William Cronk Elmore: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox scientist |
{{Infobox scientist |
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| name = William Cronk Elmore |
| name = William Cronk Elmore |
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| image = WilliamCElmore.jpg |
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| caption = William (Bill) Cronk Elmore in 1995 |
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|09|16|mf=y}} |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|09|16|mf=y}} |
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| birth_place = [[Montour Falls, New York]] |
| birth_place = [[Montour Falls, New York]] |
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| fields = [[physics]] |
| fields = [[physics]] |
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| workplaces = {{unbulleted list| [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] | [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] | [[Swarthmore College]] }} |
| workplaces = {{unbulleted list| [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] | [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] | [[Swarthmore College]] }} |
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| alma_mater = [[Lehigh University]]<br/>[[Yale University]] |
| alma_mater = [[Lehigh University]]<br />[[Yale University]] |
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| thesis_title = Surface Magnetization of Ferromagnetic Crystals |
| thesis_title = Surface Magnetization of Ferromagnetic Crystals |
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William Cronk Elmore (September 16 1909 |
'''William Cronk Elmore''' (September 16, 1909 – January 23, 2003) was an American [[physicist]], educator, and author who is best known for his work on and related to the Manhattan project during [[World War II]] and as a professor of physics at [[Swarthmore College]], PA from 1938 to 1974. Bill Elmore authored two influential books during his life, ''Electronics-Experimental Techniques''<ref name="ELMORE-SANDS"/> with [[Matthew Sands]] and the ''Physics of Waves''<ref name="ELMORE-HEALD"/> with Mark Heald. He is also known for deriving a simple approximation for the delay through an [[RC network]], known as the [[Elmore delay]].<ref name="Elmore"/> |
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==Early |
==Early life and education== |
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Elmore was born in [[Montour Falls, New York]], to Thaddeus Perceval Elmore and Grace Cronk Elmore. Elmore had two sisters, Mary Elmore (b. 1902, d. 1907) and Eleanor Elmore (b. 1912, d. 2010). As a young man, Bill spent many of his days outside with his boy scout troop, experimenting with electronics and other technology, and building crystal radios. He attended Cook Academy in [[Montour Falls, New York]], and was the valedictorian upon his graduation in 1928. He earned a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from [[Lehigh University]] (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1932 and a Ph.D. from Yale in 1935. Elmore began his career as a physics instructor at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] from 1935 to 1938. In 1936, Elmore married Barbara Page, the daughter of the [[Yale University]] physics professor, [[Leigh Page]]. Bill and Barbara were married for the next 66 years.<ref name="ELMOREOBIT"/> They had 4 children, Mary-Leigh (b. 1939), David (b. 1945), Elizabeth (b. 1947, d. 2015), and Page (b. 1959). |
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==World War II== |
==World War II== |
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[[File:Elmore-william c.jpg|thumb|Elmore's Los Alamos badge]] |
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⚫ | Elmore was recruited to work on the [[Manhattan Project]] at Los Alamos in 1943.<ref name="ElmoreBadge"/> He played a major role in developing electronic circuits to handle the fast-pulse signals needed in the development of the atomic bomb.<ref name="ElmoreAHF"/> He also developed the electronics used to measure the strength of the first atomic test at [[Trinity test]] in [[New Mexico]]. At Trinity on July 16, 1945, Elmore observed the blast from the closest position of any observer, laying on a rubber mat beside [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]] behind a temporary wall of lead bricks and holding a piece of welding glass in front of his eyes. War era letters Barbara Page wrote to her mother and other family members detail the daily life of Elmore and his family while living in Los Alamos with the other Manhattan Project scientists, such as [[Enrico Fermi]].<ref name="ElmoreLetters"/> |
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⚫ | In 1946, Elmore and Matthew Sands wrote ''Electronics: Experimental Techniques'', which was published in 1949 by McGraw-Hill as part of the National Nuclear Energy Series.<ref name="ELMORE-SANDS"/> This book covered pre-transistor electronics including advances developed by the United States' war-time Atomic Energy Program, and became a standard reference for post-war instrumentation, influencing a generation of science and engineering students in the 1950s. |
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⚫ | Elmore was recruited to work on the [[Manhattan Project]] at Los Alamos in 1943. He played a major role in developing electronic circuits to handle the fast-pulse signals needed in the development of the atomic bomb. He also developed the electronics used to measure the strength of the first atomic |
