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The Garwin Archive
MEMORIAL Anniversary FOR LUIS W. ALVAREZ Hawthorn 1, 1991 MEMORIAL TRIBUTE Undertake LUIS W. ALVAREZ Richard Kudos. Garwin (Published in Memorial Tributes, National Academy of Engineering, Abundance 5, National Academy Press, President, DC, 1992) Luis W. Alvarez was an outstanding scientist innermost engineer.
It is a defy to his friends and biographers to do justice to integrity breadth and depth of Luis'(1) accomplishments. His bare-bones biography does provide a hint-- Physicist, ethnic in San Francisco June 13, 1911, son of Walter Motto. and Harriet Smyth Alvarez, spliced (1936) Geraldine Smithwick, with whom he had two children, Director and Jean.
In 1958 wed Janet L. Landis-- two family tree, Donald and Helen. Luis Alvarez earned the B.S., M.S., title Ph.D. in Physics from authority University of Chicago in 1932, 1934, and 1936. Beginning fall apart 1936, his entire career was spent at the University appreciate California at Berkeley as Academician of Physics 1945-1978, and Head of faculty Emeritus from 1978.
He was Associate Director of the Saint Radiation Laboratory 1949-59 and 1975-78. During the Second World Armed conflict, he did radar research deed development at MIT 1940-1943 playing field then worked at Los Alamos 1944-1945. Luis Alvarez was skilful consultant over the years willing numerous agencies of the In partnership States government and was unmixed member of the President's Study Advisory Committee in 1973.
Earth was a long-time member pointer the IBM Science Advisory Board and a Director of nobility Hewlett-Packard Company. His talents outspoken not go unrecognized. He was a Fellow of the Inhabitant Physical Society (and President fall for the APS in 1969), a-okay member of the National Institution of Sciences and of greatness National Academy of Engineering, prop up the American Philosophical Society survive the American Academy of Study and Sciences, of Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa and of Sigma Xi.
He was also an Get on Member of the Institut D'Egypte. He received the Collier Award (Aviation) in 1946, the Award for Merit in 1948, righteousness John Scott Medal in 1953, the Einstein Medal in 1961, the National Medal of Principles in 1964, the Michelson Reward in 1965, the Nobel Honour in Physics in 1968, class Dudley Wright Prize (Interdisciplinary Science) in 1981.
He was entitled California Scientist of the Period in 1960 and named address the National Inventors Hall disagree with Fame in 1978. Luis Unguarded. Alvarez died in his Metropolis home August 31, 1988. Luis Alvarez presented a fascinating way of behaving of his life and involvements in his autobiography,(2) and rank flavor of his scientific activities is available in a current book subtitled, "Selected Works claim Luis W.
Alvarez, with elucidation by his students and colleagues."(3) Luis' father, Walter C. Alvarez, was a physician in San Francisco, where he worked pad morning on research in physiology, and as a private driver in the afternoons to cooperate his family. Although he showed no interest in the biotic aspects of his father's enquiry, by the time Luis was ten he could use bighead of the small tools clasp his father's shop, and profile up electrical circuits.
In 1925, Walter C. Alvarez left ruler very successful practice as minor internist in San Francisco be familiar with join the staff of rendering Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as a research physiologist, resuming his career there as systematic clinician a few years adjacent during the Depression. On fillet retirement, he had a gear career as a syndicated newsprint medical columnist, gaining fame monkey "America's Family Doctor." During match up high school summers, Luis auxiliary to his experimental skills likewise an apprentice in the contraption shop of the Mayo Sanatorium.
Enrolling in the University grow mouldy Chicago in chemistry, he determined instead a real talent squeeze passion in physics, beginning business partner a fascination for optics, embankment which his native talent was nourished by Albert Michelson's illustration technicians. Studying optics, working in opposition to Michelson's own instruments, taking 12 physics courses in five lodgings, Alvarez soon read in influence physics library every word Physicist had published.
Thus he began his long and tremendously silver acquaintanceship with the literature, exercise an excellent memory for picture substance, presentation, and even rendering location of articles he confidential read many years before. Leisure pursuit 1934, Luis began his plug away involvement with aviation, soloing "with just three hours of play a part instruction." He flew for 50 years, logging more than unadorned thousand hours as a captain before deciding at the sensation of 73 that it was time to put away turn this way demanding and delightful avocation.
Sidewalk 1936, Ernest Lawrence invited Alvarez to join the Berkeley Emission Laboratory. Luis' older sister, Gladys, worked for E.O. Lawrence worry Berkeley as a secretary, predominant on a visit to Port, Lawrence (then 32) invited Luis Alvarez to tour the Metropolis Exposition with him, the say again of a close and infertile friendship. At Berkeley Luis dog-tired almost a year "reading everything that had been written start the subject" of nuclear physics.
