James Dyson, 10 December 1914 - 22 January 1990

1991 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 150-174
Keyword(s):  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Research Laboratory ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
National Physical Laboratory ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Great Satisfaction ◽  
Many Instruments ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
Wrong Direction ◽  
The Many

James Dyson always reckoned that he had been a lucky person, actually paid to do just what he wanted to do, work in optics. He recalled that as a very small boy in his cot he had noticed that he could see through the slats of the cot, could see objects behind these slats (because, of course, of binocular vision); had been surprised to see images of passing vehicles - seen on the wall of his bedroom - apparently moving in the wrong direction; this was because a hole in the fan light acted as a pin-hole camera, and even at that age he worked out the reason for the strange movements. His father, a joiner and cabinet maker and artist with a strong flair for invention, had made a telescope for which he ground the mirrors; watching the telescope grow set ‘Jim’ firmly on the track of optical instrumentation, a track that he travelled fast and with distinction. His interest in the telescope led him to astronomy; at an early age he tried to calculate Jupiter’s orbit and thus became interested in mathematics, all his life he was never at a loss to calculate all he needed for the development of the many instruments he invented. In the Research Laboratory of the Associated Electrical Industries (AEI Ltd) he was in great demand, helping scientists in other disciplines to solve their problems by one or other of the instruments he devised, and in moving to the Optics Division of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) he continued in the same vein. He was extremely happy in all his scientific work and gave great satisfaction to his colleagues by the cheerful way he helped them.

Variations in rotation of the earth, results obtained with the dual-rate moon camera and photographic zenith tubes

1959 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 26-33
Author(s):  
Wm. Markowitz
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Research Laboratory ◽  
Quartz Crystal ◽  
National Physical Laboratory ◽  
Naval Research ◽  
Love Number ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
Rotation Of The Earth ◽  
Irregular Variation

Comparison of photographic zenith tube (P.Z.T.) observations with time derived from quartz-crystal clocks during 1951 to 1955 and with cesium standards of frequency during 1955 to 1958 indicates that the seasonal variation is nearly the same from year to year. Lunar-tidal inequalities of semi-monthly and monthly periods with amplitudes of about 0S.001 each were found. A preliminary value of the Love number, k, is derived. Observations made since 1952 with the dual-rate moon position camera are used to derive ΔT = ET – UT. Comparison of the P.Z.T. observations and atomic standards at the National Physical Laboratory and the Naval Research Laboratory shows details of the irregular variation from 1955 to 1958.

Sir Granville Beynon, C. B. E.. 24 May 1914–11 March 1996

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
L. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
National Physical Laboratory ◽  
University Education ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Free Electrons ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
Science And Education ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Happy Family

From his appointment as a Scientific Officer at the Radio Division of the National Physical Laboratory in 1938, which marked the start of his active collaboration with Sir Edward Appleton, to his death in 1996, Granville Beynon's chosen field of scientific endeavour was the study of the ionosphere, the atmosphere at heights where the concentration of free electrons is sufficient to influence the propagation of radio waves. Through his establishment of research groups at Swansea and Aberystwyth Colleges of the University of Wales, and his tenure of senior offices in appropriate national and international committees, he had a major influence in this area of science. His involvement in university education included a period as Vice–Principal at Aberystwyth, but his interest in education extended beyond the university sector and this was marked by his service as Chairman of the Schools Council Committee for Wales. For his services to science and education he received several honours at both national and international levels. In spite of the many demands on his time, he enjoyed a very happy family life in which music played a central part.

David William Dye, 1887 - 1932

1932 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-78
Keyword(s):  
Private School ◽  
Technical College ◽  
National Physical Laboratory ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Engineering Student ◽  
Electrical Measurements ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
The City

Dr. David William Dye was born at Portsmouth on December 30, 1887, and by his death at Surbiton on February 18th, 1932, at the early age of 44 years, we have lost a brilliant investigator and an acknowledged authority on the subject of electrical precision measurement to which his working life was devoted. The third son of the late Charles Dye, J.P., of Portsmouth, he received his early instruction in that city, first at a private school and later at the Municipal Technical College. As an engineering student he worked at the City and Guilds Technical College and subsequently graduated in the University of London. After a short apprenticeship course with the British ThomsonHouston Company at Rugby he joined the stall of the National Physical Laboratory in 1910, where he at once found tasks which specially appealed to him. Under A. Campbell, who was then in charge of the Electrical Measurements Division, he assisted in the development of methods for the magnetic testing of iron and its alloys in various forms, the construction of standards of inductance and the measurements of currents of radio-frequency.

scholarly journals Ralph Louis Wain, C.B.E. 29 May 1911 – 14 December 2000

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 439-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Fowden
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Great Satisfaction ◽  
Commercial Practice ◽  
Major Player ◽  
Royal Institution ◽  
Food Crop Production ◽  
The Many ◽  
Regulatory Properties

Ralph Louis Wain died on 14 December 2000, at the age of 89 years. Just a few weeks before his death he had kept an audience enraptured by his enthusiastic presentation of chemical ideas during a two-hour lecture. Louis applied his chemical acumen to the solution of agricultural problems, believing the advancement of agricultural practice was highly dependent on developments in chemistry. He was interested particularly in how subtle changes in the structures of chemicals could influence their plant-growth-regulatory properties, and he discovered and actively promoted a group of selective herbicides, some of which are still used today in commercial practice. Many would regard him as Britain's most outstanding agricultural chemist of the twentieth century. He received numerous honours and prizes, but two gave him especial pleasure, perhaps because of their unusual citations. These were the Actonian Prize of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, awarded only every seventh year, for outstanding scientific work ‘which illustrated the wisdom and beneficence of the Almighty’ (previous winners had included Edison, Marconi, Marie Curie and Fleming), and the John Scott (USA) International Award for ‘research for the benefit, welfare and happiness of mankind’. Wain was ever conscious of the need to protect and increase the harvests of food crops for the peoples of poorer, developing countries, and he was a major player in scientists' successes in increasing food crop production. Louis took every opportunity to convey his ideas and enthusiasm to fascinated audiences, whether they were schoolchildren or learned scientists, at home or abroad. He listed travel as one of his hobbies. Did this passion derive from the many invitations he received to lecture abroad? Whatever the answer, he gained great satisfaction from this role; and his audiences were most appreciative of his lucid lecturing style, and often the puckish humour with which his ideas were presented.

What does the concept of affordances afford?

2021 ◽  
pp. 105971232098268
Author(s):  
Rob Withagen ◽  
Alan Costall
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Design Practices ◽  
The Many ◽  
Architecture And Design ◽  
Functional Concept

Gibson once suggested that his ecological approach could provide architecture and design with a new theoretical basis. Erik Rietveld takes up this suggestion—the concept of affordances figures prominently not only in his philosophical and scientific work but also in the design practices he is engaged in. However, as Gibson introduced affordances as a functional concept, it seems ill-suited to capture the many dimensions of our lived experience of the (manufactured) environment. Can the concept of affordances also take on the expressive and aesthetic qualities of artifacts and buildings?

scholarly journals 75th Foundation Day of CSIR-National Physical Laboratory: Celebration of Achievements in Metrology for National Growth

MAPAN ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Yadav ◽  
Goutam Mandal ◽  
V. K. Jaiswal ◽  
D. D. Shivagan ◽  
D. K. Aswal
Keyword(s):  
National Physical Laboratory ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
National Growth
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