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Chain Reactions

Interdisciplinary Thinking about the Atomic Bomb

The mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb is a formidable image. It becomes even more powerful when you learn about the physics, scientists, and wars involved in its creation. Dr. Christine Isom-Verhaaren and Dr. Chris Verhaaren, a mother-and-son power duo, are teaching Honors 225 students about the history and science of the atomic bomb.

When Dr. Chris Verhaaren came to work at BYU, he and Dr. Isom-Verhaaren wanted to teach a mashup class of history and science together. “We were trying to find the most natural home for it—should it live in the physics department or the history department?” Dr. Verhaaren said, “Then [a colleague] said, ‘It sounds like a great fit for the Honors program!’” This interdisciplinary class fits perfectly with the Honors Unexpected Connections courses.

Honors 225 started off the semester by laying the groundwork on basic physics concepts. Students watched Dr. Verhaaren’s demonstrations on kinetic energy, spectroscopy, and cathode rays. Later this semester, his lectures have focused on the physics of the nuclear bomb. Savannah Leavitt, a student, said, “My favorite part of the class is the nuclear physics…it’s something that I’m a little less familiar with…than humanitarian subjects like history…it’s something new, and it’s kind of a fun challenge.”

Dr. Verhaaren demonstrates and explains JJ Thomson's cathode ray experiment

Meanwhile, Dr. Isom-Verhaaren lectures about WWII and the lives of scientists. She assigns students to analyze a primary source each week. Students have delved into the words of Lavoisier, Lise Meitner, Marie Curie, Einstein, and others. The latest assignment challenged students to study Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, a play about Heisenberg’s visit to Bohr during WWII. Students wrote about how uncertainty—a physics principle central to the play—applies to humanity and history.

The main reading is an award-winning book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. It’s Samuel Yeboah’s favorite part of class: “I like the book we’re reading…. I’m not very good at physics, so the book and the history part make it very engaging. I didn’t realize that physics and history were related,” he said. As Samuel has read about “the contributions that all those physicists have made, [he] could see that connection.”

Dr. Isom-Verhaaren said The Making of the Atomic Bomb has given her “a different kind of appreciation of the great number of people that were involved…often you just hear about a few people.” She especially loved learning about Lise Meitner’s experiences as a woman in science. “It’s very interesting looking at the scientists as people, as humans, and not just as these calculating machines.”

Humanizing the scientists has been an integral part of class. Dr. Verhaaren says, “I think that’s probably new for both the science majors and the non-science majors. Usually in science-based classes… you kind of get an idea of these people as thing-discoverers and that’s it…. I often scan through the statements students make about what about the reading resonates with their life. When we read the chapter about Bohr, everyone was saying, ‘Bohr’s life is just like mine!’”

Ruth Bodily was one of those students: “I’ve gotten to know [Bohr] and his family and to really care about him. Then when we learn about his discoveries…it’s what my friend is working on, rather than just a thing that this old man did almost a hundred years ago. I think that is the part of the interdisciplinary work that I really care about and have been enjoying, is watching as the two come together, I care about the other one more.”

Science and history don’t even need to be separated according to Dr. Verhaaren. “There is this difference [between the two], but it’s not in the discipline so much as it is in our categorization of disciplines. For me, the utility of ‘interdisciplinary’ as it’s described at this university is that maybe it helps people to realize that they aren’t in a box.” Dr. Isom-Verhaaren agreed: “Many of us have to explore things that some people would think are not, strictly speaking, in our discipline.”

By the end of the semester, students will have finished interdisciplinary research papers. Each student has chosen a person (or group) that’s interested them, and will write about their contributions to the atomic bomb. “You wouldn’t really be able to understand the science if you didn’t know who came up with it,” said Savannah Leavitt. “In a lot of cases, thought processes kind of go from person to person…. It’s almost like a chain reaction of people and ideas in addition to the scientific chain reactions that we’re learning about.” From start to finish, the Winter semester Honors 225 class is kicking off a chain reaction of interdisciplinary learning.