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1 Watson-Watt
(Surnames) Watson-Watt /ˈwɒtsnˈwɒt/ -
2 Watson-Watt, Sir Robert Alexander
[br]b. 13 April 1892 Brechin, Angus, Scotlandd. 6 December 1973 Inverness, Scotland[br]Scottish engineer and scientific adviser known for his work on radar.[br]Following education at Brechin High School, Watson-Watt entered University College, Dundee (then a part of the University of St Andrews), obtaining a BSc in engineering in 1912. From 1912 until 1921 he was Assistant to the Professor of Natural Philosophy at St Andrews, but during the First World War he also held various posts in the Meteorological Office. During. this time, in 1916 he proposed the use of cathode ray oscillographs for radio-direction-finding displays. He joined the newly formed Radio Research Station at Slough when it was opened in 1924, and 3 years later, when it amalgamated with the Radio Section of the National Physical Laboratory, he became Superintendent at Slough. At this time he proposed the name "ionosphere" for the ionized layer in the upper atmosphere. With E.V. Appleton and J.F.Herd he developed the "squegger" hard-valve transformer-coupled timebase and with the latter devised a direction-finding radio-goniometer.In 1933 he was asked to investigate possible aircraft counter-measures. He soon showed that it was impossible to make the wished-for radio "death-ray", but had the idea of using the detection of reflected radio-waves as a means of monitoring the approach of enemy aircraft. With six assistants he developed this idea and constructed an experimental system of radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) in which arrays of aerials were used to detect the reflected signals and deduce the bearing and height. To realize a practical system, in September 1936 he was appointed Director of the Bawdsey Research Station near Felixstowe and carried out operational studies of radar. The result was that within two years the East Coast of the British Isles was equipped with a network of radar transmitters and receivers working in the 7–14 metre band—the so-called "chain-home" system—which did so much to assist the efficient deployment of RAF Fighter Command against German bombing raids on Britain in the early years of the Second World War.In 1938 he moved to the Air Ministry as Director of Communications Development, becoming Scientific Adviser to the Air Ministry and Ministry of Aircraft Production in 1940, then Deputy Chairman of the War Cabinet Radio Board in 1943. After the war he set up Sir Robert Watson-Watt \& Partners, an industrial consultant firm. He then spent some years in relative retirement in Canada, but returned to Scotland before his death.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsKnighted 1942. CBE 1941. FRS 1941. US Medal of Merit 1946. Royal Society Hughes Medal 1948. Franklin Institute Elliot Cresson Medal 1957. LLD St Andrews 1943. At various times: President, Royal Meteorological Society, Institute of Navigation and Institute of Professional Civil Servants; Vice-President, American Institute of Radio Engineers.Bibliography1923, with E.V.Appleton \& J.F.Herd, British patent no. 235,254 (for the "squegger"). 1926, with J.F.Herd, "An instantaneous direction reading radio goniometer", Journal ofthe Institution of Electrical Engineers 64:611.1933, The Cathode Ray Oscillograph in Radio Research.1935, Through the Weather Hours (autobiography).1936, "Polarisation errors in direction finders", Wireless Engineer 13:3. 1958, Three Steps to Victory.1959, The Pulse of Radar.1961, Man's Means to his End.Further ReadingS.S.Swords, 1986, Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar, Stevenage: Peter Peregrinus.KFBiographical history of technology > Watson-Watt, Sir Robert Alexander
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3 Aerospace
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Caproni, Giovanni BattistaDassault, MarcelGiffard, Baptiste Henry JacquesJohnson, Clarence LeonardKorolov, Sergei PavlovichSopwith, Sir Thomas Octave MurdochTsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich -
4 Appleton, Sir Edward Victor
[br]b. 6 September 1892 Bradford, Englandd. 21 April 1965 Edinburgh, Scotland[br]English physicist awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the ionospheric layer, named after him, which is an efficient reflector of short radio waves, thereby making possible long-distance radio communication.[br]After early ambitions to become a professional cricketer, Appleton went to St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied under J.J.Thompson and Ernest Rutherford. His academic career interrupted by the First World War, he served as a captain in the Royal Engineers, carrying out investigations into the propagation and fading of radio signals. After the war he joined the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, as a demonstrator in 1920, and in 1924 he moved to King's College, London, as Wheatstone Professor of Physics.In the following decade he contributed to developments in valve oscillators (in particular, the "squegging" oscillator, which formed the basis of the first hard-valve time-base) and gained international recognition for research into electromagnetic-wave propagation. His most important contribution was to confirm the existence of