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⚫ | In 1946, Elmore and Matthew Sands wrote |
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==Swarthmore College== |
==Swarthmore College== |
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In 1938, Elmore joined Swarthmore's physics faculty, retiring in 1974. He served as department chair from 1948 to 1968. Despite his clear potential for advancing theoretical and experimental physics, at Swarthmore, Elmore was known for developing (and publishing<ref name="ELMOREPHYS"/>) laboratory experiments that effectively taught students the fundamentals of physics.<ref name="ELMOREOBIT"/> Elmore and Heald co-wrote the 1969 textbook Physics of Waves.<ref name="ELMORE-HEALD"/> In 1965, Elmore received a Distinguished Service Citation from the [[American Association of Physics Teachers]] and was elected a fellow of the [[American Physical Society]]. |
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In 1938, he joined Swarthmore’s physics faculty, retiring in 1974. He served as department chair from 1948 to 1968. |
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Elmore is fondly remembered by his students for his integration of imaginative laboratory work with theoretical content. |
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⚫ | <ref name="ELMORE-HEALD">{{cite book | last1 = Elmore | first1 = William C. | last2 = Heald | first2 = Mark | title = Physics of Waves | publisher = McGraw-Hill | year = 1969 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SLFCpTaEoDAC | access-date = December 26, 2016| isbn = 9780486649269 }}</ref> |
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Elmore and Heald co-wrote the 1969 textbook Physics of Waves, which is still in print. |
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⚫ | <ref name="ELMORE-SANDS">{{cite book | last1 = Elmore | first1 = William C. | last2 = Sands | first2 = Matthew L. | title = Electronics: Experimental techniques | volume = 1 | series = National nuclear energy series: Los Alamos Project | publisher = McGraw-Hill Book Co. | year = 1949 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/Electronics-experimentalTechniques/page/n434 417] | url = https://archive.org/details/Electronics-experimentalTechniques | access-date = January 31, 2013}}</ref> |
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In 1965, Elmore received a Distinguished Service Citation from the [[American Association of Physics Teachers]] and was elected a fellow of the [[American Physical Society]]. |
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⚫ | <ref name="Elmore">{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1063/1.1697872|title = The Transient Response of Damped Linear Networks with Particular Regard to Wideband Amplifiers|year = 1948|last1 = Elmore|first1 = W. C.|journal = Journal of Applied Physics|volume = 19|issue = 1|pages = 55–63|bibcode = 1948JAP....19...55E|doi-access = free}}</ref> |
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==Later life== |
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⚫ | <ref name="ELMOREOBIT">{{cite journal | last1 = Brévart-Demm | first1 = Carol | last2 = Giardinelli | first2 = Alisa | title = William Elmore | journal = Swarthmore College Bulletin |volume=C |issue=4 |page=7 | url = http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_2003_03.pdf | access-date = December 29, 2016}}</ref> |
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Also an accomplished musician, Elmore played accordion at square dances in Los Alamos and was the founding pianist of the Swarthmore faculty dance band The Moonshiners. |
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Elmore's granddaughter, [[Amanda Elmore]], is on the US National Rowing Team and won a gold metal at the [[2016 Summer Olympics]] in the Woman's eight. |
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<ref name ="ElmoreLetters">{{Cite web|url=http://davidelmore.com/LosAlamosLetters.php|title = David Elmore}}</ref> |
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<ref name="ElmoreBadge">{{Cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_C._Elmore_Los_Alamos_ID.png|title=William C. Elmore Los Alamos wartime security badge.|first=Federal Government of the United|last=States|accessdate=1 October 2023|via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> |
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<ref name="ElmoreAHF">{{Cite web|url=http://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/bill-elmore|title = William Elmore}}</ref> |
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<ref name="ELMOREPHYS">{{cite journal | doi=10.1119/1.1987405 | title=Microwave Experiments for an Advanced Laboratory | journal=American Journal of Physics | volume=41 | issue=7 | pages=865–870 | year=1973 | last1=Elmore | first1=W. C. | bibcode=1973AmJPh..41..865E }}</ref> |
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⚫ | <ref name="ELMOREOBIT"> |
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}} |
}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmore, William Cronk}} |
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[[Category:1909 births]] |
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[[Category:2003 deaths]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American physicists]] |
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[[Category:Manhattan Project people]] |
