Luis alvarez biography book

Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Series) by Luis W. Alvarez

February 25,
It seems like theoretical physicists get all the press, but Luis Alvarez’s autobiography might convince you that experimental physicists have all the fun. It’s hard to think of anything that happened in the 20th century that he wasn’t in the middle of. He started out helped Lawrence build and operate some of his first cyclotrons. When the war started, he went to the rad lab at MIT to help develop radar. He was the designer of the first radar system for landing aircraft in bad weather. He left the rad lab and traveled to wartime Britain to help deploy the new systems. From there he went to Chicago to help Fermi with the first nuclear reactor. Then it was off to Los Alamos to help develop the implosion bomb. He went to the South Pacific and flew in one of the observation planes during the Hiroshima bombing. He didn’t seem to slow down much after the war. The stories include bigger accelerators, trips to Vietnam during the early days of the war, flying in an F Starfighter, one of the first scientific trips to the Soviet Union, studying pyramids and the Zapruder film, and, oh yeah

Luis Walter Alvarez facts for kids

This page is about the American physicist. For his grandfather, the Spanish physician, see Luis F. Álvarez. For other people of the same name, see Luis Álvarez (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids

Luis Walter Alvarez

Alvarez with a magnetic monopole detector in

Born()June 13,

San Francisco, California, U.S.

DiedSeptember 1, () (aged 77)

Berkeley, California, U.S.

EducationUniversity of Chicago (BS, MS, PhD)
Known for
  • Accelerator mass spectrometry,
  • Alvarez hypothesis,
  • AN/CPS-1,
  • Electron capture,
  • Exploding-bridgewire detonator,
  • Ground-controlled approach,
  • Linear particle accelerator,
  • Liquid hydrogen bubble chamber,
  • Muon-catalyzed fusion,
  • Muon tomography,
  • Isolation of helium-3,
  • Isolation of tritium,
  • Measurement of neutron magnetic moment
Spouse(s)

Geraldine Smithwick

​

​

(m. ; div. )​

Janet L. Landis

​

(m. )​
AwardsCollier Trophy ()
Medal for Merit ()
John Scott Medal ()
Albert Einstein Award ()
National Medal of Science()
Pioneer Award ()
Michelson–Morley Award ()
Nobel Prize in Physics()
Enrico Fermi Award ()
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Institutio

Who was Luis Walter Alvarez?

Luis WalterAlvarez was an Americanexperimental physicist, inventor, and professor who was awarded the NobelPrize in Physics in The AmericanJournal of Physics commented, "Luis Alvarez was one of the most brilliant and productiveexperimentalphysicists of the twentieth century."

After receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago in , Alvarez went to work for Ernest Lawrence at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Alvarez devised a set of experiments to observe K-electron capture in radioactive nuclei, predicted by the beta decay theory but never observed. He produced 3H using the cyclotron and measured its lifetime. In collaboration with Felix Bloch, he measured the magnetic moment of the neutron.

In Alvarezjoined the MITRadiation Laboratory, where he contributed to a number of World War IIradar projects, from earlyimprovements to IdentificationFriend or Foe radar beacons, now called transponders, to a systemknown as VIXEN for preventingenemysubmarines from realizing that they had been found by the new airbornemicrowave radars.

Born
Jun 13,
San Francisco
Also known as
Parents
Children
Nationality
Professi

Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist

During World War II, Luis W. Alvarez participated in the Allies’ development of radar at the MIT Radiation Laboratory, and of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. He then worked as an experimental physicist on cyclotrons, particle accelerators and bubble chambers at UC-Berkeley with Ernest Lawrence. Later in life, he used cosmic rays to “X ray” an Egyptian pyramid, developed a new theory about the extinction of the dinosaurs, and won the Nobel prize in physics for his work on elementary particles.

In this autobiography, Alvarez shares insights on the process of scientific discovery, risk-taking in science and how theoretical and experimental physics interact.

“[A] delightful autobiography [A] fascinating book It should be read by everyone who is interested in science and adventure, or who just wants to meet one of our most fascinating contemporaries.” — James Trefil, New York Times Book Review

“Beyond its self-portrait, Alvarez provides an exceptionally clear view of the world of science.” — Alan Lightman, Washington Post Book World

“This is a richly absorbing autobiography Personally as well as scientifically forthright and plainspoken, [

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