William Smythe (physicist)

William Ralph Smythe (1893–1988) was a physicist at California Institute of Technology.

Early life

A native of Canon City, Colorado, he graduated from Colorado College and spent some time in Dartmouth College before his studies were interrupted by World War I.[1] He eventually completed his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1921 under Nobel laureate Albert Michelson and Henry Gale.

Career

After teaching in the University of the Philippines,[1] he became a professor at Caltech in 1923, remaining there until he retired in 1964 as professor emeritus.[2]

His research focused on "electromagnetic studies, the separation of isotopes, isolation of radioactive potassium and other elements, and the isotope ratio of oxygen." In 1926, Smythe was the first to propose ion-velocity spectrometers, which he eventually built with Josef Mattauch.[3]

Smythe taught at least six Nobel Prize laureates: Charles Townes, Donald Glaser, William Shockley, Carl Anderson, James Rainwater, and Edwin McMillan, who won the Chemistry prize.[4] He authored a textbook on electromagnetism called Static and Dynamic Electricity,[5] which was a widely used reference in the field during the 20th century. His electromagnetism course was modeled after the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos examinations[6][7] and designed to "weed out weaklings."[4] Smythe's course was so infamous that future Nobel Prize in Economics laureate Vernon Smith switched to electrical engineering from physics to avoid it.[8]

Personal life

Smythe's son, William Rodman Smythe, became a professor of physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.[1][9] Smythe died in Boulder, Colorado, on July 6, 1988.[1]

References
  1. Hough, John; Metzger, Eileen (1995). "Frasier Meadows Manor Retirement Community - Resident Biographies, Volume 1 - Ralph Smythe" (PDF). p. 115. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  2. "Retiring This Year" (PDF). Engineering and Science. 27 (9): 16. June 1964. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  3. "Mass Spectrometry". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  4. Smith, Dave (January 29, 1976). "Teacher of 6 Nobel men stays in swim of things". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  5. Smythe, William Ralph (1 January 1989). Static And Dynamic Electricity. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-89116-917-8.
  6. Panofsky, Wolfgang K.H. (6 August 2007). Panofsky on Physics, Politics, and Peace: Pief Remembers. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-69732-1.
  7. Greenberg, John; Buge, Carol. "Oral History of William A. Fowler" (PDF). Archives of the California Institute of Technology. p. 14.
  8. "Vernon L. Smith - Biographical". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  9. "Smythe, W. Rodman | Physics". phys.colorado.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
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