Anders Knutsson Ångström (1888 – 1981) was a Swedish

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 ...

and

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

who was known primarily for his contributions to the field of atmospheric radiation. However, his scientific interests encompassed many diverse topics. He was the son of physicist

Knut Ångström Knut Johan Ångström (12 January 18574 March 1910) was a Swedish physicist. He was the son of physicist Anders Jonas Ångström and studied in Uppsala from 1877 to 1884, when he received his ''licentiat''-degree, before going for a short time t ...

. He graduated with a BS from the

University of Upsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

in 1909. Then he completed his MS at the University of Upsala in 1911. He taught at the

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. Later, he was the department head of the Meteorology department at State Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) of Sweden 1945–1949 and SMHI's chancellor 1949–1954. He is credited with the invention of the

pyranometer A pyranometer () is a type of actinometer used for measuring solar irradiance on a planar surface and it is designed to measure the solar radiation flux density (W/m2) from the hemisphere above within a wavelength range 0.3 μm to 3 μm. A typ ...

, the first device to accurately measure direct and indirect solar radiation. In 1962 he was awarded the International Meteorological Organization Prize by the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...

References

1888 births 1981 deaths Scientists from Stockholm Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Swedish meteorologists 20th-century Swedish physicists 20th-century Swedish inventors {{Sweden-scientist-stub

See also

References