Comments on: Philip Morrison, 1915-2005

By: George M. Frenn

George M. Frenn — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 05:03:19 +0000

I flew to Boston on August 8, 1996 to meet with Phil Morrison at his invitation. He said to be at his home at 3:00 p.m. and he arrived directly on the dot. We talked Physics for 1 hour. He told me to get into a Ph.D. program and I did. By far, Phil was the smartest man I ever talked with and he had a way of making me feel that I was almost as smart as he. That’s why he was such a great teacher and that’s what makes for a great teacher.

He sent me an autographed book that he wrote and I will always remember the man who helped me to reach greater potential.

George M. Frenn

By: David DiPersio

David DiPersio — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 19:00:27 +0000

I went to Chicago, to the Museum of Science and Industry three times to see “Powers of Ten” which I first saw in high school in the 60’s.

Unfortunately when I took my Mom to see it in Chicago ten years ago, the video was not working. I went again on September 18th, 2005, and the video was still not working. If you are fortunate enough to find it working you can find the video booth in the Granger Basic Hall of Science, up the Blue Stairs on the second floor. I asked a docent and was told that the film did not exist.

Perhaps by coincidence, Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” was missing from the Art Institute of Chicago on both occasions.

Hopper’s “Nighthawks” was there – so at least one thing relevant to astronomy was present.

By: Jack Hagerty

Jack Hagerty — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 01:50:34 +0000

I’m not sure exactly when “Powers of Ten” was produced, but I have book from the late ’40s of the original Dutch (?) production called “Cosmic View.” It’s the earliest book I’ve seen on this teaching technique, and uses a girl on a picnic blanket as a starting point with a mosquito on her hand. About 15 years ago the Canadian Film Board produced a 5 minute short called “Cosmic Zoom” which did the same thing as “Powers of Ten” only without narration. It’s a little too touchy-feely for me since it requires some external explanation to make sense. This one had a boy and his dog rowing a boat down (I think) the St. Lawrence Seaway. Still used the mosquito, though!

- Jack

By: Rodolfo Granados

Rodolfo Granados — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:55:25 +0000

Check this fabulous on-line tutorial inspired in the Powers of Ten documentary, by Matthew J. Parry-Hill, Christopher A. Burdett and Michael W. Davidson from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory:

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

Really awsome!

By: Randall Wald

Randall Wald — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 02:59:28 +0000

The sad thing is that I’ve never actually seen Powers of Ten. I did have a flip-book of it, though; I think it had a separate picture for every half-order of magnitude, and you could flip through them to get the zoom effect. One of these days, I should find the video.

By: VisionEngineer

VisionEngineer — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 20:24:45 +0000

I also remember this movie from when I was a child. I’m not sure where I first saw it, maybe the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid. About two years I saw it at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I immediately recognized the unique voice. It is such a classic science piece.