Скачать или смотреть AUGUST 27 / Ernest Lawrence / THE PHYSICIST OF THE DAY

Today, August 27, we remember Ernest Orlando Lawrence – pioneer of nuclear physics and inventor of the cyclotron.
He was born on August 8, 1901, in Canton, South Dakota (United States).
Lawrence grew up in a family of Norwegian immigrants. His father was a superintendent of schools, and Ernest showed an early aptitude for science and mechanics. He studied at the University of South Dakota and later earned his Ph.D. in physics at Yale University in 1925.
In 1928, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Just a year later, he invented the cyclotron, a revolutionary particle accelerator that allowed scientists to probe the atomic nucleus and produce artificial isotopes. This device transformed physics research and opened the door to nuclear medicine.
In 1939, Lawrence was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention and development of the cyclotron and its applications. His laboratory in Berkeley became a world center for nuclear science, and he trained a generation of prominent physicists.
During World War II, he played a major role in the Manhattan Project, applying cyclotron technology to isotope separation and the development of the atomic bomb. After the war, he advocated for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and promoted international scientific cooperation.
Notable works and contributions:
Invention of the cyclotron (1929).


Production of radioisotopes for medical applications, especially in cancer treatment.


Establishment of the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley (later the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).


Promotion of “big science,” bringing together large teams and resources for major research projects.


Recognitions and honors:
Nobel Prize in Physics (1939).


Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.


Presidential Medal for Merit (1946).


Two U.S. national laboratories bear his name: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.


The element Lawrencium (Lr, Z=103) was named in his honor.


Curiosities:
Lawrence was known as a brilliant organizer and fundraiser, often called the “father of big science.”


He had close ties with political leaders, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who supported his large-scale research initiatives.


Despite his involvement in military research, he strongly believed in nuclear energy’s potential for medicine and industry.


Ernest Lawrence passed away on August 27, 1958, at the age of 57, after complications from chronic colitis surgery in Palo Alto, California. He was buried in California with honors.
Lawrence’s legacy continues in both fundamental physics and everyday medicine. The cyclotron not only changed our understanding of the atom but also brought life-saving techniques to hospitals around the world.
Other scientists remembered on this day include:
Giovanni Battista Amici (Italian astronomer and microscopist, d. 1863).


Carl David Tolmé Runge (German mathematician, known for the Runge-Kutta method, d. 1927).



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