june september american experimental physicist inventor professor awarded nobel prize physics commented brilliant productive experimental twentieth century receiving phd university_of_chicago went work devised set experiments observe electron capture radioactive predicted beta decay theory observed produced measured lifetime collaboration measured magnetic moment joined contributed number world war radar projects early improvements foe radar called system known preventing enemy submarines realizing found new airborne microwave radars enemy submarines wait radar signal getting strong escaping attack transmitted radar signal strength cube distance submarine approached sub signal measured sub got progressively weaker sub assumed plane getting farther away didn radar system best known played major role aviation particularly post war berlin spent months university_of_chicago working nuclear coming work manhattan project worked design explosive lenses development exploding member observed trinity nuclear test later bombing hiroshima great war involved design liquid hydrogen bubble chamber allowed team millions photographs particle interactions develop complex computer systems measure analyze interactions discover entire families new particles resonance states work resulted awarded nobel prize involved project ray egyptian search unknown chambers son developed hypothesis proposes extinction event wiped result impact member republican_party early life born san_francisco june second child oldest son physician wife née grandson physician lived time spain cuba finally united_states found better method older sister younger brother bob younger sister aunt california artist specializing oil painting attended san_francisco father researcher family moved rochester minnesota attended expected attend urging teachers rochester instead went university_of_chicago received bachelor degree master degree phd undergraduate belonged gamma delta fraternity moved graduate student chicago discovered physics rare opportunity use equipment legendary physicist constructed apparatus counter tubes arranged cosmic ray faculty advisor conducted experiment mexico_city measure called east west effect cosmic rays observing incoming radiation west concluded primary cosmic rays positively charged submitted resulting paper early work sister worked time secretary mentioned lawrence lawrence invited tour century progress exhibition chicago completed oral exams engaged married asked sister lawrence jobs available telegram soon arrived job offer lawrence started long association married university_of_chicago headed california children walter jean divorced december married children helen worked lawrence experimental team supported group theoretical headed devised set experiments observe electron capture radioactive predicted beta decay theory observed sweep aside radioactive sources designed special purpose counter detect soft rays coming capture published results bombarded fusion reaction yields plus plus basic fusion reactions foundation hydrogen bomb current research controlled nuclear fusion time stability reaction products unknown based existing theories thought stable unstable proved reverse knowledge details inch operation tuned machine accelerate able beam accelerated kind super mass accelerated came deep gas wells millions years component stable produced radioactive reaction measured lifetime knowledge known time flight techniques created energetic beam thermal began long series experiments collaborating measure magnetic moment result published major advance earlier work world war united_states demonstrated leading american scientists successful application cavity produce short radar established months earlier president created central national laboratory mit purpose developing military applications microwave radar lawrence immediately recruited best joined new laboratory known november contributed number radar projects early improvements foe radar called system known preventing enemy submarines realizing found new airborne microwave radars projects build equipment transition british long wave radar new microwave centimeter band radar possible cavity working microwave early warning system invented linear array antenna suppressed unwanted radiation field need mechanical scanning microwave phased array antenna additional radar systems antenna enabled eagle precision bombing radar support precision bombing bad weather clouds completed late war number equipped eagle worked came late difference radar system best known played major role aviation particularly post war berlin antenna achieve high angular resolution allows ground based radar operators watching special precision displays guide landing airplane runway verbal commands pilot system simple direct worked previously pilots successful military continued use years war use countries 1980s awarded trophy conspicuous outstanding initiative concept development system safe landing aircraft weather traffic conditions spent summer england testing landing planes returning battle bad weather training british use system encountered young raf radar technician clarke subsequently experiences radar research station basis novel contains disguised version clarke developed long term friendship manhattan_project fall returned united_states offer work manhattan project suggested spend months university_of_chicago working coming months general asked think way find germans operating nuclear suggested airplane carry system detect radioactive gases produces particularly equipment fly germany detected radioactive germans built capable chain reaction idea monitoring products intelligence gathering extremely important war result radar work months spent arrived spring later contemporaries work little boy bomb far involved design fat man bomb technique forcing sub critical masses type gun work high level background spontaneous cause soon parts approached heat expansion force system apart energy released decided use nearly critical sphere quickly explosives smaller core technical challenge time create symmetrical required core required density thirty explosive charges simultaneously detonated spherical core conventional explosive techniques blasting caps progress achieving small fraction directed graduate student use large deliver high voltage charge directly explosive lens replacing blasting