Ernest Lawrence
Ernest O. Lawrence
Born	August 8, 1901(1901-08-08) Canton, South Dakota, United States
Died	August 27, 1958 (aged 57) Palo Alto, California, United States
Residence	United States
Nationality	American
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Yale University University of California, Berkeley
Alma mater	University of South Dakota University of Minnesota Yale University
Doctoral advisor	W. F. G. Swann
Doctoral students	Edwin McMillan
Known for	invention of the cyclotron
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Physics 1939

Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate best known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron beginning in 1929, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation in the Manhattan Project. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Canton is a city in and the County seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Palo Alto (ˌpæloʊˈæltoʊ from Spanish: palo: "stick" and alto: "high" i California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval The University of South Dakota, the state’s oldest university was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882 The University of Minnesota Twin Cities ( U of M or The U) is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. A doctorate is an Academic degree that indicates the highest level of academic achievement William Francis Gray Swann ( August 29, 1884 &ndash January 29, 1962) was an Anglo - American Physicist. Edwin Mattison McMillan ( September 18, 1907 &ndash September 7, 1991) was an American physicist and Nobel laureate credited with being A cyclotron is a type of Particle accelerator. Cyclotrons accelerate Charged particles using a high- Frequency, alternating Voltage (potential The Nobel Prize in Physics (Nobelpriset i fysik is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A cyclotron is a type of Particle accelerator. Cyclotrons accelerate Charged particles using a high- Frequency, alternating Voltage (potential The World War II Manhattan Project developed the first Nuclear weapon (atomic bomb He had a long career at the University of California, Berkeley where he was a professor of physics. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley In 1939, Lawrence was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the cyclotron and its applications. The Nobel Prize in Physics (Nobelpriset i fysik is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Chemical element number 103 is named "lawrencium" in his honor. Lawrencium (ləˈrɛnsiəm is a Radioactive Synthetic element with the symbol Lr (formerly Lw) and Atomic number 103 He was also the first recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award. The Sylvanus Thayer Award is an award that is given each year by the United States Military Academy at West Point ^[1] His brother John H. Lawrence is known for pioneering the field of nuclear medicine. John Hundale Lawrence ( January 7, 1904 – September 7, 1991) was an American physicist and doctor best known for pioneering the field of Nuclear medicine is a branch of Medicine and Medical imaging that uses the nuclear properties of matter in diagnosis and therapy

Early life

Born in Canton, South Dakota, Lawrence attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota, but transferred to the University of South Dakota after his first year. Canton is a city in and the County seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. St Olaf College is a Coeducational residential four-year private liberal arts college in Northfield Minnesota. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers The University of South Dakota, the state’s oldest university was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882 He earned his bachelor's degree in 1922. He received his Master's Degree in Physics from the University of Minnesota in 1923. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities ( U of M or The U) is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. He spent a year at the University of Chicago, and received his Ph. The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. D. in physics at Yale University in 1925, making him somewhat unusual in his field -- a very promising young scientist who had received his entire education in the United States, in a day when study at one of the great science institutions of Europe was considered essential for someone who truly wished to make a significant contribution. He remained at Yale as a researcher on the photoelectric effect, becoming an assistant professor in 1927. Introduction When a Metallic surface is exposed to Electromagnetic radiation above a certain threshold Frequency, the light is absorbed and Electrons

In 1928 he was appointed Associate Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and two years later he became a full Professor, being the youngest at Berkeley. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley There, he was called the "Atom Smasher,"; the man who "held the key" to atomic energy. "He wanted to do 'big physics,' the kind of work that could only be done on a large scale with a lot of people involved," said Herbert York, the first director of the Lawrence Livermore laboratory, as quoted on the lab's official Web site. Herbert Frank York (Born in Rochester NY November 24 1921 is an accomplished American nuclear Physicist who has held numerous scientific and administrative

