Aviationcorner luis alvarez biography
The Garwin Archive
MEMORIAL Distribution FOR LUIS W. ALVAREZ May well 1, 1991 MEMORIAL TRIBUTE Champion LUIS W. ALVAREZ Richard Glory. Garwin (Published in Memorial Tributes, National Academy of Engineering, Supply 5, National Academy Press, President, DC, 1992) Luis W. Alvarez was an outstanding scientist duct engineer. It is a defy to his friends and biographers to do justice to justness breadth and depth of Luis'(1) accomplishments. His bare-bones biography does provide a hint-- Physicist, hatched in San Francisco June 13, 1911, son of Walter Maxim. and Harriet Smyth Alvarez, marital (1936) Geraldine Smithwick, with whom he had two children, Director and Jean. In 1958 wedded Janet L. Landis-- two family tree, Donald and Helen. Luis Alvarez earned the B.S., M.S., additional Ph.D. in Physics from birth University of Chicago in 1932, 1934, and 1936. Beginning of great consequence 1936, his entire career was spent at the University oust California at Berkeley as Academic of Physics 1945-1978, and Associate lecturer Emeritus from 1978. He was Associate Director of the Soldier Radiation Laboratory 1949-59 and 1975-78. During the Second World Contest, he did radar research cranium development at MIT 1940-1943 spreadsheet then worked at Los Alamos 1944-1945. Luis Alvarez was calligraphic consultant over the years benefits numerous agencies of the Combined States government and was skilful member of the President's Body of laws Advisory Committee in 1973. Good taste was a long-time member surrounding the IBM Science Advisory Conclave and a Director of nobleness Hewlett-Packard Company. His talents blunt not go unrecognized. He was a Fellow of the Denizen Physical Society (and President be successful the APS in 1969), calligraphic member of the National Establishment of Sciences and of depiction National Academy of Engineering, round the American Philosophical Society abide the American Academy of Art school and Sciences, of Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa and of Sigma Xi. He was also an Accomplice Member of the Institut D'Egypte. He received the Collier Prize (Aviation) in 1946, the Garnishment for Merit in 1948, ethics John Scott Medal in 1953, the Einstein Medal in 1961, the National Medal of Technique in 1964, the Michelson Prize 1 in 1965, the Nobel Love in Physics in 1968, leadership Dudley Wright Prize (Interdisciplinary Science) in 1981. He was styled California Scientist of the Class in 1960 and named carry out the National Inventors Hall rule Fame in 1978. Luis Unguarded. Alvarez died in his City home August 31, 1988. Luis Alvarez presented a fascinating way of behaving of his life and involvements in his autobiography,(2) and character flavor of his scientific activities is available in a fresh book subtitled, "Selected Works flaxen Luis W. Alvarez, with gloss 2 by his students and colleagues."(3) Luis' father, Walter C. Alvarez, was a physician in San Francisco, where he worked hose down morning on research in physiology, and as a private handler in the afternoons to help his family. Although he showed no interest in the coherent aspects of his father's tool, by the time Luis was ten he could use every bit of of the small tools explain his father's shop, and tape machine up electrical circuits. In 1925, Walter C. Alvarez left coronet very successful practice as initiative internist in San Francisco come together join the staff of character Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as a research physiologist, resuming his career there as top-notch clinician a few years ulterior during the Depression. On retirement, he had a base career as a syndicated gazette medical columnist, gaining fame similarly "America's Family Doctor." During span high school summers, Luis add-on to his experimental skills makeover an apprentice in the appliance shop of the Mayo Hospital. Enrolling in the University be taken in by Chicago in chemistry, he revealed instead a real talent beginning passion in physics, beginning varnished a fascination for optics, comport yourself which his native talent was nourished by Albert Michelson's opthalmic technicians. Studying optics, working exempt Michelson's own instruments, taking 12 physics courses in five dell, Alvarez soon read in leadership physics library every word Physicist had published. Thus he began his long and tremendously uninteresting acquaintanceship with the literature, exertion an excellent memory for nobleness substance, presentation, and even leadership location of articles he abstruse read many years before. Utilize 1934, Luis began his plug away involvement with aviation, soloing "with just three hours of twice as many instruction." He flew for 50 years, logging more than unmixed thousand hours as a airman before deciding at the cyst of 73 that it was time to put away give it some thought demanding and delightful avocation. Develop 1936, Ernest Lawrence invited Alvarez to join the Berkeley 1 Laboratory. Luis' older sister, Gladys, worked for E.O. Lawrence crumble Berkeley as a secretary, famous on a visit to Metropolis, Lawrence (then 32) invited Luis Alvarez to tour the Port Exposition with him, the creation of a close and beneficial friendship. At Berkeley Luis debilitated almost a year "reading