Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)

Person

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

University of Edinburgh -- Principal

Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:

Hard cover notebook of quotations and anecdotes for Edward Appleton's speeches, no date

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.67

Scope and Contents

The material consists of hard cover notebook of quotations and anecdotes for Edward Appleton's speeches, no date.

Dates: no date

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications

Hard cover notebook of quotations and anecdotes for Edward Appleton's speeches, no date

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.68

Scope and Contents

The material consists of hard cover notebook of quotations and anecdotes for Edward Appleton's speeches, no date.

Dates: no date

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications

Hardback drawing book of graph paper, no date

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.5

Scope and Contents

The item is a Hardback drawing book of graph paper, undated, c.1920. Both ends of the item are used. At the front there are graphs and calculations of valves and oscillators. At the rear are 12 monthly graphs, labelled January-December.

Dates: no date

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback 'Minute Book', c. 1930-1948

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.25

Scope and Contents

Hardback 'Minute Book'. The notebook has pages numbered 1-197 however only 1-107 have been used. It contains notes of a very heterogeneous nature, probably begun c. 1930 and continuing to 1948. It includes notes on the literature, notes for experiments or of discussions, ideas on various aspects of ionospheric research, p.85 contains very brief notes for the 'Bakerian Lecture' (given in 1937).

Dates: c. 1930-1948

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, 1919-1922

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.3

Scope and Contents

Hardback notebook, dated 1919-1922. The item contains notes of experiments and ideas on oscillators and circuits, some with various dates, December 1919-October 1922; and notes for 'Further Experiments on Atmospherics'. There are a few notes at the rear of the notebook. See also Coll-37/B.4 which consists of loose pages of notes and calculations which were originally inserted into this notebook.

Dates: 1919-1922

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, c. 1931

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.23

Scope and Contents

Hardback notebook, no date, c. 1931. The notebook includes notes on 'Dielectric Constant of Ionised Gas', polarisation, work of Tonks, 'Notes for Discussion'. At the back of the notebook, there is an extended narrative on 'Probe Analysis'.

Dates: c. 1931

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, front few pages only used, no date

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.12

Scope and Contents

Hardback notebook, front few pages only used, inscribed inside 'E. V. Appleton. Wheatstone laboratory, King's College, London. Ionization of Gases. Digests of Papers', no date.

Dates: no date

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, inscribed 'Edward V. Appleton, Captain R. E.', c. 1914-Jul 1929

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.15

Scope and Contents Hardback notebook, inscribed 'Edward V. Appleton, Captain R. E.' Presumably Appleton acquired this notebook during his service in World War I. The notebook contains detailed observations and comparison of various stations, almost all in Appleton's hand or with comments by him. The inside front cover has a detailed list of experiments numbered 1-77, dated March 1926 to November 1928, which form the contents of the notebook. It also includes some narratives and summaries of the experiments by...

Dates: c. 1914-Jul 1929

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, inscribed inside 'E. V. Appleton, 39 Westleigh Avenue, London S.W. 15', c. 1946

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.34

Scope and Contents

Hardback notebook, inscribed inside 'E. V. Appleton, 39 Westleigh Avenue, London S.W. 15'. The notebook contains extensive notes, calculations and narratives on radar, and for a lecture or paper alternatively called ‘The Technique of Radar (or Radiolocation)’, 'The Principles of Radiolocation’, 'The Elements of Radar or Radiolocation’. (Appleton's 36th Kelvin Lecture was entitled 'The scientific principles of radio location', Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 93, 1946.)

Dates: c. 1946

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Hardback notebook, inscribed inside 'Month's Run', 23 February 1931-3 June 1931

Item

Identifier: Coll-37/B.22

Scope and Contents

Hardback notebook, inscribed inside 'Month's Run' February 23 1931 to March 21. Measurements of Critical Frequency'. The records are all in Appleton's hand. Some shorter notes continue to 3 June 1931.

Dates: 23 February 1931-3 June 1931

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Scientific notebooks

Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)

Dates

Biography

Topics

Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:

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