Inadvertent....no

In a room in the Contemporary Jewish Museum there is a sculptural 6 foot tall replica of the horn antenna that Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson used when they found the sound of creation, in 1964; the 2 degree Kelvin background microwave radiation that pervades the universe.

The description on the wall calls the Penzias-Wilson discovery "inadvertent".  I started talking to the wall description, out-loud, because this is a Jewish museum, the visitors should have the right to speak out about serious errors.

Penzias and Wilson built the horn antenna at the Bell Labs in New Jersey with the intent of listening for microwave radiation from various galaxies and nebula.  They worked for two years to reduce the circuit noise they were finding.  They even put their circuits in liquid nitrogen to get the circuit molecules down to zero degrees.  Still there were microwaves from 360 degrees of sky, but it wasn't in the circuit or the equipment.  "Inadvertent" after two years of examining every possible alternative....no way. 

The sound of creation was the only remaining conclusion Penzias and Wilson could come to after meticulous work, brilliant research and endless  theoretical calculations.

Comments

[M. Phillips]

The only reason is that the sculptor is Jewish. I don't know his name. The theme of the show is Bereshit and this replica is supposed to represent listening for the original sound of the universe.

I don't think the museum knows that Penzias is a Jew who was saved by the Kindertransport and his daughter is a rabbi in Israel. Not mentioned anywhere.

[Susan]

WHY is the replica of that device in the SF Jewish Museum? I don't understand the connection -- were either Wilson or Penzias Jewish? Bell Labs wasn't in SF?