April 2026: Science history from 50, 100 and 150 years ago

April 2026: Science history from 50, 100 and 150 years ago

A quorum of quarks; asbestos surprises

By Jeanna Bryner

1876, The Red Fire Fish: "The singularly weird-looking fish shown in our engraving is a native of the Indian Ocean, and it is represented in all parts of the tropical seas of the eastern hemisphere, on the coasts of Africa, India, Ceylon, New Guinea and Australia."

Scientific American, Vol. 34, No. 17; April 1876

1976

Science Textbook Controversies

“In 1969 the California Board of Education issued new guidelines for the biology curriculum of the state’s public schools. The guidelines included a statement that the Book of Genesis presents a reasonable explanation of the origin of life and that the concept of special creation should be given ‘equal time’ to and taught alongside the concept of organic evolution.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

“How have comparatively small groups of people who believe in special creation been able to insist that their belief have a place in public education? In some respects, these textbook critics are part of the romantic resistance to science that is reflected in the popularity of astrology, mystical cults and the imaginary cosmologies of Immanuel Velikovsky and Erich von Däniken. They are also part of a political resistance to science that is reflected in increased social action against innovation and in the demands for lay participation in scientific and technical decisions.”

A Quorum of Quarks?

“The hypothesis that certain subatomic particles are made of simpler things called quarks was introduced more than a dozen years ago, when there was almost no evidence to support it. In the past two years or so that evidence has begun to appear. When two particles collide at high energy, a shower of other particles is created, including some that are hadrons. If quarks did not exist, the hadrons would be expected to fly away from the collision randomly in all directions. The quark theory predicts, however, that the hadrons will be emitted in narrow ‘jets’ oriented perpendicularly to the line of motion of the colliding particles. Earlier experiments that attempted to test this prediction were inconclusive. It has recently been confirmed for three kinds of collision by extending the measurements to higher energy.

“Even among those who are convinced that quarks exist there has been little agreement about how many there are. In the original theory there were three kinds. In 1964 a fourth quark was proposed, bearing the property called charm. One possibility that cannot be excluded is that the spectrum of quarks does not stop at four. On the other hand, if the list does not stop at three and does not stop at four, there is no obvious reason why it should stop at six.”

1926

New Arenas of Sport

“The astonishing growth of popular interest in collegiate football has been one of the most remarkable developments in the history of American sport. Fifteen or twenty years ago, 10,000 spectators was considered a remarkably large crowd to attend a football game. Today crowds of up to 80,000 gather for important games during the football season, and the fact that the number of spectators is not larger still is due to the impossibility of providing seats for all who desire to attend. The almost universal material of construction, wood, has made way for steel and concrete; the individual spacing is more generous, and the slope of the tiers of seats has been so carefully determined that one can be seated anywhere in a vast auditorium and be sure of a perfect view of the playing field.

“The building of such a stadium is a very large undertaking. For instance, the California Memorial Stadium, recently completed on the University of California campus, has a seating capacity of 78,000, making it one of the largest in the country, rivaling that of the famous Colosseum of ancient Rome. It involved an expenditure of $1,250,000.”

As of 2026, the largest U.S. college football stadium, Michigan Stadium, can hold up to 107,601 spectators.

1876

Industrial Uses of Asbestos

“Asbestos is a mineral fiber, composed of silicate of magnesia, silicate of lime and protoxide of iron, and manganese. The material is obtained from the mines in forms ranging from bundles of soft silky fibers to hard blocks. The blocks may be broken up and separated into fibers, which, like those naturally obtained in that state, are extremely flexible, admit of great extension in the direction of their length without cracking, are greasy to the touch, and very strong.

“It is curious that, although the valuable qualities of asbestos have been known since time immemorial, it is only during recent years that the mineral has been extensively used. Its employment among the ancients was confined to the manufacture of an incombustible cloth in which the bodies of the dead were cremated, and of napkins which were cleansed by throwing them in the fire. Not long ago, we learned of its entering into a peculiar quality of wallpaper made in Rome, Italy. With these few exceptions, asbestos has occupied the position of a mineralogical curiosity, a product reasonably certain someday to find its place in human economy, but nevertheless one which inventors seemed systematically to overlook.”