Lawrence, Ernest Orlando
Published: August 27, 2008, 3:39 pm
Updated: August 27, 2008, 3:39 pm
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Peter Saundry Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901-1958), an American physicist who received the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention of the cyclotron (1929), a device used to accelerate nuclear particles to very high velocities without the use of high voltage. The swiftly moving particles were used to bombard atoms of various elements, disintegrating the atoms to form, in some cases, completely new elements. His cyclotron produced technetium, the first artificial element. Lawrence's basic design was utilized in developing other particle accelerators, which have been largely responsible for the great advances made in the field of particle physics. With the cyclotron, he produced radioactive phosphorus and other isotopes for medical use, including radioactive iodine for the first therapeutic treatment of hyperthyroidism. In addition, Lawrence instituted the use of neutron beams in cancer treatment. During World War II, he worked with the Manhattan Project as a Program Chief in charge of the development of the electromagnetic process of separating uranium-235 for the atomic bomb. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at Berkeley, California; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at Livermore, California; and element 103, lawrencium, were all named in his honor.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Lawrence, Ernest Orlando". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 27, 2008; Last revised Date August 27, 2008; Retrieved May 24, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lawrence,_Ernest_Orlando>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901-1958), an American physicist who received the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention of the cyclotron (1929), a device used to accelerate nuclear particles to very high velocities without the use of high voltage. The swiftly moving particles were used to bombard atoms of various elements, disintegrating the atoms to form, in some cases, completely new elements. His cyclotron produced technetium, the first artificial element. Lawrence's basic design was utilized in developing other particle accelerators, which have been largely responsible for the great advances made in the field of particle physics. With the cyclotron, he produced radioactive phosphorus and other isotopes for medical use, including radioactive iodine for the first therapeutic treatment of hyperthyroidism. In addition, Lawrence instituted the use of neutron beams in cancer treatment. During World War II, he worked with the Manhattan Project as a Program Chief in charge of the development of the electromagnetic process of separating uranium-235 for the atomic bomb. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at Berkeley, California; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at Livermore, California; and element 103, lawrencium, were all named in his honor.
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Ernest Orlando Lawrence. (Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
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