Chris M Horwitz

Welcome!

Hello, Chris M Horwitz, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Unfortunately, one or more of your recent edits did not conform to Wikipedia's verifiability policy, and may have been removed. Wikipedia articles should refer only to facts and interpretations verified in reliable, reputable print or online sources or in other reliable media. Always provide a reliable source for quotations and for any material that is likely to be challenged, or it may be removed. Wikipedia also has a related policy against including original research in articles.

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Again, welcome!  Schazjmd (talk) 16:42, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for your feedback. I guess that the source needed was on my Shockley page edit. I can provide the reference paper but don't know how to insert it into the end-area references; does it need to be in order or can I append it? And some of the information I wrote is that the papers are in Shockley's personal archives in Stanford library's stacks ... does that need to be verified in some way also? Chris Horwitz. Chris M Horwitz (talk) 16:55, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

What you added:

The diffusion equations were in fact first developed by A. S. Davydov in Moscow and published in English in 1935. This Davydov paper is in Shockley's personal papers, archived in the Stanford University Library, but Shockley does not reference Davydov's earlier work. (Davydov later moved to Kiev, taking on the Ukrainian spelling of his first name as O. S. Davydov.)

What you need is an independent source that observes that Shockley's Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors with Applications to Transistor Electronics uses Davydov's work without referencing it (the part that I bolded above). Davydov's paper being in Shockley's archive and Davydov moving to Kiev and changing his name are irrelevant. Schazjmd (talk) 17:05, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

History of Semiconductor Engineering says Davydov extended Schottky's work, and Shockley build on Davydov's junction theory. Bo Lojek's book on Shockley[1] says Shockley's detractors claim that he copied the work of Boris Davydov, then says We can only speculate now how much of Shockley's work was influenced by Davydov's papers published between 1937 and 1939 before his excellent work was interrupted by the war. I found all three of Davydov's papers published in English in Shockley's library. Neither of those sources support the specific wording that you added. We can't say in wikivoice that the equations in Shockley' work were Davydov's based on a "claim" by detractors. Schazjmd (talk) 17:23, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Many thanks for the above detailed answers ... that does show me more detail on the subject, though the 1935 paper is not mentioned. If I were to download the 1935 paper, where should I put it? Does Wikipedia have the storage room for such things? Chris Horwitz. Chris M Horwitz (talk) 18:01, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Files, like images, can be uploaded to Commons, assuming of course that the upload complies with copyright law. But the 1935 paper isn't a source for a conclusion based on comparing that paper to another paper. You need an independent source that makes that comparison and draws a conclusion.

However, after continuing to search, I'm just not finding anything that supports inclusion. Wikipedia articles should fairly represent all significant viewpoints that have been published by reliable sources, in proportion to the prominence of each viewpoint in those sources. The Lojek book I quoted earlier is the only thing I've found that indicates any sort of controversy over Shockley/Davydov and one sentence is hardly a "significant viewpoint". Schazjmd (talk) 18:16, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Most interesting to see all of your thinking and of the importance of 'getting it right'; and good to know that I can download the paper. So thanks for your detailed analysis and historical references. I should note that nothing I wrote indicates that Shockley directly copied Davydov; all I say is that Davidov developed the formulas first, and that Shockley had that paper, but did not reference Davydov in his book. Nothing explicitly saying that there was anything nefarious going on ... but of course leaving readers to have any thoughts they may have on the matter. Incidentally my own Stanford office was right next to Shockley's so I got to see, and sometimes talk with, his wife every day. That was a little while ago! Chris M Horwitz (talk) 18:32, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for understanding. I imagine you probably have some interesting stories of your time at Stanford! Schazjmd (talk) 18:41, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

I have the articles, from 1931 and 1938; I can see the conditions under which I can download to Wiki Commons, but although these were not written by me, surely they are out of copyright now? They are

B. Davydov, The rectifying action of semi-conductors, The Technical Physics of the USSR, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1938), pp. 87-95.

C. Wagner, Zur Theorie der Gleichrichterwirkung, Phys. Zeitschrift, Vol. 32 (1931), pp 641-645.

Please let me know; thanks, Chris Horwitz.

By the way, my Maxwell's Equations page edit was removed without contacting me; leaving an egregious piece of misinformation up there, which I know has caused many folks to reproduce it as useful information ... this is unacceptable and an indication of poor quality control on the part of Wikipedia. What can be done to fix the (serious) error on that page? Chris M Horwitz (talk) 19:48, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

I've no idea what the length of copyright is on such documents, sorry. You can post a question at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Village_pump/Copyright where people with more knowledge can respond. (Even uploaded to Commons, those papers are not support for the content that you added to the Shockley article though.)

You should discuss the Maxwell's equations edit at Talk:Maxwell's equations, pinging the editor who reverted it. The final portion of your edit (Consequently the attached pretty 3D diagram showing wave propagation, with E and B peaking at the same time, is incorrect, as is its caption.) is inappropriate for the article. That's an editorial comment and belongs on the talk page. Schazjmd (talk) 20:01, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

The 'talk' page on Maxwell's Equations was interesting to see; there are MANY others who have noted the same error, but it never seems to get corrected. I think that whoever is in charge of that page is incompetent. Someone who has knowledge of the field should take a look and get that image fixed. It's a true disgrace and has led many astray. Chris H. Chris M Horwitz (talk) 20:10, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

Nobody is "in charge" of any article. Try discussing on the talk page. Schazjmd (talk) 20:11, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

I have checked the vector calculus more thoroughly and must admit my earlier mistake; my simple interpretation of Maxwell's Equations was insufficient and the Wikipedia page's diagram is in fact correct ... so I now abandon my attempt to 'correct' that page and have learnt something new! Such a shame at my age ... and it is apparent that the editor(s) of that page are in fact competent! And thanks for your tolerance and replies to my questions. As for the Shockley article and the articles I wished to add to the Commons, since these are out of copyright in both Germany and Russia, are they able to be uploaded? The Commons page https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard is unclear on that topic. Please advise! And of note; the Wagner paper on semiconductor hole and electron conduction predates Shockley's book by > 20 years, but was not in his personal archives. However the Davydov paper was in Shockley's papers, as you have noted. Neither were referenced in Shockley's book on the same topic. Chris M Horwitz (talk) 14:44, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

Chris, I already explained where you can ask about copyright and uploading. I cannot answer that for you. Schazjmd (talk) 14:47, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

And ... copyright law in Germany takes away copyright after 70 years, and in Russia 74 years, so surely these can be uploaded? Chris H. Chris M Horwitz (talk) 20:01, 22 September 2024 (UTC)