1969 12 00 Physics Today - Vol 22 No 12 - Rothberg

Magazine Overview

Title: Physics Today
Issue: Vol. 22, No. 12
Date: December 1969
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of Physics Today features a prominent section on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), focusing on the Condon Committee's report and its findings. It also includes a review of historical scientific works.

Books

UFO's: fact or fiction?

This section reviews three books related to the study of UFOs:

• SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS by E. U. Condon (scientific director), edited by Daniel S. Gilmor. Published by E. P. Dutton, New York, 1969. Available in cloth ($12.95) and paper ($1.95).
• ALIENS IN THE SKIES by John G. Fuller. Published by Putnam, New York, 1969. ($5.95).
• UFO's? YES!: WHERE THE CONDON COMMITTEE WENT WRONG by David R. Saunders and R. Roger Harkins. Published by The New American Library, New York, 1969. ($.95).

The review is written by Gerald Rothberg, who worked as a field investigator for the University of Colorado UFO Project.

Rothberg emphasizes the importance of skepticism when studying UFOs, stating, "Be skeptical of everything!" He recounts his motivation for joining the Colorado project, driven by the potential discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). However, he notes the difficulty in defining "evidence" and contrasts Condon's strict stance ("I won't believe in outerspace saucers until I see one, touch one, get inside one...") with that of religious fanatics.

He discusses the economic limitations of the Colorado UFO project ($526,000), suggesting that a thorough study would require far more resources, possibly on the scale of NASA, as proposed by James E. McDonald.

Rothberg expresses his unhappiness with the ease with which people can be deceived by visual sightings. He recounts an incident in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where about a dozen people reported an object flashing red, white, and blue, which was later identified as the star Capella. Capella was also responsible for another report of a flashing object with projecting antennas and a dome.

His work with the Colorado project aimed to improve data objectivity through instrumental observations. He spent a month in the Harrisburg area investigating an outbreak of UFO activity, attempting to see and record a UFO. Despite investigating about 100 sightings and taking 9000 pictures with an all-sky camera, he never saw or recorded a UFO. However, he admits that three or four of the cases he investigated are as compelling as classic UFO cases, leaving him with a "nagging residual" that prevents him from dismissing the subject entirely.

He critiques John G. Fuller's book, "Aliens in the Skies," stating it is largely a transcript of a symposium and lacks the quality of Fuller's earlier works. He notes that it omits important material and lacks a table of contents.

Rothberg finds the report of the Colorado project, "Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects," to be nearly a thousand pages long, with much technical information that can be bypassed on a first reading.

He discusses David R. Saunders and R. Roger Harkins's book, "UFO's? Yes!: Where the Condon Committee Went Wrong," recommending it be read before the project report. He notes that the book questions the credibility and objectivity of Condon and the project administrator, Robert J. Low. Rothberg, however, believes the report represents the thinking of a substantial number of the senior staff and cannot be faulted on grounds of bias, though he would have recommended a small continuing study.

He mentions that while the report suggests funding agencies accept UFO research proposals, it seems unlikely that grants will be awarded. He wonders if anyone has submitted such a proposal.

Rothberg acknowledges that Saunders's book, despite its title, suggests that Saunders now believes there are a "small number of 'real' UFO's" – reports that are inexplicable after thorough investigation. Saunders also considers ETI the least implausible explanation for these real UFOs, a view that contrasts with the project report, which he feels buries unexplained sightings among plausibly explained cases.

He points out that while none of the 59 field investigations conclusively support ETI, a few interesting cases remain unexplained and should have been prominently displayed. He also notes that many sightings are explained in other sections of the report, and hundreds more, including the 100 reported in Harrisburg, are not even mentioned.

Rothberg concludes that these three books should appeal to a wide audience, offering readable accounts of the UFO phenomenon and the inner workings of the Condon project, despite the sensational titles and covers.

He also notes an "annoying feature" of the project report: its deliberate obscurity regarding witness names and exact sighting locations in case studies, making comparison with other accounts difficult.

Rothberg believes that the project report's viewpoint is that most UFO reports can be explained, and that the ETI hypothesis is unnecessary. However, he, along with Saunders and McDonald, believes that some residual cases are genuinely unexplained by known phenomena, making ETI a plausible hypothesis. He calls for a reputable journal to recognize this scientific controversy and publish analyses from ETI proponents.

Precursors of Galileo and modern science

This section reviews MECHANICS IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY: SELECTIONS FROM TARTAGLIA, BENEDETTI, GUIDO UBALDO & GALILEO. Translated and annotated by Stillman Drake and I. E. Drabkin. Published by The Univ. of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1968. ($12.50).

Reviewed by Robert S. Shankland, an associate professor of physics at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Shankland praises the book as a work of high scholarship, prepared in collaboration with the late I. E. Drabkin. It covers a century that was the final transition period from medieval to modern science.

The emphasis during this period was on mechanics, hydraulics, and mathematics, with the decline of Aristotelian influence and the rise of Archimedes's works. The book includes translations of works by Niccolò Tortaglia, Giovanni Benedetti, Guido Ubaldo, and an early work by Galileo on motion.

Subjects considered in detail by scientists of the 16th century include the science of weights, levers, pulleys, military machines, and ballistics. Falling bodies and projectile motion, including air resistance, were also studied.

The book is described as a fascinating work that clarifies the scientific developments leading to Galileo's advances. It presents a sense of the groping and progress required to develop scientific concepts.

The literary style is excellent, and the scholarship is detailed and authoritative.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme in the UFO section is the critical examination of scientific investigations into UFO phenomena, particularly the Condon Committee report. The magazine appears to encourage skepticism while acknowledging that some unexplained cases warrant further investigation. The editorial stance leans towards rigorous scientific inquiry and the presentation of evidence, even when it challenges established views. The review of historical science books suggests an interest in the foundations of scientific thought and the evolution of scientific understanding.