Wilson, Charles Thomson Rees
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'''Charles Thomson Rees Wilson''' [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]] (February 14, 1869 – November 15, 1959) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[physicist]]. | '''Charles Thomson Rees Wilson''' [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]] (February 14, 1869 – November 15, 1959) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[physicist]]. | ||
| − | He was born in the [[parish]] of Glencorse, [[Midlothian]] to a farmer, John Wilson, and his mother Annie Clerk Harper. After his father died in 1873, his family moved to [[Manchester]]. He was educated at [[University of Manchester|Owen's College]], studying [[biology]] with the intent to become a [[physician]]. He then went to [[Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]] where he became interested in [[physics]] and [[chemistry]]. | + | He was born in the [[parish]] of Glencorse, [[Midlothian]], near Edinburgh, Scotland, to a farmer, John Wilson, and his mother Annie Clerk Harper. After his father died in 1873, his family moved to [[Manchester]]. He was educated at [[University of Manchester|Owen's College]] from 1884 to 1888, studying [[biology]] with the intent to become a [[physician]]. He then went to [[Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]] where he became interested in [[physics]] and [[chemistry]]. He remained there from 1888 to 1894, earning a master's degree in 1892. |
| − | + | Wilson became particularly interested in [[meteorology]] after his admission to Cambridge, and in 1893 he began to study clouds and their properties. He worked for some time at the [[observatory]] on [[Ben Nevis]], where he made observations of cloud formation. He then tried to reproduce this effect on a smaller scale in the [[laboratory]] in [[Cambridge]], expanding humid air within a sealed container. Usually the nucleus of condensation for saturated gas is a piece of dust. But Wilson noticed that, even when he eliminated the dust, condensation still occurred. He suspected that the condensation nucleii were ions. He then exposed the chamber to X-rays, and noticed that the degree of condensation was considerably enhanced, thus re-enforcing his original conjecture. | |
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| + | In 1895 He later experimented with the creation of cloud trails in his chamber caused by [[ion]]s and [[radiation]]. For the invention of the [[cloud chamber]] he received the [[Nobel Prize]] in 1927. | ||
He married Jessie Fraser in 1908, the daughter of a [[religious minister|minister]] from [[Glasgow]], and the couple had four children. He died near [[Edinburgh]], surrounded by his family. | He married Jessie Fraser in 1908, the daughter of a [[religious minister|minister]] from [[Glasgow]], and the couple had four children. He died near [[Edinburgh]], surrounded by his family. | ||
Revision as of 07:03, 24 September 2007
<<This article is very short. Please flesh it out and organize it in sections, as with other bios.>>
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson CH (February 14, 1869 – November 15, 1959) was a Scottish physicist.
He was born in the parish of Glencorse, Midlothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland, to a farmer, John Wilson, and his mother Annie Clerk Harper. After his father died in 1873, his family moved to Manchester. He was educated at Owen's College from 1884 to 1888, studying biology with the intent to become a physician. He then went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge where he became interested in physics and chemistry. He remained there from 1888 to 1894, earning a master's degree in 1892.
Wilson became particularly interested in meteorology after his admission to Cambridge, and in 1893 he began to study clouds and their properties. He worked for some time at the observatory on Ben Nevis, where he made observations of cloud formation. He then tried to reproduce this effect on a smaller scale in the laboratory in Cambridge, expanding humid air within a sealed container. Usually the nucleus of condensation for saturated gas is a piece of dust. But Wilson noticed that, even when he eliminated the dust, condensation still occurred. He suspected that the condensation nucleii were ions. He then exposed the chamber to X-rays, and noticed that the degree of condensation was considerably enhanced, thus re-enforcing his original conjecture.
In 1895 He later experimented with the creation of cloud trails in his chamber caused by ions and radiation. For the invention of the cloud chamber he received the Nobel Prize in 1927.
He married Jessie Fraser in 1908, the daughter of a minister from Glasgow, and the couple had four children. He died near Edinburgh, surrounded by his family.
The Wilson crater on the Moon is co-named for him, Alexander Wilson and Ralph Elmer Wilson.
The Wilson Society, the natural sciences society of Sidney Sussex College, is also named for him.
See also
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
<<At least 3 reliable references are needed here, properly formatted.>>
- Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Isaac Asimov, 2nd ed., Doubleday & C., Inc., ISBN 0-385-17771-2.
External link
| Nobel Prize in Physics Laureates | |
|---|---|
Jean Perrin (1926) • Arthur Compton / Charles Wilson (1927) • Owen Richardson (1928) • Louis de Broglie (1929) • C. V. Raman (1930) • Werner Heisenberg (1932) • Erwin Schrödinger / Paul Dirac (1933) • James Chadwick (1935) • Victor Hess / Carl Anderson (1936) • Clinton Davisson / George Thomson (1937) • Enrico Fermi (1938) • Ernest Lawrence (1939) • Otto Stern (1943) • Isidor Rabi (1944) • Wolfgang Pauli (1945) • Percy Bridgman (1946) • Edward Appleton (1947) • Patrick Blackett (1948) • Hideki Yukawa (1949) • Cecil Powell (1950) | |
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