Re: [Phys-L] Bayesian Inference in Half-Life measurement

[Paul Nord <Paul.Nord@valpo.edu>]

Yes, Rutherford who famously said, "all science is either physics or stamp
collecting" and also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Paul

On Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 11:13 AM David Bowman <
David_Bowman@georgetowncollege.edu> wrote:

> Regarding Paul's endorsement:
>
> > You'd really enjoy David MacKay's lecture 10 on Information
> > theory.  He really rips into physicists regarding "old school"
> > methods.  He's a physicist, actually.  So he should know.
> >
> > Basically, the "old school" method is wrong and is not used in
> > modern analysis of half-life measurements.
>
> Speaking of old-school methods, supposedly Ernst Rutherford is reported to
> have said, "If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a
> better experiment."  Interestingly enough, he was the guy whose main claim
> to fame strongly relied on the statistics of relatively rare greatly
> backscattered alpha particles.
>
> Dave Bowman
> _______________________________________________
> Forum for Physics Educators
> Phys-l@mail.phys-l.org
> https://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l