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:
File containing notes by Edward Appleton, 1932-1933 and no date
File containing 4 notes by Edward Appleton. The mnaterial consists of 'Some Conclusions by E.V.A.' [Edward Victor Appleton], manuscript notes and data using Tromsö data, 1932 and 1933; 'Note on variation of magnetic storminess'. 1 page note which refers to Tromsö, no date; 'Note on Magnetic and Ionospheric Phenomena', 1 page, no date; and 'Magnetic Storms and Ionospheric Changes', 1 page, no date.
File containing notes by Edward Appleton, 1938 and no date
File containing notes by Edward Appleton. The material consists of 'Magnetic Storms and Magnetic Activity', 1 page note, no date which refers to Tromsö; 'Remarks on Dr. Chapman 's note on radio fade-outs and the associated magnetic disturbances', a note which was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 43, 1938; 'The Relation between Magnetic and Ionospheric Storms', a 2 page note, no date and written on wartime paper; and miscellaneous shorter notes and drafts.
File containing various types of h'F data, 1939-1941, 1958-1959 and no date
The material consists of a file containing various types of h'F data: chart of midnight values of H'f2, dated 1939-1941 (probably by Robert Naismith); chart of h'F1 values at noon, various stations, no date, h'F charts 1958, 1959; and other h'F curves and data.
File titled 'Comparison of Slough and Washington E-layer critical frequencies', 1935-1947
File titled 'Comparison of Slough and Washington E-layer critical frequencies'. It contains tables and calculations by Appleton for 1935-1947.
'fMin. 1953/1954', 1953-1954
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations, entitled 'fMin. 1953/1954'. The data for only two stations survives.
'fMin. 1957/1958', 1957-1958
The material consists of an original file of data for ionospheric stations, entitled 'fMin. 1957/1958'.
‘(fo F1)2 for each month 1949-59', 1949-1959
The material consists of an original file of data for various ionospheric stations, entitled ‘(fo F1 )2 for each month 1949-59'
Folder containing graphs of reception for various types of valves, c. 1918
The material consists of a hardback folder containing graphs of reception for various types of valves. The French valves are initialled 'W.A.E.D.' and dated 1918. Some of the charts bear notes and calculations by Edward Appleton. Also included is a 4 page typescript, 'Details of oscillograms'.
Folder containing press-cuttings, c. 1930-1939
Folder containing press-cuttings. The press-cuttings are regarding developments in radio and television, mainly from the 1930s.
Folder inscribed 'Comparison of Huancayo and Tananarive', 1951-1954
Folder inscribed 'Comparison of Huancayo [Peru] and Tananarive [French name for Antananarivo, Madagascar]'. The material consists of tabulated data on various values, almost all in Edward Appleton's hand, dated 1951-1954.
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