The Double Helix

by

James D. Watson

Cavendish Laboratory Term Analysis

The Cavendish Laboratory is the prominent laboratory at the University of Cambridge where Watson and Crick conducted their research in the early 1950s and discovered DNA’s double helix structure.

Cavendish Laboratory Quotes in The Double Helix

The The Double Helix quotes below are all either spoken by Cavendish Laboratory or refer to Cavendish Laboratory. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
).
Chapter 14 Quotes

Sir Lawrence had had too much of Francis to be surprised that he had again stirred up an unnecessary tempest. There was no telling where he would let loose the next explosion. If he continued to behave this way, he could easily spend the next five years in the lab without collecting sufficient data to warrant an honest Ph.D. The chilling prospect of enduring Francis throughout the remaining years of his tenure as the Cavendish Professor was too much to ask of Bragg or anyone with a normal set of nerves.

[…]

The decision was thus passed on to Max that Francis and I must give up DNA. Bragg felt no qualms that this might impede science, since inquiries to Max and John had revealed nothing original in our approach.

Related Characters: James D. Watson (speaker), Francis Crick , Rosalind Franklin , Maurice Wilkins , Sir Lawrence Bragg , John Kendrew , Max Perutz
Page Number: 97-98
Explanation and Analysis:
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Cavendish Laboratory Term Timeline in The Double Helix

The timeline below shows where the term Cavendish Laboratory appears in The Double Helix. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
...in 1951. At the time, Crick was working in Max Perutz and Sir Lawrence Bragg’s Cavendish Laboratory , which studied proteins through X-ray diffraction. Crick did some experiments, but he was mainly... (full context)
Chapter 6
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
Scientific Collaboration, Competition, and Community Theme Icon
Academic Life and the University Theme Icon
When Watson first met Max Perutz at the Cavendish Laboratory , he knew nothing about crystallography. But he learned fast. Cambridge’s beautiful buildings entranced him—he... (full context)
Chapter 8
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
Academic Life and the University Theme Icon
...after the war ended, he switched to biology. That’s how he ended up at the Cavendish Laboratory , 35 years old and without a PhD. Fortunately, Max Perutz and John Kendrew convinced... (full context)
Chapter 16
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
Scientific Collaboration, Competition, and Community Theme Icon
DNA and the Secret of Life Theme Icon
Watson spent his days at the Cavendish Laboratory studying TMV, or tobacco mosaic virus. He chose it because one of its main components... (full context)
Chapter 24
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
Scientific Collaboration, Competition, and Community Theme Icon
DNA and the Secret of Life Theme Icon
Academic Life and the University Theme Icon
In the Cavendish Laboratory the next morning, Watson told Max Perutz and Sir Lawrence Bragg about Maurice Wilkins and... (full context)
Chapter 28
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery Theme Icon
Scientific Collaboration, Competition, and Community Theme Icon
DNA and the Secret of Life Theme Icon
After Maurice Wilkins arrived in the Cavendish Laboratory , he spent a long time silently studying Crick and Watson’s molecular model. Watson realized... (full context)