Browse Items (22 total)

Group Photograph of Sorensen, Millikan, and other Prominent Scientists at the California Institute of Technology

This is a puzzling rare photograph where Professor Sorensen and Dr. Millikan are captured together. Professor Sorensen, head of the Electrical…

Memorandum Regarding Kellogg Radiation Laboratory Research, Future Plans, and Caltech's Physics Curriculum

Lauritsen and Fowler’s 1948 memorandum defines the Kellogg Lab’s post-WWII pivot from high-voltage X-rays toward fundamental nuclear research. This…

Colorado River Aqueduct Map

This map of the Colorado River Aqueduct was produced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in April 1936. Stretching nearly 300…

Technical Report on Hydraulic Machinery Laboratory

In 1933, the greater Los Angeles region saw renewed interest in hydraulics as a source of energy and began laying the foundations for a modern Western…

Big Creek Transmission Line

In the early 1900s, Los Angeles and Henry Huntington’s Pacific Electric railway were rapidly expanding. With greater demands of electrical power,…

Charles C. Lauritsen and Robert A. Millikan Standing Atop the Million Volt X-ray Tube

This photograph shows a defining moment in the early shape of physics research and study at Caltech: Charles C. Lauritsen and Robert A. Millikan…

Theodore von Karman trip to Hoover Dam

This photograph captures Theodore von Kármán and Raymond Sanger (unknown involvement) during a 1933 visit to Hoover Dam while it was still under…

Millikan-Sorensen Vacuum Switch

Transmission of power is dangerous when high voltage drives immense amounts of current. When Big Creek finished construction, ultra-high voltage (up…

Letter From Westinghouse Electric to Royal W. Sorenson

A decade after the Borel plant began operation, electricity requirements in Southern California had grown drastically. To meet the new demands, Henry…