Neal Hooker Williams (1870–1956) was a
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 cau ...
notable for the very first
spectroscopic
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 wa ...
measurements at
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...
frequencies. He carried this out with a
magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-power vacuum tube used in early radar systems and currently in microwave ovens and linear particle accelerators. It generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field while ...
and investigated the
spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
of gaseous
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...
together with his student
Claud E. Cleeton. This formed the groundwork for the later inventions of the
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
and the gas
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...
.
Education
He completed his PhD in 1912 at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
with a thesis entitled ''The Stability of Residual Magnetism.''
Books by Williams
*
Walter S. Huxford and Neal H. Williams, ''Determination of the Charge of Positive Thermions from Measurements of the Shot Effect,'' Minneapolis, Minn., 1929.
*
Claud E. Cleeton and Neal H. Williams, ''Electromagnetic Waves of 1.1 cm Wave-Length and the Absorption Spectrum of Ammonia,'' Lancaster, Pa., Lancaster press, inc., 1934.
* Harrison M. Randall, Neal H. Williams, and Walter F. Colby, ''General College Physics,'' New York, London, Harper & brothers, 1929.
* Neal H. Williams, ''The Stability of Residual Magnetism,'' New York, 1913.
See also
*
Trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry
In chemistry, a trigonal pyramid is a molecular geometry with one atom at the apex and three atoms at the corners of a trigonal base, resembling a tetrahedron (not to be confused with the tetrahedral geometry). When all three atoms at the corne ...
*
Ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...
*
Microwave spectroscopy
Microwave spectroscopy is the spectroscopy method that employs microwaves, i.e. electromagnetic radiation at GHz frequencies, for the study of matter.
History
The ammonia molecule NH3 is shaped like a pyramid 0.38 Å in height, with an equilatera ...
*
Claud E. Cleeton
References
Sources
* Mario Bertolotti, ''The History of the Laser'' CRC Press, 2004, .
External links
Williams' 1936 Physical Review paperWilliams' math genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Neal H.
1870 births
1956 deaths
University of Michigan alumni
American physicists