1933 Arthur H. Compton, Nobel Laureate cosmic ray balloon flight to 17 miles Arthur
Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 March 15, 1962) was an American
physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his 1923
discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature
of electromagnetic radiation. It was a sensational discovery at the
time: the wave nature of light had been well-demonstrated, but the idea
that light had both wave and particle properties was not easily
accepted. He is also known for his leadership over the Metallurgical
Laboratory at the University of Chicago during the Manhattan Project,
and served as chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1945
to 1953. By
the early 1930s, Compton had become interested in cosmic rays. At the
time, their existence was known but their origin and nature remained
speculative. Their presence could be detected using a spherical "bomb"
containing compressed air or argon gas and measuring its electrical
conductivity. Trips to Europe, India, Mexico, Peru and Australia gave
Compton the opportunity to measure cosmic rays at different altitudes
and latitudes. Along with other groups who made observations around the
globe, they found that cosmic rays were 15% more intense at the poles
than at the equator. Compton attributed this to the effect of cosmic
rays being made up principally of charged particles, rather than photons
as Robert Millikan had suggested, with the latitude effect being due to
Earth's magnetic field.
American Philatelic Society dealer member
American Numismatic Association life member
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