Sir Charles Drummond EllisFRS[1] (b. Hampstead, 11 August 1895; died Cookham 10 January 1980) was an English physicist and scientific administrator. His work on the magnetic spectrum of the beta-rays helped to develop a better understanding of nuclear structure.[2]
Ellis was the son of Abraham Charles Ellis, a general manager of the Metropolitan Railway, and Isabelle Flockart Carswell. He won a scholarship to Harrow School where he excelled academically as well as at sport. In 1913, he became a cadet in the Royal Military Academy in preparation for a career in the Royal Engineers.
He was holidaying in Germany the following summer when World War I broke out. All British nationals were rounded up and sent to the Ruhleben internment camp just outside Berlin. The camp had been a horse racecourse. During internment the detainees had a large degree of freedom. They had access to books, and Ellis made good use of his time to study. Another detainee in the camp was James Chadwick who was later to receive the Nobel Prize for his work on the discovery of the neutron. Chadwick inspired Ellis and together they erected a laboratory in one of the horse stables where they undertook scientific experiments on the photochemical process.
After the war Ellis decided to abandon a military career. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he studied natural sciences. After graduating in 1920 he became engaged in research work at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, where the director, Sir Ernest Rutherford, had now engaged Chadwick. While Rutherford and Chadwick worked on alpha radioactivity and alpha particles for nuclear disintegration experiments Ellis studied beta and gamma radiation. He became a leading authority on the subject, publishing many articles in scientific journals.
In 1921 Ellis had become a fellow of Trinity College and was appointed assistant lecturer in natural science. In 1925 he married Paula Warzcewska, the daughter of a wealthy Polish shipbuilder. Although there were no children Paula (known as Polly in England) had a daughter from a previous marriage. In 1929 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.[1]
In 1930 Rutherford, Chadwick and Ellis published together a classic monograph Radiations from Radioactive Substances.[3]
Discovery of the neutrino
During the early 1930s Ellis worked with Nevill Mott on energy relations in beta decay. Mott said later that Ellis had “practically discovered the neutrino”. He worked with W.J. Henderson on the energy distribution of positrons in artificial radioactivity.[4] In 1936 Ellis was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.[5]
In 1936, a year after Chadwick’s appointment to a professorship at Liverpool, Ellis was appointed to the Wheatstone chair of physics at King's College London in succession to Edward Victor Appleton who had become professor of natural sciences at Cambridge. Ellis continued his research alongside his new teaching and administration commitments.
In 1940, Ellis became a member of MAUD who were investigating the possibility of using nuclear fission to develop new weapons. He became scientific adviser to the army council from 1943–1946, serving on several high-level committees. He was knighted in 1946 for his war service.[citation needed]
Later career
After World War II Ellis held several posts which were not related to nuclear weapons. He was director of the Finance Corporation for Industry, in charge of research and development for the National Coal Board. He was president of the British Coal Utilization Research Association from 1946–1955 and a member of the advisory council to the minister of fuel and power from 1947 to 1955. He became scientific adviser to the British American Tobacco Company (BAT) at a time when the association between smoking and various diseases was just starting to be suspected. He retired from the Gas Council in 1966 and from BAT in 1972.
During his final decade his health was poor. In 1980 he died in a nursing home in Cookham after a short illness.
Ellis–Wooster experiment
In 1927 Ellis and William Alfred Wooster (1903–1984)[6] performed an important experiment with β-rays.[7] Their experiment led to Pauli's suggestion of the neutrino.[8]
In beta decay, an atom emitted electrons with a continuous range of energies up to a certain maximum value. This phenomenon had been known since 1914, but it was not until 1927 that Charles Drummond Ellis, a British experimental physicist, and his colleague William Alfred Wooster were able to establish conclusively that the energies were distributed continuously at the electrons' emission from the nucleus. Before this result, Ellis had engaged in a long dispute with Lise Meitner in Germany, who held that that the electrons were slowed down unevenly only after being emitted.[9]
^Jeffrey A. Hughes (2004). "Ellis, Sir Charles Drummond (1895–1980)'". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31070. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^Compton, Arthur H. (1931). "Review of Radiations from Radioactive Substances". Nature. 128 (3218): 3–4. doi:10.1038/128003a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
^Ellis, C. D.; Henderson, W. J. "Artificial radioactivity". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character. 146 (856): 206–216. doi:10.1098/rspa.1934.0149.
^"APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. (search on year=1936 and institution=University of Cambridge)
^"William Alfred Wooster". Journal of Applied Crystallography. 17 (6): 486. 1984.
^Ellis, C. D.; Wooster, W. A. (1927). "The Continuous Spectrum of β-Rays". Nature. 119 (2998): 563–564. Bibcode:1927Natur.119..563E. doi:10.1038/119563c0. S2CID 4097830.
^Franklin, Allan (April 2016). "Physics Textbooks Don't Always Tell the Truth". Physics in Perspective. 18 (1): 3–57. Bibcode:2016PhP....18....3F. doi:10.1007/s00016-016-0178-z.
^Aaserud, Finn (17 August 2019). Redirecting Science: Niels Bohr, Philanthropy, and the Rise of Nuclear Physics.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Drummond Ellis.
