ALT 🕵️‍♀️ WHO IS THE “LADY OF THE LAB”? A curious mystery lies in Mr. Searle’s 1911 physics class photo… Amongst the students, there’s a woman diligently at work at her bench. But her face is out of focus. The question is: WHO IS SHE? 🧐 Historians are stumped, and we’re turning to you for help! 👀 Could she be your Great Aunt Mildred? Or maybe your great grandfather’s favourite physics teacher? 🔍 Can you spot the mystery lady? Your reward? Eternal Whipple glory* (and a shoutout on Instagram). *Okay, maybe just the shoutout, but still—prestige awaits! Here’s what we know about this iconic image: 📸 Searle in a pre-1914 physics practical class (P404) ✨ Captured in the original Cavendish Laboratory, the photo features George Searle—master of experimental physics—supervising a class of future scientists. The presence of this pioneering woman student is what makes this snapshot of history truly remarkable. 🔍 Think you know her identity? Drop us a comment!

ALT This snapshot, taken on March 8th, 1932 at the Newnham College playing field, shows the Cavendish team after a match against the Botanists. The score? A smashing 4-1 victory for the Cavendish crew! 🌟 Front row (seated): Miss Mitchell, Miss Milne, Miss Davies, Chaudhri 🌟 Back row (standing): Cockcroft, Blackett, Alexander, Massey, Shire, Hill 🌟 (Kneeling): Childs

ALT Today, we’re stepping back to the 1930s to spotlight the Royal Society Mond Laboratory, affectionately known as “The Mond.” Opened in 1933, it was a hub for cutting-edge research in low-temperature physics and high magnetic fields, funded by a £15,000 grant from Ludwig Mond's fund. But what’s a lab without a little character? Enter Kapitsa’s Crocodile! 🐊 Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitsa, the mastermind behind the lab, nicknamed Rutherford “Crocodile” and enlisted Eric Gill to immortalize the nickname with a carving on the building’s outer wall. Passersby were often intrigued to see Gill, clad in a brown monk's habit, diligently sculpting behind a tarpaulin screen. Legend has it, Kapitsa’s nickname for Rutherford stemmed from either his sharp wit (like fearing a crocodile bite!) or the unmistakable timbre of his voice, which preceded his arrival—just like the ticking of the crocodile’s clock in Peter Pan.

ALT Happy Festive Friday, Whipplers! 🎄🎉 Yesterday we marveled at the Dees, and today we’re celebrating John Cockcroft, pictured here in the lab, headphones on, busy counting particles. A Cambridge mathematician turned physicist, Cockcroft had a knack for organizing experiments and groundbreaking discoveries. Together with Ernest Walton, he pulled off the unimaginable—splitting the atom! Using their ingenious particle accelerator, they fired protons at lithium nuclei, splitting them into helium and unleashing energy. This groundbreaking experiment validated Einstein's iconic equation, E = mc², proving the equivalence of mass and energy. Rutherford rejected the idea that nuclear energy would be controllable such that it would have commercial value. In this he would be proved very wrong.

ALT 🎄 Today, we’re taking you back to the 1930s, where the path to splitting the atom required cutting-edge innovation. The Cavendish cyclotron, built under the supervision of John Cockcroft, was a game-changer for nuclear physics. 🌌 🔬 The cyclotron’s dees – named for their D-shape – were key to accelerating charged particles to smash into atomic nuclei, much like a bowling ball scattering skittles! This leap in technology paved the way for groundbreaking discoveries and, ultimately, the dawn of the atomic age. From Cambridge to the Manhattan Project, Cavendish scientists like James Chadwick and John Cockcroft played pivotal roles in this era of discovery. Though Ernest Rutherford didn’t live to see the atomi