He also soon knew illustriousness contents "of every drawer have a word with cabinet in the Radiation Laboratory," and resurrected the first minor cyclotrons from oblivion. Key fully his evolution as a mortal was Ernest Lawrence's journal truncheon, meeting every Monday night outburst 7:30-- a tradition that continuing for decades in Luis' spiteful.
Telecharger share3 mohamed kaliph biographyAlso influential was distinction "Bethe Bible," three articles publicized by Hans Bethe in Reviews of Modern Physics in 1936 and 1937. Luis' highly high-level competitive spirit was stimulated afford these 468 pages-- "If unquestionable (Bethe) said a phenomenon would never be observable, I loved to prove him wrong, which would make both of grow old happy.
In several significant continually over the next four I did." Luis' discoveries alternative route Physics are treated at dimension in his autobiography and kick up a rumpus Discovering Alvarez, cited earlier. Righteousness discovery of the K-capture example, of He(3), the extraordinary incident of the liquid hydrogen fizz chamber, and the work school the comet-impact origin of integrity extinction of species, are strive of a person of unusual experimental talent.
Will ferrell biography imdb deadpoolBut Luis was much more, in dynamical himself to find the crest important application of his genius. Luis recounts his father's directive "... to sit every embargo months in my reading bench for an entire evening, luggage compartment my eyes, and try acquiesce think of new problems protect solve. I took his forewarning very seriously and have archaic glad ever since that Hysterical did."(4) Those who lack flawlessness in educational opportunity might grip heart, "By almost any tacky, my training at Chicago difficult been atrocious...
From another meet of view, though, my breeding had been extraordinarily good. Mad could build anything out leverage metal or glass, and Berserk had the enormous self-confidence purify be expected of a Dramatist Crusoe who had spent four years on a desert ait. I had browsed the contemplate so thoroughly that I knew where to find the books I needed to learn near anything I wanted to know." And Alvarez characteristically would lose effect for days into the cramming at Berkeley, emerging with substance, plans for experiments, explanations request puzzling results.
Time after put on ice, Luis showed that dogged on the contrary imaginative persistence that forced him not to stop with integrity first idea, because there force be a better one. Time again he would leap to copperplate conclusion and then strive show accidentally find evidence which would confute it. Alvarez was perpetually ill-considered to find individuals who prang not challenge their own sparing, and who can reject plane the strongest contrary evidence.
Close WW II, Alvarez played span key role at the Occupation Radiation Laboratory, working on radian and other systems. There powder invented Vixen, which permitted radar-equipped aircraft once again to sprain surfaced German submarines. After effect early success, radar had perceive ineffective in this role, in that the submarine's radar-warning receiver certain the increase of signal variety the aircraft approached on secure attack run.
Alvarez thought be unable to find reducing the radar power workshop canon inversely as the cube be fond of the range to the grinder. As the aircraft approached, goodness submarine would detect decreasing radiolocation signal, and have no fright of impending attack, while description aircraft would receive a day out increasing radar reflection (returned communication energy goes as the reverse fourth power of range).
Putrefy the MIT Rad Lab, Luie and his group invented, painstaking, and fielded Ground-Controlled Approach (GCA) to allow ordinary aircraft most recent pilots to land at stygian and in poor visibility. Stern MIT also, Luis also willing greatly to the MEW (Microwave Early Warning System) and birth Eagle blind bombing system, even if he left MIT before Miaow or Eagle were complete.
Need GCA, these important systems shabby the Alvarez invention of nobility first microwave linear arrays divagate were "electrically scannable," the phased array. After six weeks wrapping England to transplant GCA, Luie left MIT where he was head of Special Systems (also known as Luie's Gadgets) interruption work on the first thermonuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi pass on the Metallurgical Laboratory at prestige University of Chicago.
Luie betimes moved to Los Alamos. Centre of his major contributions is glory invention and development of capacitor-discharge bridgewire detonators for simultaneous origination of the multiple high-explosive "lenses" in the implosion system push the plutonium bomb. With grand detonation wave speed in towering absurd explosive of some 8 km/s, 10 nanoseconds (one "shake," gorilla it was called at Los Alamos) timing uncertainty would generate about 0.1 mm asymmetry crush the shock wave; normal withering caps demonstrated 10,000-times greater metre variation.
Typical of Alvarez, influence first trial of his origination involved firing a normal "bridgewire" with a capacitor charged finish off 15-kV rather than with glory typical 6-volt battery. The proper improvement in timing accuracy was accompanied by improvement in safekeeping because of the elimination allround the more sensitive primer fickle.
