Carl David Anderson (September 3, 1905 – January 11, 1991) was an American physicist. He is best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932, an achievement for which he received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics, and of the muon in 1936.
Anderson was born in New York City, the son of Swedish immigrants. He studied physics and engineering at Caltech (B.S., 1927; Ph.D., 1930). Under the supervision of Robert A. Millikan, he began investigations into cosmic rays during the course of which he encountered unexpected particle tracks in his (modern versions now commonly referred to as an Anderson) cloud chamber photographs that he correctly interpreted as having been created by a particle with the same mass as the electron, but with opposite electrical charge. This discovery, announced in 1932 and later confirmed by others, validated Paul Dirac's theoretical prediction of the existence of the positron. Anderson first detected the particles in cosmic rays. He then produced more conclusive proof by shooting gamma rays produced by the natural radioactive nuclide ThC'' (208Tl)[1] into other materials, resulting in the creation of positron-electron pairs. For this work, Anderson shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics with Victor Hess.[2] Fifty years later, Anderson acknowledged that his discovery was inspired by the work of his Caltech classmate Chung-Yao Chao, whose research formed the foundation from which much of Anderson's work developed but was not credited at the time.[3]
Also in 1936, Anderson and his first graduate student, Seth Neddermeyer, discovered a muon (or 'mu-meson', as it was known for many years), a subatomic particle 207 times more massive than the electron, but with the same negative electric charge and spin 1/2 as the electron, again in cosmic rays. Anderson and Neddermeyer at first believed that they had seen a pion, a particle which Hideki Yukawa had postulated in his theory of the strong interaction. When it became clear that what Anderson had seen was not the pion, the physicist I. I. Rabi, puzzled as to how the unexpected discovery could fit into any logical scheme of particle physics, quizzically asked "Who ordered that?" (sometimes the story goes that he was dining with colleagues at a Chinese restaurant at the time). The muon was the first of a long list of subatomic particles whose discovery initially baffled theoreticians who could not make the confusing "zoo" fit into some tidy conceptual scheme. Willis Lamb, in his 1955 Nobel Prize Lecture, joked that he had heard it said that "the finder of a new elementary particle used to be rewarded by a Nobel Prize, but such a discovery now ought to be punished by a 10,000 dollar fine."[4]
Anderson, C. D. (1933). "The Positive Electron". Physical Review. 43 (6): 491–494. Bibcode:1933PhRv...43..491A. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.43.491.
Anderson, C. D. (1932). "The Apparent Existence of Easily Deflectable Positives". Science. 76 (1967): 238–9. Bibcode:1932Sci....76..238A. doi:10.1126/science.76.1967.238. PMID 17731542.
carl, david, anderson, september, 1905, january, 1991, american, physicist, best, known, discovery, positron, 1932, achievement, which, received, 1936, nobel, prize, physics, muon, 1936, born, 1905, september, 1905new, york, city, york, diedjanuary, 1991, 1991. Carl David Anderson September 3 1905 January 11 1991 was an American physicist He is best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932 an achievement for which he received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics and of the muon in 1936 Carl David AndersonBorn 1905 09 03 September 3 1905New York City New York U S DiedJanuary 11 1991 1991 01 11 aged 85 San Marino California U S Alma materCalifornia Institute of Technology BS PhD Known forDiscovery of the positronDiscovery of the muonAwardsNobel Prize in Physics 1936 Elliott Cresson Medal 1937 Scientific careerFieldsPhysicsInstitutionsCalifornia Institute of TechnologyThesisSpace distribution of x ray photoelectrons ejected from the K and L atomic energy levels 1930 Doctoral advisorRobert A MillikanOther academic advisorsWilliam SmytheDoctoral studentsDonald A GlaserSeth NeddermeyerJames C FletcherOther notable studentsCinna Lomnitz Contents 1 Biography 2 Select publications 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditAnderson was born in New York City the son of Swedish immigrants He studied physics and engineering at Caltech B S 1927 Ph D 1930 Under the supervision of Robert A Millikan he began investigations into cosmic rays during the course of which he encountered unexpected particle tracks in his modern versions now commonly referred to as an Anderson cloud chamber photographs that he correctly interpreted as having been created by a particle with the same mass as the electron but with opposite electrical charge This discovery announced in 1932 and later confirmed by others validated Paul Dirac s theoretical prediction of the existence of the positron Anderson first detected the particles in cosmic rays He then produced more conclusive proof by shooting gamma rays produced by the natural radioactive nuclide ThC 208Tl 1 into other materials resulting in the creation of positron electron pairs For this work Anderson shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics with Victor Hess 2 Fifty years later Anderson acknowledged that his discovery was inspired by the work of his Caltech classmate Chung Yao Chao whose research formed the foundation from which much of Anderson s work developed but was not credited at the time 3 Also in 1936 Anderson and his first graduate student Seth Neddermeyer discovered a muon or mu meson as it was known for many years a subatomic particle 207 times more massive than the electron but with the same negative electric charge and spin 1 2 as the electron again in cosmic rays Anderson and Neddermeyer at first believed that they had seen a pion a particle which Hideki Yukawa had postulated in his theory of the strong interaction When it became clear that what Anderson had seen was not the pion the physicist I I Rabi puzzled as to how the unexpected discovery could fit into any logical scheme of particle physics quizzically asked Who ordered that sometimes the story goes that he was dining with colleagues at a Chinese restaurant at the time The muon was the first of a long list of subatomic particles whose discovery initially baffled theoreticians who could not make the confusing zoo fit into some tidy conceptual scheme Willis Lamb in his 1955 Nobel Prize Lecture joked that he had heard it said that the finder of a new elementary particle used to be rewarded by a Nobel Prize but such a discovery now ought to be punished by a 10 000 dollar fine 4 Anderson spent all of his academic and research career at Caltech During World War II he conducted research in rocketry there He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1950 5 He received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1975 6 He died on January 11 1991 and his remains were interred in the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles California His wife Lorraine died in 1984 Select publications EditAnderson C D 1933 The Positive Electron Physical Review 43 6 491 494 Bibcode 1933PhRv 43 491A doi 10 1103 PhysRev 43 491 Anderson C D 1932 The Apparent Existence of Easily Deflectable Positives Science 76 1967 238 9 Bibcode 1932Sci 76 238A doi 10 1126 science 76 1967 238 PMID 17731542 Anderson C D technical advisor 1957 The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays The Bell Laboratory Science Series References Edit ThC is a historical designation of 208Tl see Decay chains The Nobel Prize in Physics 1936 nobelprize org Cao Cong 2004 Chinese Science and the Nobel Prize Complex PDF Minerva 42 2 154 doi 10 1023 b mine 0000030020 28625 7e ISSN 0026 4695 S2CID 144522961 Willis E Lamb Jr December 12 1955 Fine structure of the hydrogen atom Nobel Lecture Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter A PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved April 17 2011 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement External links Edit1983 Audio Interview with Carl Anderson by Martin Sherwin Voices of the Manhattan Project Biography portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carl David Anderson Wikiquote has quotations related to Carl David Anderson American National Biography vol 1 pp 445 446 Annotated bibliography for Carl David Anderson from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues Carl David Anderson Find a Grave Retrieved August 10 2010 Carl Anderson and the Discovery of the Positron Carl David Anderson on Nobelprize org National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir Oral History interview transcript with Carl D Anderson on 30 June 1966 American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library and Archives Weisstein Eric Wolfgang ed Anderson Carl 1905 1991 ScienceWorld Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carl David Anderson amp oldid 1081630088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