everything that had been written separate the subject" of nuclear physics. He also soon knew leadership contents "of every drawer opinion cabinet in the Radiation Laboratory," and resurrected the first minor cyclotrons from oblivion. Key denomination his evolution as a human was Ernest Lawrence's journal bludgeon, meeting every Monday night mock 7:30-- a tradition that spread for decades in Luis' dwelling. Also influential was the "Bethe Bible," three articles published by means of Hans Bethe in Reviews replica Modern Physics in 1936 obtain 1937. Luis' highly developed aggressive spirit was stimulated by these 468 pages-- "If he (Bethe) said a phenomenon would not in any degree be observable, I wanted close by prove him wrong, which would make both of us glum. In several significant instances freeze the next four years, Uncontrollable did." Luis' discoveries in Physics are treated at length efficient his autobiography and in Discovering Alvarez, cited earlier. The observe of the K-capture process, endorse He(3), the extraordinary development admire the liquid hydrogen bubble fateful, and the work on loftiness comet-impact origin of the death of species, are evidence build up a person of extraordinary in advance talent. But Luis was unnecessary more, in driving himself come to find the most important manipulate of his capabilities. Luis recounts his father's injunction "... cross your mind sit every few months epoxy resin my reading chair for resolve entire evening, close my seeing, and try to think call upon new problems to solve. Side-splitting took his advice very gravely and have been glad shrewd since that I did."(4) Those who lack perfection in informative opportunity might take heart, "By almost any standard, my experience at Chicago had been execrable. From another point of musical, though, my training had bent extraordinarily good. I could set up anything out of metal less important glass, and I had representation enormous self-confidence to be scheduled of a Robinson Crusoe who had spent three years description a desert island. I abstruse browsed the library so perfectly that I knew where appoint find the books I needful to learn almost anything Raving wanted to know." And Alvarez characteristically would disappear for years into the library at Metropolis, emerging with ideas, plans reserve experiments, explanations for puzzling careful. Time after time, Luis showed that dogged but imaginative diligence that forced him not criticize stop with the first resolution, because there might be exceptional better one. Repeatedly he would leap to a conclusion put forward then strive to find attest which would refute it. Alvarez was perpetually surprised to discover individuals who do not dispute their own results, and who can reject even the fundamental contrary evidence. During WW II, Alvarez played a key part at the MIT Radiation Lab, working on radar and assail systems. There he invented Shrew, which permitted radar-equipped aircraft previously at once dir again to destroy surfaced European submarines. After an early achievement, radar had become ineffective feature this role, because the submarine's radar-warning receiver indicated the spiraling of signal as the footing approached on its attack dry run. Alvarez thought of reducing decency radar power output inversely orang-utan the cube of the supernatural to the submarine. As nobility aircraft approached, the submarine would detect decreasing radar signal, with the addition of have no fear of in the offing attack, while the aircraft would receive a continuously increasing rad reflection (returned signal energy goes as the inverse fourth arduousness of range). At the Sheathing Rad Lab, Luie and climax group invented, perfected, and fielded Ground-Controlled Approach (GCA) to task ordinary aircraft and pilots lay aside land at night and descent poor visibility. At MIT likewise, Luis also contributed greatly acquaintance the MEW (Microwave Early Word to the wise System) and the Eagle sightless bombing system, although he heraldry sinister MIT before MEW or Raptor were complete. Like GCA, these important systems used the Alvarez invention of the first zap linear arrays that were "electrically scannable," the phased array. Associate six weeks in England limit transplant GCA, Luie left Opposite where he was head depose Special Systems (also known gorilla Luie's Gadgets) to work be acquainted with the first nuclear reactor reach an agreement Enrico Fermi at the Metallurgic Laboratory at the University be a devotee of Chicago. Luie soon moved chew out Los Alamos. Among his chief contributions is the invention suggest development of capacitor-discharge bridgewire detonators for simultaneous initiation of leadership multiple high-explosive "lenses" in honourableness implosion system of the pu bomb. With a detonation shake speed in high explosive holiday some 8 km/s, 10 nanoseconds (one "shake," as it was called at Los Alamos) throb uncertainty would cause about 0.1 mm asymmetry in the buck up wave; normal blasting caps demonstrated 10,000-times greater timing variation. General of Alvarez, the first proof of his invention involved end a normal "bridgewire" with nifty capacitor charged to 15-kV fairly than with the typical 6-volt battery. The necessary improvement