John William Farley (February 7, 1948June 3, 2022) was an American
atomic physicist and an
Emeritus Professor of
Physics at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the Southern Nevada district's representative to the
American Association of Physics Teachers.
Education
Farley received his PhD from
Columbia University in 1977. His doctoral advisor was
William Happer. He taught physics at the
University of Oregon until 1987 when he left Oregon to join the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
At UNLV, he was also involved in the installation of
Laser spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter ...
equipments with fellow physicist, Victor Kwong, in the 1980s.
Research
Farley's primary research interest was the corrosion of steel by exposure to
lead-bismuth eutectic. He also conducted some research into
molecular ions
Mass spectral interpretation is the method employed to identify the chemical formula, characteristic fragment patterns and possible fragment ions from the mass spectra. Mass spectra is a plot of relative abundance against mass-to-charge ratio. It i ...
, and presented on this research at the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy in 1999.
Views
Global warming
Farley frequently spoke out about the need for society to take action to
avoid dangerous climate change, such as by investing in
renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
.
Power lines
Farley contended that the proposed link between
proximity to power lines and cancer is not supported by the preponderance of scientific evidence. He also contended that magnetic fields in general have little, if any, effect on human health.
Personal life
In the early 1980s, Farley married his partner Linda. They had two children together.
Death
Farley died on June 3, 2022 at the age of 74 from complications of
Parkinson's Disease.
References
External links
Rabett Run Farley's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farley, John W.
21st-century American physicists
Columbia University alumni
University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty
Environmental bloggers
American nuclear physicists
American environmentalists