a conducting ionospheric layer in the upper atmosphere capable of reflecting radio waves, which had been predicted almost simultaneously by Heaviside and Kennelly in 1902. This he did by persuading the BBC in 1924 to vary the frequency of their Bournemouth transmitter, and he then measured the signal received at Cambridge. By comparing the direct and reflected rays and the daily variation he was able to deduce that the Kennelly- Heaviside (the so-called E-layer) was at a height of about 60 miles (97 km) above the earth and that there was a further layer (the Appleton or F-layer) at about 150 miles (240 km), the latter being an efficient reflector of the shorter radio waves that penetrated the lower layers. During the period 1927–32 and aided by Hartree, he established a magneto-ionic theory to explain the existence of the ionosphere. He was instrumental in obtaining agreement for international co-operation for ionospheric and other measurements in the form of the Second Polar Year (1932–3) and, much later, the International Geophysical Year (1957–8). For all this work, which made it possible to forecast the optimum frequencies for long-distance short-wave communication as a function of the location of transmitter and receiver and of the time of day and year, in 1947 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.He returned to Cambridge as Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy in 1939, and with M.F. Barnett he investigated the possible use of radio waves for radio-location of aircraft. In 1939 he became Secretary of the Government Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, a post he held for ten years. During the Second World War he contributed to the development of both radar and the atomic bomb, and subsequently served on government committees concerned with the use of atomic energy (which led to the establishment of Harwell) and with scientific staff.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsKnighted (KCB 1941, GBE 1946). Nobel Prize for Physics 1947. FRS 1927. Vice- President, American Institute of Electrical Engineers 1932. Royal Society Hughes Medal 1933. Institute of Electrical Engineers Faraday Medal 1946. Vice-Chancellor, Edinburgh University 1947. Institution of Civil Engineers Ewing Medal 1949. Royal Medallist 1950. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Medal of Honour 1962. President, British Association 1953. President, Radio Industry Council 1955–7. Légion d'honneur. LLD University of St Andrews 1947.Bibliography1925, joint paper with Barnett, Nature 115:333 (reports Appleton's studies of the ionosphere).1928, "Some notes of wireless methods of investigating the electrical structure of the upper atmosphere", Proceedings of the Physical Society 41(Part III):43. 1932, Thermionic Vacuum Tubes and Their Applications (his work on valves).1947, "The investigation and forecasting of ionospheric conditions", Journal of theInstitution of Electrical Engineers 94, Part IIIA: 186 (a review of British work on the exploration of the ionosphere).with J.F.Herd \& R.A.Watson-Watt, British patent no. 235,254 (squegging oscillator).Further ReadingWho Was Who, 1961–70 1972, VI, London: A. \& C.Black (for fuller details of honours). R.Clark, 1971, Sir Edward Appleton, Pergamon (biography).J.Jewkes, D.Sawers \& R.Stillerman, 1958, The Sources of Invention.KFBiographical history of technology > Appleton, Sir Edward Victor
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5 Electronics and information technology
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Byron, Ada AugustaNapier, JohnRiche, Gaspard-Clair-François-MarieSchickhard, WilhelmBiographical history of technology > Electronics and information technology
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6 Taylor, Albert Hoyt
[br]b. 1 January 1874 Chicago, Illinois, USAd. 11 December 1961 Claremont, California, USA[br]American radio engineer whose work on radio-detection helped lay the foundations for radar.[br]Taylor gained his degree in engineering from Northwest University, Evanston, Illinois, then spent a time at the University of Gottingen. On his return to the USA he taught successively at Michigan State University, at Lansing, and at the universities of Wisconsin at Madison and North Dakota at Grand Forks. From 1923 until 1945 he supervised the Radio Division at the US Naval Research Laboratories. There he carried out studies of short-wave radio propagation and confirmed Heaviside's 1925 theory of the reflection characteristics of the ionosphere. In the 1920s and 1930s he investigated radio echoes, and in 1933, with L.C.Young and L.A.Hyland, he filed a patent for a system of radio-detection that contributed to the subsequent development of radar.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Morris N.Liebmann Memorial Award 1927. President, Institute of Radio Engineers 1929. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Medal of Honour 1942.Bibliography1926, with E.O.Hulbert, "The propagation of radio waves over the earth", Physical Review 27:189.1936, "The measurement of RF power", Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers 24: 1,342.Further ReadingS.S.Swords, 1986, Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar, London: Peter Peregrinus.See also: Watson-Watt, Sir Robert AlexanderKF -
7 Tizard, Sir Henry Thoms
