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:
Graphs and data, by Edward Appleton and others, c. 1926-1961
Graphs and data, by Edward Appleton and others. The material mainly relates to, mainly on 11-year sunspot cycle, and it includes some printed matter, by J. Bartels and others, on the subject. The data covers the years 1926-1956, however some material is undated.
Graphs, calculations, notes on the literature, on research methods, etc., in the hand of W.E.J. Farvis, no date
Graphs, notes, calculations, notes on the literature, on research methods by harmonic analysis, etc., in the hand of W.E.J. Farvis, no date. The material includes copies of some of Edward Appleton's letters to C.P. Bell, and 2 page paper 'Substance of EVA lecture (I.G.Y.)[International Geophysical Year]' with comments on work by Appleton and Bell.
'Graphs of N(h) for TaIara, Panama, Huancayo...', c. 1964
File entitled 'Graphs of N(h) for TaIara, Panama, Huancayo...' The material consists of an original folder of graphs, with a typed note of instructions from Edward Appleton to ‘I.Y.L.’, dated 1964. A full list of contents is written on the front cover of the folder.
Graphs of r(fF2) for various stations and hours of the day, c. 1953-1958
Graphs of r(fF2)) for various stations and hours of the day, using data from 1953-1958.
Green notebook, inscribed 'F2 Layer Theory', no date
Green notebook, inscribed 'F2 Layer Theory'. It contains notes and calculations, with 2 loose pages inserted. Only a few pages have been used, at front of the notebook.
Grey spiral-bound notebook, c. 1957
Grey spiral-bound notebook. It contains notes and drafts, on 'constant time error', 'A Study of the E Layer', 'A Possible Explanation of γ1 phenomenon', and other topics. There is no date, but it includes loose pages of photographs dated December 1957.
Group photograph at Fuel Research Station, April 1949
The material consists of a group photograph at Fuel Research Station, Greenwich, dated April 1949.
Group photograph at King's College London, c. 1924-1936
The material consists of group photograph at King's College London. No date but Appleton was professor of physics here, 1924-1936.
Group photograph at King's College London, c. 1924-1936
The material consists of a group photograph at King's College London, signed by the participants. No date but Appleton was professor of physics here, 1924-1936.
H, 1965
Letters of condolence received on Sir Edward Appleton's death, "H", 1965.
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