Cyclotron

The invention that brought Lawrence to international fame started out as a sketch on a scrap of paper. While sitting in the library one evening, Lawrence glanced over a journal article and was intrigued by one of the diagrams. The idea was to produce very high-energy particles required for atomic disintegration by means of a succession of very small "pushes. " The device as depicted however, was laid out in a straight line using increasingly longer electrodes. Lawrence saw that such an accelerator would soon become too long and unwieldy for his university laboratory. In pondering a way to make the accelerator more compact, Lawrence decided to set a circular accelerating chamber between the poles of an electromagnet. The magnetic field would hold the charged protons in a spiral path as they were accelerated between just two semicircular electrodes connected to an alternating potential. After a hundred turns or so, the protons would impact the target as a beam of high-energy particles. Lawrence excitedly told his colleagues that he had discovered a method for obtaining particles of very high energy without the use of any high voltage.

Diagram of cyclotron operation from Lawrence's 1934 patent.

The first model of Lawrence's cyclotron was made out of brass, wire, and sealing wax and was only four inches in diameter--it could literally be held in one hand. A cyclotron is a type of Particle accelerator. Cyclotrons accelerate Charged particles using a high- Frequency, alternating Voltage (potential It probably cost $25 in all. And it worked: When Lawrence applied 2,000 volts of electricity to his makeshift cyclotron on January 2, 1931, he got 80,000-volt protons spinning around. Through his increasingly larger machines, Lawrence was able to provide the crucial equipment needed for experiments in high energy physics. Around this device, Lawrence built up his Radiation Laboratory, which would become the world's foremost laboratory for the new field of nuclear physics research in the 1930s. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( LBNL) is a U He received a patent for the cyclotron in 1934, which he assigned to the Research Corporation. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an The Research Corporation is an organization in the United States devoted to the advancement of Science, funding research projects in the physical sciences In 1936 the Radiation Laboratory became an official department of the University of California with Lawrence formally appointed its Director. He served in that capacity until his death.

In November 1939, Lawrence was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the cyclotron and its applications. The Nobel Prize in Physics (Nobelpriset i fysik is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Not only was he the first at Berkeley to become a Nobel Laureate, he was also the first ever to be so honored while at a state-supported university. The award ceremony was held on February 29, 1940 in Berkeley, California due to the war, in the auditorium of Wheeler Hall on the campus of the university with Lawrence receiving his medal from Carl E. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Wallerstedt, Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. A consul general heads a Consulate general and is a consul of the highest rank serving at a principal location and usually responsible for other consular offices within The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city

World War II

Giant calutron plants developed at Lawrence's laboratory were used at Site X during World War II to purify uranium for use in the first atomic bomb. A Calutron was a Mass spectrometer used for separating the isotopes of Uranium developed by Ernest O Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( ORNL) is a multiprogram science and technology National laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.

During World War II, Lawrence eagerly helped to ramp up the American investigation of the possibility of a weapon utilizing nuclear fission. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into parts (lighter nuclei) often producing Free neutrons and other smaller nuclei which may His Rad Lab became one of the major centers for wartime atomic research, and it was Lawrence who first introduced J. Robert Oppenheimer into what would become the Manhattan Project. The World War II Manhattan Project developed the first Nuclear weapon (atomic bomb It was at Lawrence's personal recommendation that General Leslie R. Groves appointed Oppenheimer Director of the New Mexico laboratory that would produce the first atomic bombs. Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves ( August 17, 1896 &ndash July 13, 1970) was a United States Army Engineer An early champion of the electromagnetic separation method to enrich uranium, Lawrence manufactured his calutrons — specialized forms of mass spectrometers — for the massive separation plants at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the A Calutron was a Mass spectrometer used for separating the isotopes of Uranium developed by Ernest O Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that identifies the chemical composition of a compound or sample based on the Mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles Oak Ridge is an incorporated City in Anderson and Roane Counties in East Tennessee, USA, about 25 miles northwest of His secretary, Helen Griggs married future Nobel chemistry laureate Glenn T. Seaborg in 1942 as they made their way to work on the Manhattan Project in Chicago. Helen L (Griggs Seaborg ( March 2, 1917 – August 29, 2006) was an American child welfare advocate and the wife of Nobel Prize Glenn Theodore Seaborg ( Glenn Teodor Sjöberg) ( April 19, 1912 &ndash February 25, 1999) won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Post-war Career and Legacy

After the war, Lawrence campaigned extensively for government sponsorship of large scientific programs. Lawrence was a forceful advocate of "Big Science" with its requirements for big machines and big money. This article is about the term For the album see ''Big Science'' (album.

