John D. Lawson (scientist)
Encyclopedia
John David Lawson FRS (4 April 1923 – 15 January 2008) was a British engineer and physicist.
He was born in Coventry
and educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School
before going on to St John's College, Cambridge
, to study for the short (two year) Mechanical Sciences degree, including a special wartime radio course. He graduated BA in 1943 and then joined the Telecommunications Research Establishment
, Malvern, where he was assigned to work on microwave
antenna
design as part of the ongoing work on development of radar
.
At the end of the war Lawson continued to work at Malvern, although in 1947 he was made a member of the staff of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
(AERE). He undertook experimental work with the new 30 MeV synchrotron
.
In 1951 he was transferred to the General Physics Division of the AERE at Harwell. Lawson started to work on the klystron
, a device for producing high-power microwaves, in a group led by Peter Thonemann who was also in charge of the ZETA (Zero Energy Toroidal Assembly) fusion work. It was through Lawson's association with Thonemann that he became interested in the topic of nuclear fusion.
He was noted for his 1955 paper, published in 1957, "Some Criteria for a Power Producing Thermonuclear Reactor," (Proc. Phys. Soc. Vol. 70, pt. 1, no. 445, B, 6-10, 1957), where he presented for the first time to the public his famous criterion: Lawson criterion
.
Lawson also worked with the 1980 MeV cyclotron
and on early accelerator proposals. He remained on the staff of the AERE to 1961, spending 1959-1960 as Research Associate at the W.W. Hansen Laboratories at Stanford where his work included the study of the properties of caesium plasma.
In 1961 Lawson was transferred to the newly established National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science, placed very close to Harwell village, an institution shortly to become the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
. He continued his work on accelerators and led the project to build the Variable Energy Cyclotron (for AERE Harwell). He had responsibility for building up the superconducting magnet programme and retained an interest in new accelerator concepts. In the 1970s he moved onto the study of very high current beams and in 1977 his book The Physics of Charged Particle Beams was published (second edition 1989), which became a classic textbook on particle accelerators. In 1975-1976 Lawson returned to fusion research with a two year sabbatical at the Culham Laboratory, working on a design study of a conceptual fusion power
reactor based on the reversed field pinch principle.
He returned to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 1977 where he continued working on free electron lasers and accelerator design, and also played a leading international role in promoting and critically examining ideas for future accelerators. In the early 1980s he recognized the potential that high-power lasers could have for particle acceleration, and set up a small research group in lasers base on the concept of plasma acceleration
. He retired in 1987.
Lawson was awarded the University of Cambridge Sc.D. in Physics in 1959 and made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1970. In 1983 he was elected a Fellow of Royal Society
for his contributions to the field of applied electromagnetism
, in particular the physics of charged particle beams and high temperature plasmas.
He is particularly remembered for the Lawson criterion
, a general measure of a system that defines the conditions needed for a fusion reactor to achieve net power. Formulated in 1955, it was first published in 1957, in 'Some criteria for a power producing thermonuclear reactor', (Proc. Phys. Soc. vol. 70, pt. 1, no. 445, B, 6-10).
Lawson died on 15 January 2008.
He was born in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School
Wolverhampton Grammar School
Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...
before going on to St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, to study for the short (two year) Mechanical Sciences degree, including a special wartime radio course. He graduated BA in 1943 and then joined the Telecommunications Research Establishment
Telecommunications Research Establishment
The Telecommunications Research Establishment was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force during World War II and the years that followed. The name was...
, Malvern, where he was assigned to work on microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
design as part of the ongoing work on development of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
.
At the end of the war Lawson continued to work at Malvern, although in 1947 he was made a member of the staff of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...
(AERE). He undertook experimental work with the new 30 MeV synchrotron
Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
.
In 1951 he was transferred to the General Physics Division of the AERE at Harwell. Lawson started to work on the klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
, a device for producing high-power microwaves, in a group led by Peter Thonemann who was also in charge of the ZETA (Zero Energy Toroidal Assembly) fusion work. It was through Lawson's association with Thonemann that he became interested in the topic of nuclear fusion.
He was noted for his 1955 paper, published in 1957, "Some Criteria for a Power Producing Thermonuclear Reactor," (Proc. Phys. Soc. Vol. 70, pt. 1, no. 445, B, 6-10, 1957), where he presented for the first time to the public his famous criterion: Lawson criterion
Lawson criterion
In nuclear fusion research, the Lawson criterion, first derived on fusion reactors by John D. Lawson in 1955 and published in 1957, is an important general measure of a system that defines the conditions needed for a fusion reactor to reach ignition, that is, that the heating of the plasma by the...
.
Lawson also worked with the 1980 MeV cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
and on early accelerator proposals. He remained on the staff of the AERE to 1961, spending 1959-1960 as Research Associate at the W.W. Hansen Laboratories at Stanford where his work included the study of the properties of caesium plasma.
In 1961 Lawson was transferred to the newly established National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science, placed very close to Harwell village, an institution shortly to become the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council . It is located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom...
. He continued his work on accelerators and led the project to build the Variable Energy Cyclotron (for AERE Harwell). He had responsibility for building up the superconducting magnet programme and retained an interest in new accelerator concepts. In the 1970s he moved onto the study of very high current beams and in 1977 his book The Physics of Charged Particle Beams was published (second edition 1989), which became a classic textbook on particle accelerators. In 1975-1976 Lawson returned to fusion research with a two year sabbatical at the Culham Laboratory, working on a design study of a conceptual fusion power
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
reactor based on the reversed field pinch principle.
He returned to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 1977 where he continued working on free electron lasers and accelerator design, and also played a leading international role in promoting and critically examining ideas for future accelerators. In the early 1980s he recognized the potential that high-power lasers could have for particle acceleration, and set up a small research group in lasers base on the concept of plasma acceleration
Plasma acceleration
Plasma Wakefield acceleration is a technique for accelerating charged particles, such as electrons, positrons and ions, using an electric field associated with an electron plasma wave. The wave is created either using electron pulses or through the passage of a very brief laser pulses, a technique...
. He retired in 1987.
Lawson was awarded the University of Cambridge Sc.D. in Physics in 1959 and made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1970. In 1983 he was elected a Fellow of Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
for his contributions to the field of applied electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
, in particular the physics of charged particle beams and high temperature plasmas.
He is particularly remembered for the Lawson criterion
Lawson criterion
In nuclear fusion research, the Lawson criterion, first derived on fusion reactors by John D. Lawson in 1955 and published in 1957, is an important general measure of a system that defines the conditions needed for a fusion reactor to reach ignition, that is, that the heating of the plasma by the...
, a general measure of a system that defines the conditions needed for a fusion reactor to achieve net power. Formulated in 1955, it was first published in 1957, in 'Some criteria for a power producing thermonuclear reactor', (Proc. Phys. Soc. vol. 70, pt. 1, no. 445, B, 6-10).
Lawson died on 15 January 2008.