Selig Hecht

Selig Hecht (February 8, 1892 – September 18, 1947) was an American professor of biophysics who specialized in the physiology of vision. His scientific papers included studies of photochemistry in photoreceptor cells. At the time of his death, he became known to the general public for having authored Explaining the Atom, which was praised as "a classic of popular scientific writing".

Biography Hecht was born into a Jewish family in Glogau, then in the German Empire (now Głogów, Poland). His parents were Mandel Hecht and Mirel Mresse. The family migrated to the U.S. in 1898, settling in New York City.

In 1913, Hecht received a Bachelor of Science degree from City College of New York.

He spent time as a postdoctoral researcher in a group led by Edward Charles Cyril Baly at the University of Liverpool. Baly was a pioneer in applying the technique of spectroscopy to chemistry. Hecht extended his mentor's methods by applying spectroscopy to biological problems, which inspired the work of Richard Alan Morton.

Hecht's achievement in showing the protein character of rhodopsin was recognized by historians of protein science:

In 1941, Hecht won the Optical Society of America's Frederic Ives Medal. He was 55.

Explaining the Atom

World War II ended with the use of atomic weapons developed in secret by the Manhattan Project. Hecht wanted ordinary Americans to understand this new source of energy. He first educated himself in atomic physics using publicly available sources. In 1945 he joined the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, "headed by Einstein and formed for the purpose of informing the public on problems of atomic energy." In 1946, Hecht wrote Explaining the Atom, which was published in early 1947. He noted in the Preface that his aim was to "help to make intelligent voters":

In a review in The New York Times, Stephen Wheeler said that Explaining the Atom was "by all odds the best book on atomic energy so far to be published for the ordinary reader." Similarly, James J. Jelinek wrote that it was an "invaluable contribution to the layman." He credited Hecht with "conveying to the layman the intellectual drama" of the quest to unlock the atom. Jelinek asserted that the book was "profoundly provocative in its political and sociological implications."

In 1954 a revised edition of Explaining the Atom, with four additional chapters, was issued by Eugene Rabinowitch. Both editions were recommended by George Gamow.

Selected publications Hecht, S. (1937) "Rods, cones, and the chemical basis of vision", Physiological Reviews 17: 239 to 89. Hecht, S. & Pickels, E.G. (1938) "The sedimentation constant of visual purple", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 24: 172 to 6