his career—whether studying cosmic rays or later investigating rock magnetism 9 .
Blackett's 1970 address likely reflected the remarkable evolution of his scientific interests. After World War II, he became fascinated with the Earth's magnetic field, proposing in 1947 that it might be explained as a function of the planet's rotation 9 . Though he eventually disproved his own hypothesis through careful experimentation, this line of inquiry led him to pioneering work in rock magnetism 9 .
Blackett's geophysical research provided crucial evidence supporting the then-controversial theory of continental drift 5 9 . By studying the magnetic properties of rocks from different geological eras, he and his colleagues helped demonstrate that continents had moved relative to each other over geological time—laying foundational work for the modern theory of plate tectonics.
This scientific evolution—from subatomic particles to planetary magnetism—exemplified the interdisciplinary vision Blackett likely brought to his Royal Society leadership. He understood that major advances often occurred at the boundaries between disciplines.
While the precise content of Blackett's 30 November 1970 address remains unknown, its significance is clear. It represented the culmination of a career dedicated to expanding human knowledge while thoughtfully considering science's social responsibilities.
Blackett's daughter, Giovanna Bloor, once recalled that people described her father as appearing "better dressed than anyone" with "that mysterious intense and haunted visage" 9 .
His friend, the geophysicist Teddy Bullard, described him as "the most versatile physicist of his generation" 9 .