The Ruhleben Story
March 28, 2023
charles, drummond, ellis, hampstead, august, 1895, died, cookham, january, 1980, english, physicist, scientific, administrator, work, magnetic, spectrum, beta, rays, helped, develop, better, understanding, nuclear, structure, contents, education, internment, c. Sir Charles Drummond Ellis FRS 1 b Hampstead 11 August 1895 died Cookham 10 January 1980 was an English physicist and scientific administrator His work on the magnetic spectrum of the beta rays helped to develop a better understanding of nuclear structure 2 Contents 1 Education and internment 2 Career after the war 3 Discovery of the neutrino 4 Later career 5 Ellis Wooster experiment 6 References 7 Further readingEducation and internment EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Charles Drummond Ellis news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ellis was the son of Abraham Charles Ellis a general manager of the Metropolitan Railway and Isabelle Flockart Carswell He won a scholarship to Harrow School where he excelled academically as well as at sport In 1913 he became a cadet in the Royal Military Academy in preparation for a career in the Royal Engineers He was holidaying in Germany the following summer when World War I broke out All British nationals were rounded up and sent to the Ruhleben internment camp just outside Berlin The camp had been a horse racecourse During internment the detainees had a large degree of freedom They had access to books and Ellis made good use of his time to study Another detainee in the camp was James Chadwick who was later to receive the Nobel Prize for his work on the discovery of the neutron Chadwick inspired Ellis and together they erected a laboratory in one of the horse stables where they undertook scientific experiments on the photochemical process Career after the war Edit Sir Charles Drummond Ellis FRS by Andrew Freeth After the war Ellis decided to abandon a military career He entered Trinity College Cambridge where he studied natural sciences After graduating in 1920 he became engaged in research work at the Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge where the director Sir Ernest Rutherford had now engaged Chadwick While Rutherford and Chadwick worked on alpha radioactivity and alpha particles for nuclear disintegration experiments Ellis studied beta and gamma radiation He became a leading authority on the subject publishing many articles in scientific journals In 1921 Ellis had become a fellow of Trinity College and was appointed assistant lecturer in natural science In 1925 he married Paula Warzcewska the daughter of a wealthy Polish shipbuilder Although there were no children Paula known as Polly in England had a daughter from a previous marriage In 1929 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society 1 In 1930 Rutherford Chadwick and Ellis published together a classic monograph Radiations from Radioactive Substances 3 Discovery of the neutrino EditDuring the early 1930s Ellis worked with Nevill Mott on energy relations in beta decay Mott said later that Ellis had practically discovered the neutrino He worked with W J Henderson on the energy distribution of positrons in artificial radioactivity 4 In 1936 Ellis was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society 5 In 1936 a year after Chadwick s appointment to a professorship at Liverpool Ellis was appointed to the Wheatstone chair of physics at King s College London in succession to Edward Victor Appleton who had become professor of natural sciences at Cambridge Ellis continued his research alongside his new teaching and administration commitments In 1940 Ellis became a member of MAUD who were investigating the possibility of using nuclear fission to develop new weapons He became scientific adviser to the army council from 1943 1946 serving on several high level committees He was knighted in 1946 for his war service citation needed Later career EditAfter World War II Ellis held several posts which were not related to nuclear weapons He was director of the Finance Corporation for Industry in charge of research and development for the National Coal Board He was president of the British Coal Utilization Research Association from 1946 1955 and a member of the advisory council to the minister of fuel and power from 1947 to 1955 He became scientific adviser to the British American Tobacco Company BAT at a time when the association between smoking and various diseases was just starting to be suspected He retired from the Gas Council in 1966 and from BAT in 1972 During his final decade his health was poor In 1980 he died in a nursing home in Cookham after a short illness Ellis Wooster experiment EditIn 1927 Ellis and William Alfred Wooster 1903 1984 6 performed an important experiment with b rays 7 Their experiment led to Pauli s suggestion of the neutrino 8 In beta decay an atom emitted electrons with a continuous range of energies up to a certain maximum value This phenomenon had been known since 1914 but it was not until 1927 that Charles Drummond Ellis a British experimental physicist and his colleague William Alfred Wooster were able to establish conclusively that the energies were distributed continuously at the electrons emission from the nucleus Before this result Ellis had engaged in a long dispute with Lise Meitner in Germany who held that that the electrons were slowed down unevenly only after being emitted 9 References Edit a b Hutchison K Gray J A Massey H 1981 Charles Drummond Ellis 11 August 1895 10 January 1980 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 27 199 233 doi 10 1098 rsbm 1981 0009 JSTOR 769871 Jeffrey A Hughes 2004 Ellis Sir Charles Drummond 1895 1980 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 31070 Subscription or UK public library membership required Compton Arthur H 1931 Review of Radiations from Radioactive Substances Nature 128 3218 3 4 doi 10 1038 128003a0 ISSN 0028 0836 Ellis C D Henderson W J Artificial radioactivity Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series A Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character 146 856 206 216 doi 10 1098 rspa 1934 0149 APS Fellow Archive American Physical Society search on year 1936 and institution University of Cambridge William Alfred Wooster Journal of Applied Crystallography 17 6 486 1984 Ellis C D Wooster W A 1927 The Continuous Spectrum of b Rays Nature 119 2998 563 564 Bibcode 1927Natur 119 563E doi 10 1038 119563c0 S2CID 4097830 Franklin Allan April 2016 Physics Textbooks Don t Always Tell the Truth Physics in Perspective 18 1 3 57 Bibcode 2016PhP 18 3F doi 10 1007 s00016 016 0178 z Aaserud Finn 17 August 2019 Redirecting Science Niels Bohr Philanthropy and the Rise of Nuclear Physics Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Drummond Ellis The Ruhleben Story Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Drummond Ellis amp oldid 1136088591, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
