Bertram Brockhouse
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Bertram Neville Brockhouse
Canadian physicist (1918–
Brockhouse gained his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1950. He worked initially with the Atomic Energy Commission of Canada at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratory, Ontario. In 1962 he moved to MacMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, where he remained until his retirement in 1984.
The construction of nuclear reactors in Canada and the USA in the 1940s allowed physicists, once the war had ended, to use neutron beams to explore atomic structure. Neutrons are more effective probes than protons because they are electrically neutral and consequently do not interact with the orbiting electrons. As neutrons can behave as waves they produce diffraction patterns as a result of collisions with their target atomic nuclei. The effect is similar to that of x-ray diffraction, in which the crystal lattice acts as a diffraction grating for the particles. Neutron diffraction from crystals can be used to select beams of neutrons with the same energy. These ‘monochromatic’ beams can then be used in neutron-scattering experiments.
Brockhouse chose to study the inelastic scattering of neutrons as they bombarded atoms bound in a crystal lattice. In this procedure neutrons give up or gain energy from the atoms they collide with. Monochromatic neutron beams were directed at a crystal target and the energies of the scattered neutrons measured as they emerged. It was thus possible to determine how much energy had been gained or lost. With this data Brockhouse was able to obtain information about the vibration of atoms in the crystal and such important properties as its ability to conduct heat and electricity.
For his work on atomic structure Brockhouse shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for physics with Clifford Shull.
Brockhouse, Bertram, 1918-2003, Canadian physicist, b. Lethbridge, Alta. Educated at the Univ. of British Columbia and Univ. of Toronto (Ph.D., 1950), he was a research officer (1950-59) and head of the neutron physics branch (1960-62) at the Chalk River Laboratory (now Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.), and taught at McMaster Univ. (1962-84). While at Chalk River he studied the scattering of slow neutrons by highly absorbing elements such as cadmium. He also performed the first experiments that probed condensed matter using the inelastic scattering of neutrons. His pioneering work in slow neutron spectroscopy and diffraction had a significant impact on the theory and understanding of the physics of solids and liquids. For his work on the development of neutron spectroscopy Brockhouse shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics with C. G. Shull.
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Bertram Brockhouse
| Bertram Brockhouse | |
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| Born | July 15, 1918 Lethbridge, Alberta |
| Died | October 13, 2003 (aged 85) Hamilton, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canada |
| Institutions | McMaster University |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in physics |
Bertram Neville Brockhouse, CC, FRSC (July 15, 1918 – October 13, 2003)[1] was a Canadian physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1994, shared with Clifford Shull) "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matter", in particular "for the development of neutron spectroscopy".
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Life
Brockhouse was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, and was a graduate of the University of British Columbia (BA, 1947) and the University of Toronto (MA, 1948; Ph.D, 1950).[2]
From 1950 to 1962, Brockhouse carried out research at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Nuclear Laboratory.
In 1962, he became professor at McMaster University in Canada, where he remained until his retirement in 1984.
Awards and recognition
He shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics with American Clifford Shull of MIT [3]for developing neutron scattering techniques for studying condensed matter.
In 1982, Brockhouse was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1995.
In October 2005, as part of the 75th anniversary of McMaster University's establishment in Hamilton, Ontario, a street on the University campus (University Avenue) was renamed to Brockhouse Way in honour of Brockhouse. The town of Deep River, Ontario has also named a street in his honour.
The Nobel Prize that Bertram Brockhouse won (shared with Clifford Shull) in 1994 was awarded after the longest ever waiting time (counting from the time when the award-winning research had been carried out).
In 1999 the Division of Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (DCMMP) and the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) created a medal in honour of Brockhouse. The medal is called the Brockhouse Medal and is awarded to recognize and encourage outstanding experimental or theoretical contributions to condensed matter and materials physics. This medal is awarded annually on the basis of outstanding experimental or theoretical contributions to condensed matter physics. An eligible candidate must have performed their research primarily with a Canadian Institution.
References
- ^ Cowley, R. (2005). "Bertram Neville Brockhouse. 15 July 1918 - 13 October 2003: Elected F.R.S. 1965". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 51: 51. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2005.0004.
- ^ "Brockhouse and the Nobel Prize - Canadian Neutron Beam Centre". neutron.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. http://neutron.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/brock_e.html. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ "Clifford G. Shull, co-winner of 1994 Nobel Prize in physics, is dead at 85". MIT-News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2001-04-02. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. http://www.webcitation.org/5vIW7AcRb. Retrieved 2010-12-27. "Professor Shull shared the 1994 Nobel Prize with Professor Bertram S. Brockhouse of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada."
External links
- science.ca profile
- Bertram Brockhouse
- Nobel site
- Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 24 May 2010
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Mentioned in
Clifford Glenwood Shull
(American physicist)
Year 1994
(in Science & Technology)
Nobel Prizes
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