William Arnold Anthony (November 17, 1835 – May 29, 1908) was a U.S.
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
.
Biography
Anthony was born in
Coventry, Rhode Island
Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the .
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it ...
. He was educated at the Yale Scientific School (today
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, ...
) and graduated in 1860.
Between 1857 and 1860 he was director of a grade school in
Crompton, Rhode Island
Crompton is a community in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States. It is named after Samuel Crompton, inventor of the spinning mule.
The Crompton Mill was set up in 1807, on the east bank of the Pawtuxet River, and is thought to be the first st ...
. From 1860 to 1861 he taught natural sciences at the
Providence Conference Seminary,
East Greenwich
East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan st ...
, Rhode Island, followed by a teaching position at the
Delaware Literary Institute
The Delaware Literary Institute was a secondary school located at Franklin, New York. In the mid-19th century it was one of the most prominent educational institutions in New York State. It operated from 1835 to 1902.
History
The Delaware Liter ...
in
Franklin, New York until 1867. That year he became professor of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at the
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...
, where he stayed until 1870. After a short time teaching at
Iowa Agricultural College
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, he became professor of physics at the freshly founded
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, where he held a position for fifteen years (1872–1887).
While at Cornell, he introduced and taught the school's electrical engineering course, one of the first in the United States.
He was a consulting electrician in
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 202 ...
, from 1887 to 1893. From 1893 until his death, he taught in the new day school of engineering at
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
. He was the president of the
AIEE
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Institu ...
from 1890-1, and a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
[
Though primarily a teacher, Anthony invested some time in research and development. Between 1857 and 1861 he constructed two types of turbines, increasing their efficiency up to 87% by using blades based on a mathematical model derived from ]fluid dynamics
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
. In 1857 he built an electrodynamic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
machine with a power output of 25 amps at 250 volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
s, as well as a galvanometer
A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely.
A galvanom ...
which could measure between 0.1 and 250 amps.
In 1875, while at Cornell, Arnold and student George Sylvanus Moler built a dynamo which was similar to the Gramme machine
A Gramme machine, Gramme ring, Gramme magneto, or Gramme dynamo is an electrical generator that produces direct current, named for its Belgian inventor, Zénobe Gramme, and was built as either a dynamo or a magneto. It was the first generator to p ...
. He installed this generator in the basement of McGraw Hall, from which it which powered two electric arc lamps
An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc).
The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
, one of which was located in the tower of Sage Chapel
Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State which serves as the burial ground for many contributors to Cornell's history, including the founders of the university: Ezra Cornell and An ...
. It was said to be the "first locality in America, if not the world, to have a permanent installation of electric arc lamps." The lamps were "visible for many miles around, and it excited the wonder of the inhabitants." The machine was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
in Philadelphia in 1876.
In 1884 Anthony constructed a colossal galvanometer, two meters in diameter, capable of measuring currents up to 250 amps "with a precision hitherto unattained." It was housed in a specially-built wooden structure on the Cornell campus made "entirely free from iron."
Publications
His published papers include contributions read before these societies, and other numerous scientific articles which have appeared in the ''American Journal of Science
The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...
'', ''Journal of the Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
'', the ''Popular Science Monthly
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, inclu ...
'', and several electrical journals. He is joint author with C. F. Brackett of an ''Elementary Textbook on Physics'' (New York, 1885),[ and he contributed a chapter to E. A. Thompson's ''Roentgen Rays and Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode'' (New York, 1896).]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, William Arnold
1835 births
1908 deaths
American physicists
Iowa State University faculty
Cornell University faculty
People from Coventry, Rhode Island
Cooper Union faculty
Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni