Lewi Tonks
Encyclopedia
Lewi Tonks was an American
quantum
physicist
noted for his discovery (with Marvin D. Girardeau
) of the Tonks-Girardeau gas
.
Tonks was employed by the General Electric
for most of his working life, researching microwave
s and ferromagnetism
. He worked under Irving Langmuir
on plasma
physics, with a special interest in ball lightning
, nuclear fusion
, tungsten
filament light bulbs, and laser
s.
Tonks advocated a logarithm
ic pressure
scale for vacuum
technology to replace the torr
.
Tonks was notable for his high ethical standards and concern with social problems. Several times, he put up bail
money for people who could not afford to do so. He provided career counselling for the poor, and after retiring from GE worked as a volunteer for the Schenectady Human Rights Commission. He also campaigned on Vietnam war
issues.
After his death, his collected papers containing correspondence, both personal and professional, research notes, drafts of papers and completed research papers from 1930's to the 1960s passed to his wife. Shortly thereafter, the collection was deposited at the Niels Bohr Library in College Park, Maryland.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
quantum
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
noted for his discovery (with Marvin D. Girardeau
Marvin D. Girardeau
Marvin D. Girardeau is a quantum physicist, currently a research professor at the University of Arizona. One of Girardeau's achievements was to predict the existence of the Tonks-Girardeau gas in 1960...
) of the Tonks-Girardeau gas
Tonks-Girardeau gas
In physics, a Tonks–Girardeau gas is a quantum degenerate Bose Gas in which the repulsive interactions between bosonic particles confined to one dimension dominate the physics of the system. It is named after physicists Marvin D. Girardeau and Lewi Tonks...
.
Tonks was employed by the General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
for most of his working life, researching 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...
s and ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism is the basic mechanism by which certain materials form permanent magnets, or are attracted to magnets. In physics, several different types of magnetism are distinguished...
. He worked under Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...
on plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
physics, with a special interest in ball lightning
Ball lightning
Ball lightning is an unexplained atmospheric electrical phenomenon. The term refers to reports of luminous, usually spherical objects which vary from pea-sized to several metres in diameter. It is usually associated with thunderstorms, but lasts considerably longer than the split-second flash of a...
, nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
, tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
filament light bulbs, and laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s.
Tonks advocated a logarithm
Logarithm
The logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, has to be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3, because 1000 is 10 to the power 3: More generally, if x = by, then y is the logarithm of x to base b, and is written...
ic pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
scale for vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
technology to replace the torr
Torr
The torr is a non-SI unit of pressure with the ratio of 760 to 1 standard atmosphere, chosen to be roughly equal to the fluid pressure exerted by a millimetre of mercury, i.e., a pressure of 1 torr is approximately equal to 1 mmHg...
.
Tonks was notable for his high ethical standards and concern with social problems. Several times, he put up bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
money for people who could not afford to do so. He provided career counselling for the poor, and after retiring from GE worked as a volunteer for the Schenectady Human Rights Commission. He also campaigned on Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
issues.
Death and Professional Papers
In July 1971, Tonks died of a heart attack at the age of seventy-four. He left his wife Edna and three children, Mary Lew, Joan and Bruce L. Tonks.After his death, his collected papers containing correspondence, both personal and professional, research notes, drafts of papers and completed research papers from 1930's to the 1960s passed to his wife. Shortly thereafter, the collection was deposited at the Niels Bohr Library in College Park, Maryland.
External links
- http://www.aip.org/history/esva/catalog/esva/Tonks_Lewi.html
- http://www.aip.org/history/ead/aip_tonks/20030130.html