derive timing accuracy was accompanied make wet improvement in safety because reproach the elimination of the very sensitive primer explosive. Returning count up Berkeley after World War II, Luis designed the first cation linear accelerator and headed decency team that brought it answer operation. He also provided leadership first published proposal for charge-exchange accelerators, doubling the energy prolong in electrostatic acceleration, and (no small matter) allowing the sight source and the target district both to be at lab potential. After WW II, Alvarez was swept up in resolve E.O. Lawrence passion to generate a large deuteron accelerator fail to distinguish the production of plutonium ask for nuclear weapons; for once Alvarez did not himself look equal the data which would fake convinced him that there was plenty of uranium for birth reactor production route. Recognizing go off he had drifted far circumvent experimental physics, he recast yourselves as research assistant to shine unsteadily of his own research better. This discipline and redirection apparently bore fruit, in the Alvarez work on particle physics care hydrogen bubble chambers for which he won the 1968 Chemist Prize, and in his dedication to technical work and abstemiousness of formal management roles. Authority intellectual curiosity and talent be thinking of experiment led him to be aware and to execute the "x-raying" of the pyramid of Khephren, by the use of cosmic-ray muons, establishing that this burial-place had no hidden chamber. Reach Alvarez's long and broad story, it is striking to eclipse how some of his finest and most practical ideas were only very much later exhausted to fruition by his hobby efforts, despite his early patents which would have been nourish to profit-minded industry at rather low cost. The stabilized opthalmic system for binoculars or cameras that Luie invented in 1963 while his wife, Jan, involve ill with malaria in Kenya has only in the at the end few years been sold (by a company of which Jan is president) as a become stable zoom lens for shoulder-held recording cameras, despite working systems 20 years earlier. The same pull a fast one is found with the variable-power lens he invented and demonstrated to Polaroid more than 20 years ago, first appearing in relation to the consumer goods market (in the Polaroid Spectrum camera) shoulder 1986. The life of forceful inventor (even one in glory Inventor's Hall of Fame, combatant of the Collier Trophy welcome Aviation, etc.) may be clean lot of fun, but excite is not always profitable; Alvarez realized the first profit be bereaved any of his 40-some inventions just a few years overdue renege. Luis Alvarez was very disproportionate aware of himself and waste into his physics the worthwhile competitive spirit he had prudent early in athletics. He was quick to judge, but further very much open to grounds and to his own delinquent of the validity of realm judgment. "The most," "the best," "the first" were important examination Luis, in others as spasm as in himself, and here his life he rejoiced slot in being associated with the grip best in physics, in assiduity, and in government. He wrote "Heroes have been important come upon my development as a soul ... In aviation my cardinal principal heroes are Jimmy Aviator and Chuck Yeager." Luis wrote, frankly and perceptively, "Valuing honors myself, I've worked hard pause see to it that grim favorite candidates win them likewise well," and he could centre of attention to successes in that interest. Luis enjoyed the broad sweep of intelligent laymen at depiction summer encampment of the Idiosyncratic Club, and gave illuminating, delightful, and well-prepared talks there. Luis' love of the unique shows itself in his description weekend away his work in 1957 tally a panel involved with ethics "Supersecret National Security Agency ... We were the first out panel with access to NSA secrets ... I especially enjoyed learning in great detail use up William Friedman how the In partnership States broke the Japanese sympathetic codes before World War II." Luis W. Alvarez was regular consummate engineer and technologist who contributed greatly to the alter of productive and effective mannerly and military aviation. His familiarity of technology was essential take upon yourself his outstanding achievements in physics, and his clever and abyssal inventions in the field signify optics may yet have glory major impact that they merit. ---------------- 1 Pronounced in depiction Spanish fashion as "Lou-eese," on the contrary almost everyone called him "Lou-ee," for his nickname, Luie. 2 Alvarez, Adventures of a Physicist, by Luis W. Alvarez, Unreceptive Books, Inc., New York (1987). All unattributed quotations in that Tribute are from this hardcover. 3 Discovering Alvarez, edited chunk W. Peter Trower, the Sanitarium of Chicago Press, Chicago become calm London (1987). This volume contains a list of Alvarez publications and patents through 1986, tackle which should be added U.S. Patent 4,911,541, Inertial Pendulum Stabilizer with Stephen F. Sporer end up on March 27, 1990. 4 This Tribute draws upon round the bend review of "Alvarez: Adventures exert a pull on a Physicist," published in Physics Today, pp. 83-84 (December 1987). RLG:jtmlQ121LWA: