JF Ptak Science Books   Post 2356

Here’s an example of some book detective work that I get to do, a lot.  The book is actually a manuscript notebook, titled “Proton Accelerator for Biological Use” and kept by George W. Scott, jr., and written in a ledger book stamped “Haskins Laboratory”; the entries are from October 1938-April 14, 1941, and there’s 65 pages of entries of about 21,000 words.  It’s concise and analytical, first-hand experiences and observations, notes kept by an experimenter to himself on constructing this machine.  And the notebook came from the estate of Caryl Haskins, part of which I purchased years ago.  

It turns out that the manuscript was fairly easy to figure out–tying everything up nicely in the end though wasn’t so easy. 

The “proton accelerator” notes was on the construction of the M.I.T. cyclotron, which was the world’s first accelerator dedicated solely for meidical/biological use and a crucial instrument in the beginning of nuclear medicine.