caps exploding exploding wire detonated thirty charges tenths invention critical success type nuclear weapon supervised experiments later wrote modern weapons grade background rate low terrorists material good chance setting high yield explosion simply dropping half material half people unaware separated hand trivial job set nuclear explosion available making explode difficult technical job know working task manhattan_project develop set microphone aircraft measure strength blast wave atomic explosion allow scientists bomb energy observed trinity nuclear test carried fellow members flying great formation measured blast effect bomb dropped hiroshima days later flying great equipment measure strength nagasaki explosion bubble chamber returning professor ideas use wartime radar knowledge improve particle bear fruit big idea time come concept phase stability led extending concept lawrence team build world largest began operating produce amounts interesting particles particularly secondary collisions complex interactions hard detect analyze time seizing new development particle tracks created known bubble chamber realized device needed function liquid hydrogen hydrogen simplest desirable target interactions particles produced began development program build series small chambers championed device device small glass cylinder filled suddenly reducing pressure device liquid placed temporary state disturbed track particle passing able maintain state seconds spontaneous boiling took place team built chambers liquid hydrogen constructed metal glass windows tracks photographed chamber beam picture taken chamber time beam cycle program built liquid hydrogen bubble chamber feet meters long employed dozens graduate students hundreds engineers technicians took millions photographs particle interactions developed computer systems measure analyze interactions discovered families new particles resonance states work resulted nobel prize physics decisive contributions elementary particle physics particular discovery large number states possible development technique hydrogen bubble chambers data analysis scientific detective proposed known originally conceived large carried high altitude balloon order study extremely high energy particle interactions time focus experiment changed study role particles radiation early universe work large effort carrying aloft high altitude balloon flights high flying aircraft early precursor satellite born experiments cosmic background radiation resulted award nobel prize shared proposed search egyptian unknown chambers naturally occurring cosmic rays scheme place spark chambers standard equipment high energy particle physics time beneath second pyramid known chamber measuring counting rate cosmic rays different directions reveal existence void rock structure assembled team united_states egypt recording equipment constructed experiment carried interrupted day war restarted war effort continued recording analyzing penetrating cosmic rays reported chambers found pyramid surveyed november life published series photographs film took kennedy assassination expert intrigued pictures began study learned film demonstrated theory experiment backward snap president head fully consistent shot investigated timing disturbed camera speed camera pointing number things fbi overlooked got wrong produced paper intended informal advice physicist intent arriving truth dinosaur extinction son nuclear uncovered literally shook earth great discoveries earth history research central italy 1970s walls gorge limestone layers included strata cretaceous boundary called boundary boundary periods exactly boundary layer clay walter told father layer marked extinct knew clay big mystery intended solve access nuclear able work technique activation analysis published seminal paper proposing extraterrestrial cause cretaceous extinction called cretaceous extinction years following publication article clay found contain shocked crystals microscopic diamonds rare minerals formed conditions great temperature pressure publication paper brought criticism community scientific debate ensued years later death evidence large impact crater called found coast mexico providing support theory researchers later found end cretaceous extinction occurred rapidly terms thousands years millions years previously supposed continue study alternative extinction causes increased particularly massive occurred time climate change checking fossil record march panel scientists agreed impact triggered mass extinction aviation autobiography said think having separate careers science aviation found equally rewarding important contributor enjoyment flying learned fly later earning instrument multi engine ratings years accumulated hours flight time pilot command said found activities satisfying pilot command responsibility passengers lives numerous professional contributions aviation world war led development multiple aviation related technologies projects described including awarded trophy held basic patent radar assigned rights government later career served multiple high level advisory committees related civilian military aviation included task group future air navigation air traffic control systems president committee studying scientific community help improve capabilities fighting war aviation responsibilities led adventures example working civilian fly low approach view outside cockpit flew military aircraft pilot seat including lockheed addition survived crash world war passenger miles master death died cancer september died complications succession recent operations cancer cremated ashes scattered papers awards honors fellow american physical society president member medal merit fellow fellow california scientist year national medal science nobel prize physics member university_of_chicago alumni medal award named scout award selected publications berkeley linear october high energy physics march inch bubble chamber july element variable power spherical lens patent december early days mass hydrogen bubble chamber june history linear patents golf training device optical range variable angle element variable power spherical lens variable power lens system particle liquid electron medium method making optical element matrix optical element reduced thickness method forming optical element reduced thickness
Luis Walter Alvarez