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.
Topics
Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:
F-G, 1965
Letters of condolence received on Sir Edward Appleton's death, "F-G", 1965.
'F2 Layer Distortion Diurnal Variation', no date
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations worldwide, entitled 'F2 Layer Distortion Diurnal Variation', no date. The contents now include only charts of June and December values f'F2 (S.S. min.)/ f'F2 (S. S. max.) (not in Appleton's hand).
'F2 - M3000 S.S. min./S.S. max.', c. 1948-1958
' F2 - M3000 S.S. min./S.S. max.'. The material consists of an original file of data values for Slough, Washington, Huacayo, Tokyo and Watheroo. The charts have used average data from c. 1948-1958 and will have therefore been drawn after this period,
'fF1 1953/1954', 1953-1954
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations worldwide, entitled 'fF1 1953/1954'
'fF1 1957/1958', 1957-1958
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations worldwide, entitled 'fF1 1957/1958'
'fF2 1955', 1955
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations worldwide, entitled 'fF2 1955'.
fF2 data, 1948, 1953
The material consists of a file of fF2 data, containing comparative values for 1948 and 1953.
fF2 data and graphs for several stations and values, averaged-over various periods, 1943-1944, 1954-1958
fF2 data and graphs for several stations and values, averaged over various periods. The data mainly covers the years 1954-1958, but also includes some earlier from 1943-1944. It was written in various hands, including Mrs. Turnbull's, and a few notes by Edward Appleton.
fF2 max./fF2 min. data, no date
The material consists of a file containing fF2 max./fF2 min. data, mainly for equinoctial values, no date.
'fF2 - R Midnight and noon', c. 1948-1958
'fF2 - R Midnight and noon'. The material consists of an original file of data values for Slough, Washington, Huacayo, Tokyo and Watheroo. The charts have used average data from c. 1948-1958 and will have therefore been drawn after this period,
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