For his service to his country, Lawrence received the Enrico Fermi Award from the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1957, and was the first recipient of the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy in 1958. The Sylvanus Thayer Award is an award that is given each year by the United States Military Academy at West Point "USMA" redirects here For other uses see USMA (disambiguation The United States Military Academy (also known as USMA,

In July 1958, President Eisenhower requested Lawrence travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to negotiate a proposed treaty with the Soviet Union to ban nuclear weapons testing. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Despite suffering from a serious flare-up of his chronic colitis, Lawrence participated, but became ill while in Geneva and was rushed to the hospital at Stanford. Colitis is a chronic digestive disease characterized by Inflammation of the colon. He died a month later in Palo Alto, California, at the age of 57.

Just 23 days after his death, the Regents of the University of California voted to rename the Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories after him. The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ( LLNL) in Livermore California is a scientific research laboratory founded by the University of California in 1952 The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( LBNL) is a U The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in his memory in 1959. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor of a Scientist who helped elevate American Physics to world leadership Chemical element number 103, discovered at LBNL in 1961, is named "lawrencium" in his honor. Lawrencium (ləˈrɛnsiəm is a Radioactive Synthetic element with the symbol Lr (formerly Lw) and Atomic number 103 In 1968 the Lawrence Hall of Science public science education center was established in honor of Ernest Lawrence, who had been throughout his career a passionate advocate of encouraging public interest in science, particularly among schoolchildren. The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS is a public science center featuring hands-on exhibits and activities The museum features a permanent exhibit devoted to Lawrence's life.

On March 7, 2007 Lawrence's Nobel Prize gold medal was briefly stolen from a low-security glass cabinet in the museum. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[2] The alleged perpetrator was a 22-year-old local student who worked in the building. He reportedly used a copied key to remove the medal as a prank. A prank is defined as "acting like a clown or buffoon" or "dressing showily" or alternatively "a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement" The medal was returned but will not be presented to the public until May 2008, when a new armored vault will be constructed for the exhibit.

References

1. ^ Information Office United States Military Academy West Point, New York (March 4, 1958). Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dr Ernest Orlando Lawrence. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
2. ^ Gilmore, Janet (March 7, 2007). Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Nobel Prize medal stolen from Lawrence Hall of Science is found, student arrested. UC Berkeley News. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

External links

• Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues: Ernest O. Lawrence sources and Links
• American Institute of Physics (AIP)
  • Lawrence and the Cyclotron: AIP History Center Web Exhibit
  • Emilio Segrè Visual Archives (photos. aip. org search: Ernest Lawrence)
• Heilbron, J.L.; Robert W. John L Heilbron ( J L Heilbron) is an American historian of science best known for his work in the History of physics and the History Seidel (1989). Lawrence and His Laboratory: A History of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Berkeley: University of California Press. University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a Publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in Academic ISBN 0520064267.  
• Lawrence Berkeley Lab:
  • Ernest Orlando Lawrence -- The Man, His Lab, His Legacy
  • Lawrence and His Laboratory: A Historian's View of the Lawrence Years by Heilbron, Seidel, Wheaton.
• Lawrence Livermore Lab: Who Was Ernest O. Lawrence? (biography)
• NobelPrize. org: Ernest O. Lawrence biography
• Nobel-Winners. com: Ernest Lawrence
• photograph of Leó Szilárd and Ernest O. Leó Szilárd (Szilárd Leó February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was an Hungarian - American Physicist who Lawrence