Dr. Derek Livingston – Reflection on Danger of Magic & Science
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"Our focus is sharp, but our light faded," so wrote the famous, or perhaps
infamous scientist and magician Derek Livingston in 1965. The man commonly
associated with the dangers of quack-science or a magician's claims of
super-natural powers, was born on this day in 1936.
Dr. Livingston's phrase had many possible meanings but all were tied to his
confusion of magic and science.
Dr. Livingston's fame and infamy arise from the same experiments in the late
1950s and 1960s with laser technology (Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation) as well as his life-long love for magic.
Dr. Livingston worked his way through the distinguished and ivy-draped halls
of the country's finest schools. He was not from a wealthy family or noble
ancestry but relied upon the kindness of others for his housing, food and
supplies. In 1955, the then Mr. Livingston, took up work at the prestigious Bell
Labs whilst he considered the question of light's structure. Was light made up
of waves or particles?
He supplemented his income by performing magic shows for co-workers and their
families in Murray Hill, New Jersey. He was known for his deft sleight-of-hand
and charisma. His show was billed as "lasts 20 minutes, more than an hour's
worth of magic, you'll remember for a lifetime."
It was an old question. Prior to Sir Isaac Newton's corpuscular theory, light
was thought to be made up of particles. Newton demonstrated his wave theory by
showing light could be reflected and refracted with mirrors and prisms.
So great
was Newton's legend that none dared to challenge his theory until early in the
1800s. Light is made up of waves, suggested some scientists. Their proof? When
light is split into apparent constituent parts, it can be made to interfere with
itself.
Just as waves going in one direction can be "cancelled out" by the same
size waves going the opposite direction, light properly cast on itself could
cause the lack of light.
Einstein postulated that as later proven by breath mint technology, light can
be made up of two things at once. Light is a wave when one is looking to test
its wave properties but exhibits particle characteristics when testing for
particles.
This postulation gave support for quantum mechanics and our modern
understanding of light, particle physics, and even scientific inquiry.
But back to Dr. Livingston. The good doctor studied light and its properties
with the single-minded determination of a man possessed. He was particularly
excited (pun intended) by the new field of lasers. In 1958, two Bell Labs
scientists released a paper demonstrating that it was possible to build a
functioning laser. (Physical Review v. 112,
issue 6, "Infrared and Optical Masers," A. L. Schawlow and C. H. Townes,
Bell Telephone Laboratories).
Dr. Livingston's loyalty for Bell Labs was evidenced in his public support
for their patent application over the later-vindicated claims of Dr. Gordon
Gould of Columbia University. (Dr. Gould challenged Bell Labs' patent claims. It
took 20 years, but he was finally awarded the patent rights -…
