Townes, Charles Hard

Townes, Charles Hard

▪ American physicist

born July 28, 1915, Greenville, S.C., U.S.
 
 American physicist, joint winner with the Soviet physicists Aleksandr M. Prokhorov (Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich) and Nikolay G. Basov (Basov, Nikolay Gennadiyevich) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1964 for his role in the invention of the maser and the laser.

      Townes studied at Furman University (B.A., B.S., 1935), Duke University (M.A., 1937), and the California Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1939). In 1939 he joined the technical staff of Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., where he worked until 1948, when he joined the faculty of Columbia University. Three years later he conceived the idea of using ammonia molecules to amplify microwave radiation. Townes and two students completed the first such device in December 1953 and gave it the name maser, an acronym for “microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” In 1958 Townes and A.L. Schawlow showed that it was possible to construct a similar device using light—i.e., a laser.

      From 1959 to 1961 Townes served as vice president and director of research of the Institute for Defense Analyses, Washington, D.C. He then was appointed provost and professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. In 1967 he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he initiated a program of radio and infrared astronomy leading to the discovery of complex molecules (ammonia and water) in the interstellar medium. He became professor emeritus in 1986.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Townes,Charles Hard — Townes (tounz), Charles Hard. Born 1915. American physicist. He shared a 1964 Nobel Prize for developing the maser and laser principles of producing high intensity radiation. * * * …   Universalium

  • Townes , Charles Hard — (1915–) American physicist Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Townes was educated at Furman and Duke universities in his home state and at the California Institute of Technology, where he obtained his PhD in 1939. He worked at the Bell Telephone …   Scientists

  • Townes, Charles Hard — ► (1915 99) Físico estadounidense. Fue premio Nobel de Física en 1964, compartido con N. G. Basov y A. M. Prochorov, por sus trabajos sobre electrónica cuántica y sobre el principio del láser y máser …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Charles Hard Townes — Born July 28, 1915 (1915 07 28) (age 96) Greenville South Carolina Residence Unit …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Hard Townes — Charles H. Townes, 1964 Charles Hard Townes (* 28. Juli 1915 in Greenville/South Carolina) ist ein US amerikanischer Physiker und Nobelpreisträger. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles Hard Townes — Charles Townes Charles Hard Townes (né le 28 juillet 1915) est un physicien et enseignant américain, lauréat du prix Nobel de physique en 1964 et du Prix Templeton en 2005. Townes est connu pour ses travaux sur la théorie et les applications du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Hard Townes — Estatua del Dr. Charles Hard Townes en Greenville (Carolina del Sur) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Charles Hard Townes — noun United States physicist who developed the laser and maser principles for producing high intensity radiation (1915 ) • Syn: ↑Townes, ↑Charles Townes • Hypernyms: ↑physicist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Townes — Charles Hard …   Scientists

  • Townes — Townes, Charles Hard …   Enciclopedia Universal

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