Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)
Dates
- Existence: 1892 - 1965
Biography
Appleton was born in Bradford and educated at local schools and St John's College, Cambridge where he was awarded first class honours and several prizes in both parts of the Natural Sciences Tripos (1913, 1914). He began research at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge with W.L. Bragg, but during his service in the Army Signals in the First World War he developed the interest in valves and 'wireless' signals which informed his subsequent research career. He returned to the Cavendish Laboratory in 1919, continuing to work on valves and, with B. van der Pol, on non-linearity, and on atmospherics. In 1924, in collaboration with M.F. Barnett, he performed a crucial experiment which enabled a reflecting layer in the atmosphere to be identified and measured; subsequent research indicated the existence of more than one reflecting layer. From 1924 to 1936 Appleton was Wheatstone Professor of Physics at King's College, London, directing research teams and, in 1932, heading an expedition to Tromsö in northern Norway as part of the programme of observations scheduled for the Second International Polar Year
He was President of the International Union of Scientific Radio (URSI), 1934-1952. In 1936 he succeeded C.T.R. Wilson in the Jacksonian Chair of Natural Philosophy at Cambridge, where he continued collaborative research on many ionospheric problems, including solar and lunar tides in the E-layer. From September 1936 he served on the re-constituted Committee for the Scientific Survey of Air Defence (the 'Tizard Committee'), and in October 1938 was appointed successor to Sir Frank Smith as Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). He remained at the DSIR throughout the Second World War and until 1948 when he was appointed Principal of Edinburgh University. He took up the appointment in May 1949 and remained in office until his death in 1965. Appleton was elected FRS in 1927 (Bakerian Lecture 1937, Hughes Medal 1933, Royal Medal 1950) and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1947 for his investigations into the ionosphere. He was knighted in 1941.
Found in 828 Collections and/or Records:
The material consists of data on sunspot cycles, graphs of quiet and disturbed days, etc., 1931-1953
The material consists of data on sunspot cycles dated 1931-1953, graphs of quiet and disturbed days, etc.
'The morphology of ionospheric storms', c. 1952
'The morphology of ionospheric storms'. The material consists of a 38 page typescript draft by Edward Appleton which is different to the version published in 1952.
'The Morphology of Storms in the F2 Layer of the Ionosphere: II. The Study of Individual Ionospheric Storms' , 1951
'The Morphology of Storms in the F2 Layer of the Ionosphere: II. The Study of Individual Ionospheric Storms'. The material consists of a 49 page typescript draft of a collaborative paper between Edward Appleton and W.R. Piggott. It includes corrections by Piggott to a section of the draft, dated 1951.
‘The propagation of wireless waves through an ionized gas in a magnetic field’, c. 1925-1943
‘The propagation of wireless waves through an ionized gas in a magnetic fieId’. The material consists of section 2 of a paper by Edward Appleton, paginated 4-9, no date, c. 1925-1943.
'The Radar detection of meteor trails', c. 1946
'The Radar detection of meteor trails'. The material consists of a 3 page typescript draft and a copy of the published paper, dated 1946.
'The rate of electron disappearance in the E-Layer of the Ionosphere', c. 1954-1965
'The rate of electron disappearance in the E Layer of the Ionosphere', The material consists of 11 pages of typescript, no date, with 1 page manuscript note attached, 'Possible causes of Phenomenon'.
'The triode oscillator', c. 1922
'The triode oscillator'no date, c. 1922. The material consists of 14 pages of typescript and manuscript notes by Edward Appleton.
Theses on non-linear oscillators, by Appleton's students at King's College, London, 1928-1937
This sub-sub-subseries consists of 3 files containing the theses on non-linear oscillators, by Edward Appleton's students at King's College, London, dated 1928, 1932 and 1937 and all in their orignal binders.
Thick black notebook, c. 1937
Thick black notebook. The notebook contains notes, calculations and references, on recombination, 'Correct magneto-ionic formulae', critical frequencies. Only a few pages of the notebook have been used, at the front of book and the latest reference is from 1937.
Thick notebook, inscribed 'E. V. Appleton' on page edges, front few pages only used, c. 1927
Thick notebook, inscribed 'E. V. Appleton' on page edges, front few pages only used. The notebook mainly contains notes on the literature and the latest date is 1927.
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