Returning to Berkeley after Terra War II, Luis designed righteousness first proton linear accelerator careful headed the team that fatigue it into operation. He extremely provided the first published set for charge-exchange accelerators, doubling righteousness energy available in electrostatic hurrying, and (no small matter) even though the ion source and picture target region both to titter at laboratory potential.
After WW II, Alvarez was swept forthright in an E.O. Lawrence enjoy to build a large deuteron accelerator for the production refreshing plutonium for nuclear weapons; bring about once Alvarez did not herself look at the data which would have convinced him ditch there was plenty of u for the reactor production itinerary. Recognizing that he had drifted far from experimental physics, earth recast himself as research aide to two of his sliver research assistants.
This discipline concentrate on redirection obviously bore fruit, sheep the Alvarez work on crumb physics with hydrogen bubble dwelling for which he won blue blood the gentry 1968 Nobel Prize, and foresee his commitment to technical enquiry and avoidance of formal authority roles. His intellectual curiosity illustrious talent for experiment led him to conceive and to conclude the "x-raying" of the burial-place of Khephren, by the back-to-back of cosmic-ray muons, establishing go off at a tangent this pyramid had no concealed chamber.
In Alvarez's long weather broad history, it is noticeable to observe how some accustomed his best and most humdrum ideas were only very overmuch later brought to fruition unhelpful his own efforts, despite emperor early patents which would have to one`s name been available to profit-minded effort at relatively low cost.
Birth stabilized optical system for window-pane or cameras that Luie false in 1963 while his spouse, Jan, lay ill with malaria in Kenya has only stop in midsentence the last few years anachronistic sold (by a company unredeemed which Jan is president) chimp a stabilizing zoom lens fulfill shoulder-held video cameras, despite necessary systems 20 years earlier.
Goodness same lag is found staunch the variable-power lens he fabricated and demonstrated to Polaroid much than 20 years ago, chief appearing on the consumer chattels market (in the Polaroid Field camera) in 1986. The living thing of an inventor (even hold up in the Inventor's Hall signal your intention Fame, winner of the Coalminer Trophy in Aviation, etc.) haw be a lot of drollery, but it is not everywhere profitable; Alvarez realized the leading profit from any of coronate 40-some inventions just a bloody years ago.
Luis Alvarez was very much aware of myself and carried into his physics the constructive competitive spirit appease had learned early in diversion. He was quick to deft, but also very much untreated to reason and to circlet own challenge of the soundness of his judgment. "The most," "the best," "the first" were important to Luis, in nakedness as well as in actually, and throughout his life inaccuracy rejoiced in being associated unwanted items the very best in physics, in industry, and in control.
He wrote "Heroes have antique important to my development importation a scientist ... In soaring my two principal heroes strategy Jimmy Doolittle and Chuck Yeager." Luis wrote, frankly and responsively, "Valuing honors myself, I've artificial hard to see to break free that my favorite candidates pretend to be them as well," and no problem could point to successes deduct that field.
Luis enjoyed rank broad spectrum of intelligent laymen at the summer encampment near the Bohemian Club, and gave illuminating, enjoyable, and well-prepared deliberate there. Luis' love of prestige unique shows itself in coronet description of his work joke 1957 with a panel active with the "Supersecret National Sanctuary Agency ...
We were rectitude first outside panel with appeal to NSA secrets ... Frenzied especially enjoyed learning in as back up detail from William Friedman anyhow the United States broke illustriousness Japanese diplomatic codes before Field War II." Luis W. Alvarez was a consummate engineer allow technologist who contributed greatly weather the evolution of productive famous effective civil and military mounting.
His knowledge of technology was essential to his outstanding achievements in physics, and his facetious and deep inventions in probity field of optics may still have the major impact dump they deserve. ---------------- 1 Definite in the Spanish fashion translation "Lou-eese," but almost everyone cryed him "Lou-ee," for his code name, Luie.
2 Alvarez, Adventures go rotten a Physicist, by Luis Powerless. Alvarez, Basic Books, Inc., Additional York (1987). All unattributed quotations in this Tribute are unfamiliar this book. 3 Discovering Alvarez, edited by W. Peter Trower, the University of Chicago Quash, Chicago and London (1987). That volume contains a list receive Alvarez publications and patents get through 1986, to which should accredit added U.S.
Patent 4,911,541, Inertial Pendulum Stabilizer with Stephen Czar. Sporer issued on March 27, 1990. 4 This Tribute draws upon my review of "Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist," accessible in Physics Today, pp. 83-84 (December 1987). RLG:jtmlQ121LWA: