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Guide to the Papers of Robert B. Leighton, 1938-1988
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Title: Robert B. Leighton papers,
Date (inclusive): 1938-1988
Collection number: Consult repository
Creator:
Leighton, Robert B., 1919-1997
Extent:
7 linear feet.
Repository:
California Institute of Technology. Archives.
Pasadena, California 91125
Abstract: This collection documents the career of Robert B. Leighton, who served as a member of the physics faculty at the California
Institute of Technology from 1949 until 1986. The materials relating to the California Institute of Technology include research
proposals for funding on design projects for NASA, radio and optical telescope dish designs (Owens Valley Radio Observatory
and Keck Telescope), and radio astronomy, and other observational data. The papers also contain lecture notes to courses led
by Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann, as well as publication files on Feynman's
Lectures on Physics.
Language:
English.
The collection is open for research. Researchers must apply in writing for access.
Copyright may not have been assigned to the California Institute of Technology Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on
behalf of the California Institute of Technology Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item, box and file number], Papers of Robert B. Leighton. Archives, California Institute of Technology.
The Robert B. Leighton collection was donated to the Institute Archives in several installments originating from various sources.
The bulk of the collection was obtained from the Physics Division in 1992. Two years later, a lot of photographic material
was acquired by the Archives from Dr. Leighton's son, Allan, Professors G. Neugebauer and T. Phillips. Finally, the third
installment came in 1995 from Allan Leighton and from the Astrophysics Library.
This collection was processed by Laurence M. Dupray, Nurit Lifshitz, and Anne Simms. Processing completed July 2000.
The processing of the Robert B. Leighton collection and the creation of the finding aid was made possible in part by a grant
from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and the Friends of the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics.
Born in Detroit on September 10, 1919, Robert B. Leighton was raised in Long Beach by his mother. He exhibited at an early
age an interest in science, particularly in astronomy and photography. He spent his high-school years in Long Beach and Los
Angeles schools. He then started a long tenure at Caltech: Bachelor of Science in 1941, Master of Science of 1944, PhD in
1947, research fellowship, and assistant professorship in 1949.
His scientific career debut was in the field of particle physics. He made many important contributions, among them the identification
of the mu-meson decay products, the measurement of the energy spectrum of decay electrons, and the first observation of a
strange particle decay.
It was only in the mid-1950's that Robert Leighton started to take an active role in astronomy. He turned his attention to
the physics of the sun. He developed Doppler-shift and Zeeman-effect solar cameras which were used to demonstrate the existence
of the sun's magnetic field and five-minute oscillations.
In the early 1960's, he and Gerry Neugebauer developed a small infrared telescope, used to produce the first infrared survey
of the sky. This 60-inch telescope was first set up at Caltech and then moved to the Mount Wilson Observatory.
He became involved in several Mariner projects, particularly the Mariner IV mission where he was the principal investigator
for the television experiment. This mission led to the discovery of Martian craters and the determination of the density of
the Martian atmosphere. It also returned 22 television pictures covering about one percent of the planet's surface.
In 1970, Professor Leighton's interest shifted to building large, inexpensive dish antennae for millimeter and submillimeter
observations. This resulted in the construction of three 10-meter dishes at Owens Valley Radio Observatory and one in Hawaii
for submillimeter interferometry.
Besides these accomplishments, Dr. Leighton remained very active in teaching at the Institute. He taught an undergraduate
course for many years. He also edited the Feynman Lectures for publication and wrote two textbooks:
Principles of Modern Physics and
Exercises in Introductory Physics, the latter in collaboration with Dr. Rochus Vogt.
His outstanding academic career is reflected by his nomination to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in 1963.
Scope and Content of Collection
Includes correspondence, teaching materials, technical files, meetings reports and correspondence, manuscripts and talks,
and films of planets taken by Dr. Leighton at Mount Wilson observatory in the late 1950s. The materials relating to the California
Institute of Technology include research proposals for funding on design projects for NASA, radio and optical telescope dish
designs (Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Keck Telescope), and radio astronomy, and other observational data. Also contains
lecture notes to courses by Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann and publication files on Feynman's lectures on physics; and
reports, correspondence, and notes relating to his membership in the National Academy of Sciences.
I. Correspondence. This large section is arranged first in alphabetical order, then chronologically for each person.
II. Caltech. This section contains material related to the California Institute of Technology. Each subsection is organized in chronological
order, starting with the oldest material. The first subsection contains research proposals which were submitted over a period
of twenty years to various funding agencies for the support and construction of various astronomical devices. The title of
the following subsection is teaching. It contains material related to two courses offered by the physics division: Physics
234, with Gell-Mann as the instructor, and Physics 1 abc, with Robert Leighton as one of several instructors. The last subsection
contains miscellaneous documents pertinent to the California Institute of Technology.
III. Technical Files. This section contains information on the astronomical work done by Dr. Leighton. It begins with the construction of the 60-inch,
infrared telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory. The following subcategory relates to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory,
and the construction of the 10-meter dish telescopes (later called the Leighton telescopes) for millimeter-wave observations.
It contains proposals, mechanical design notes and correspondence. The following category entitled "Submillimeter-wave astronomy"
deals with the telescope built at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii. The content of this section is the same
as the previous one. The last section, "Miscellaneous," contains three notebooks; two of them deal with particle physics,
and the other one with astronomy.
IV. Professional Organizations. Dr. Leighton was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Reports, correspondence and notes of the meetings he participated
are contained in this section.
V. Manuscripts and Talks. The first subsection,
Manuscripts, contains mostly drafts of papers which were never published. The most important ones are five Feynman lectures which were
never edited for publication.
VI. Films. The last section deals with "The Planet Movies," which were a series of short footages from planets taken by Dr. Leighton
during his observation times at Mount Wilson in the 1950's. These 16-mm films were recently transferred to a videotape and
can be found in the Archives' audio-visual material.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.
Gell-Mann, Murray
Feynman, Richard Phillips
California Institute of Technology
Mount Wilson Observatory
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Owens Valley Radio Observatory
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
W.M. Keck Observatory
Keck Telescope
Astronomy
Physics--Study and teaching
Radio--Antennas--Design
Radio astronomy
Radio telescopes
Telescopes--Design
Lecture notes
Motion pictures
Publications
Physicists
Records of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO)
Papers of Alan T. Moffet
Margaret L. Leighton Oral History Interview (1995)
Robert B. Leighton Oral History Interview (1986-1987)
Gerry Neugebauer Oral History Interview (1991)