50 Years of Physics

In the years prior to the 20th century the names of American physicists, with two or three notable exceptions, were conspicuous by their absence from any roster of world-acclaimed scientists. The discovery of the X ray in 1895, however, marked the beginning of a new epoch in physics and during the succeeding 50 years Americans gradually attained eminence in this field. Today, as a result of the developments coming out of the United States during World War II, as well as the war's disastrous effect on scientific progress in other countries, at least three-fifths of all the physics activity in the world is centered in the United States.