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[[Category:Swarthmore College faculty]] |
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[[Category:Lehigh University alumni]] |
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[[Category:Yale University alumni]] |
Latest revision as of 21:34, 27 August 2024
William Cronk Elmore | |
---|---|
![]() William (Bill) Cronk Elmore in 1995 | |
Born | |
Died | January 21, 2003 | (aged 93)
Resting place | Montour Falls, New York |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Lehigh University Yale University |
Known for | Elmore delay |
Scientific career | |
Fields | physics |
Institutions | |
Thesis | Surface Magnetization of Ferromagnetic Crystals (1935) |
William Cronk Elmore (September 16, 1909 – January 23, 2003) was an American physicist, educator, and author who is best known for his work on and related to the Manhattan project during World War II and as a professor of physics at Swarthmore College, PA from 1938 to 1974. Bill Elmore authored two influential books during his life, Electronics-Experimental Techniques[1] with Matthew Sands and the Physics of Waves[2] with Mark Heald. He is also known for deriving a simple approximation for the delay through an RC network, known as the Elmore delay.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Elmore was born in Montour Falls, New York, to Thaddeus Perceval Elmore and Grace Cronk Elmore. Elmore had two sisters, Mary Elmore (b. 1902, d. 1907) and Eleanor Elmore (b. 1912, d. 2010). As a young man, Bill spent many of his days outside with his boy scout troop, experimenting with electronics and other technology, and building crystal radios. He attended Cook Academy in Montour Falls, New York, and was the valedictorian upon his graduation in 1928. He earned a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Lehigh University (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1932 and a Ph.D. from Yale in 1935. Elmore began his career as a physics instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1935 to 1938. In 1936, Elmore married Barbara Page, the daughter of the Yale University physics professor, Leigh Page. Bill and Barbara were married for the next 66 years.[4] They had 4 children, Mary-Leigh (b. 1939), David (b. 1945), Elizabeth (b. 1947, d. 2015), and Page (b. 1959).
World War II
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Elmore-william_c.jpg/220px-Elmore-william_c.jpg)
Elmore was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos in 1943.[5] He played a major role in developing electronic circuits to handle the fast-pulse signals needed in the development of the atomic bomb.[6] He also developed the electronics used to measure the strength of the first atomic test at Trinity test in New Mexico. At Trinity on July 16, 1945, Elmore observed the blast from the closest position of any observer, laying on a rubber mat beside J. Robert Oppenheimer behind a temporary wall of lead bricks and holding a piece of welding glass in front of his eyes. War era letters Barbara Page wrote to her mother and other family members detail the daily life of Elmore and his family while living in Los Alamos with the other Manhattan Project scientists, such as Enrico Fermi.[7]
In 1946, Elmore and Matthew Sands wrote Electronics: Experimental Techniques, which was published in 1949 by McGraw-Hill as part of the National Nuclear Energy Series.[1] This book covered pre-transistor electronics including advances developed by the United States' war-time Atomic Energy Program, and became a standard reference for post-war instrumentation, influencing a generation of science and engineering students in the 1950s.
In 1957, Elmore returned to Los Alamos to work with the controlled fusion group. He was a delegate to the second Atoms for Peace Conference in Geneva.[4]
Swarthmore College
[edit]In 1938, Elmore joined Swarthmore's physics faculty, retiring in 1974. He served as department chair from 1948 to 1968. Despite his clear potential for advancing theoretical and experimental physics, at Swarthmore, Elmore was known for developing (and publishing[8]) laboratory experiments that effectively taught students the fundamentals of physics.[4] Elmore and Heald co-wrote the 1969 textbook Physics of Waves.[2] In 1965, Elmore received a Distinguished Service Citation from the American Association of Physics Teachers and was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Elmore, William C.; Sands, Matthew L. (1949). Electronics: Experimental techniques. National nuclear energy series: Los Alamos Project. Vol. 1. McGraw-Hill Book Co. pp. 417. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Elmore, William C.; Heald, Mark (1969). Physics of Waves. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780486649269. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
- ^ Elmore, W. C. (1948). "The Transient Response of Damped Linear Networks with Particular Regard to Wideband Amplifiers". Journal of Applied Physics. 19 (1): 55–63. Bibcode:1948JAP....19...55E. doi:10.1063/1.1697872.
- ^ a b c Brévart-Demm, Carol; Giardinelli, Alisa. "William Elmore" (PDF). Swarthmore College Bulletin. C (4): 7. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ States, Federal Government of the United. "William C. Elmore Los Alamos wartime security badge". Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ "William Elmore".
- ^ "David Elmore".
- ^ Elmore, W. C. (1973). "Microwave Experiments for an Advanced Laboratory". American Journal of Physics. 41 (7): 865–870. Bibcode:1973AmJPh..41..865E. doi:10.1119/1.1987405.