Art & Heritage Collections

The University of Adelaide is proud of its connections to the Braggs - Sir William Henry and his son Sir William Lawrence. Sir William Bragg was the Elder Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University from 1886-1908 and his son studied here and graduated in 1908 with First Class Honours in Mathematics.

They went on to jointly win a Nobel Prize in 1915 for their work on solving the structure of crystalline materials using x-ray diffraction.

A display of the Bragg material from our Physics Museum is on display in the newly established Royal Institution of Australia - for�opening hours visit: www.riaus.org.au

At the Royal Institution you will also be able to see a film on the Braggs, Driven to Diffraction, in which material from the University's Physics Museum and the Scientific Apparatus Collection was used to recreate the laboratory used by the Braggs for their Nobel Prize-winning work.

Mirna Heruc, Manager, Art & Heritage Collections

This microscope was made by C Collins of London and purchased by Professor William Henry Bragg while there on study leave in 1898.
The microscope was purchased from Bragg's family in Cambridge and donated to the University of Adelaide by physics graduate Dr John Jenkin in May 1997.
Photo by Mick Bradley
Full Image (64.83K)

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