SUBJECT AREA: Weapons and armour[br]b. 23 August 1885 Gillingham, Kent, Englandd. 9 October 1959 Fareham, Hampshire, England[br]English scientist and administrator who made many contributions to military technology.[br]Educated at Westminster College, in 1904 Tizard went to Magdalen College, Oxford, gaining Firsts in mathematics and chemistry. After a period of time in Berlin with Nernst, he joined the Royal Institution in 1909 to study the colour changes of indicators. From 1911 until 1914 he was a tutorial Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, but with the outbreak of the First World War he joined first the Royal Garrison Artillery, then, in 1915, the newly formed Royal Flying Corps, to work on the development of bomb-sights. Successively in charge of testing aircraft, a lieutenant-colonel in the Ministry of Munitions and Assistant Controller of Research and Experiments for the Royal Air Force, he returned to Oxford in 1919 and the following year became Reader in Chemical Thermodynamics; at this stage he developed the use of toluene as an air-craft-fuel additive.In 1922 he was appointed an assistant secretary at the government Department of Industrial and Scientific Research, becoming Principal Assistant Secretary in 1922 and its Permanent Director in 1927; during this time he was also a member of the Aeronautical Research Committee, being Chairman of the latter in 1933–43. From 1929 to 1942 he was Rector of Imperial College. In 1932 he was also appointed Chairman of a committee set up to investigate possible national air-defence systems, and it was largely due to his efforts that the radar proposals of Watson-Watt were taken up and an effective system made operational before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was also involved in various other government activities aimed at applying technology to the war effort, including the dam-buster and atomic bombs.President of Magdalen College in 1942–7, he then returned again to Whitehall, serving as Chairman of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy and of the Defence Research Policy Committee. Finally, in 1952, he became Pro-Chan-cellor of Southampton University.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsAir Force Cross 1918. CB 1927. KCB 1937. GCB 1949. American Medal of Merit 1947. FRS 1926. Ten British and Commonwealth University honorary doctorates. Hon. Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Royal Society of Arts Gold Medal. Franklin Institute Gold Medal. President, British Association 1948. Trustee of the British Museum 1937–59.Bibliography1911, The sensitiveness of indicators', British Association Report (describes Tizard's work on colour changes in indicators).Further Reading1961, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society VII, London: Royal Society.KFBiographical history of technology > Tizard, Sir Henry Thoms
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8 Weapons and armour
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Armstrong, Sir William GeorgeCtesibius of AlexandriaZeng Gonglian
См. также в других словарях:
WATSON-WATT (R. A.) — WATSON WATT sir ROBERT ALEXANDER (1892 1973) Physicien écossais, spécialiste de la radio électricité. Après des études à l’université de Dundee et à l’université St. Andrews, Watson Watt entreprend une carrière de météorologue, puis il occupe de… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Watson-Watt — [ wɔtsn wɔt], Sir (seit 1942) Robert Alexander, britischer Physiker, * Brechin (Tayside Region) 13. 4. 1892, ✝ Inverness 6. 12. 1973; war in verschiedenen britischen Forschungseinrichtungen tätig und ab 1936 als Direktor und wissenschaftlicher… … Universal-Lexikon
Watson-Watt — [wät′sən wät′] Sir Robert Alexander 1892 1973; Scot. physicist … English World dictionary
Watson-Watt , Sir Robert Alexander — (1892–1973) British physicist Watson Watt was born Robert Watt at Brechin in Scotland. The Watson part of his name came from his mother s family and the hybrid Watson Watt was adopted in 1942 on receipt of his knighthood. He was the son of a… … Scientists
Watson-Watt, Sir Robert Alexander — born April 13, 1892, Brechin, Scot. died Dec. 5, 1973, Inverness Scottish physicist. He began as a meteorologist working on devices for locating thunderstorms. As head of the radio department of Britain s National Physical Laboratory (1935), he… … Universalium
Watson-Watt, Sir Robert — 1892–1974 A scientist and inventor of worth, Watson Watt was a pioneer in the field of experimental radar. In 1935 under the auspices of the Air Ministry he was able to prove that an airplane could be detected by its echo as it passed through… … Who’s Who in World War Two
Watson-Watt — Wat′son Watt′ n. big Sir Robert Alexander, 1892–1973, Scottish physicist … From formal English to slang
Watson-Watt — biographical name Sir Robert Alexander 1892 1973 Scottish physicist … New Collegiate Dictionary
Watson-Watt — /wot seuhn wot /, n. Sir Robert Alexander, 1892 1973, Scottish physicist: helped develop radar. * * * … Universalium
Watson-Watt — /wɒtsən ˈwɒt/ (say wotsuhn wot) noun Sir Robert Alexander, 1892–1973, Scottish physicist; worked on the development of radar …
Watson-Watt — /wot seuhn wot /, n. Sir Robert Alexander, 1892 1973, Scottish physicist: helped develop radar … Useful english dictionary
