physics

Harold George Jerrard

Harold George Jerrard is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Harold George Jerrard rather than just read about it. In short: Harold George "Jerry" Jerrard (26 October 1921 – 10 April 2013) was a British physicist known for his books with Donald Burgess McNeill. His research concerned optics, and included reviving the theory of the Poincaré sphere for modeling the behavior of polarised light, 60 years after it was suggested by Henri Poincaré and then largely forgotten.

Key takeaways

Harold George Jerrard belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Harold George Jerrard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Harold George Jerrard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Harold George "Jerry" Jerrard (26 October 1921 – 10 April 2013) was a British physicist known for his books with Donald Burgess McNeill. His research concerned optics, and included reviving the theory of the Poincaré sphere for modeling the behavior of polarised light, 60 years after it was suggested by Henri Poincaré and then largely forgotten. He was a reader of physics at the University of Southampton, a professor of physics at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He also enjoyed sailing on the Solent, and served for 20 years in local politics in the Borough of Fareham, becoming leader of the borough council, mayor, and a member of the Hampshire County Council.

Selected publications

Books Jerrard, H. G., and McNeill, D. B. (1960). Theoretical and Experimental Physics. United Kingdom: Chapman & Hall. Jerrard, H. G., and McNeill, D. B. (1963). A Dictionary of Scientific Units, Including Dimensionless Numbers and Scales. United Kingdom: Chapman & Hall. 6th ed., 1992.

Articles Jerrard, H. G. (January 1948), "Optical compensators for measurement of elliptical polarization", Journal of the Optical Society of America, 38 (1): 35–59, doi:10.1364/JOSA.38.000035 Jerrard, H. G. (August 1954), "Transmission of light through birefringent and optically active media: the Poincaré sphere", Journal of the Optical Society of America, 44 (8): 634–640, doi:10.1364/JOSA.44.000634

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Harold George Jerrard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Harold George Jerrard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Harold George Jerrard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Harold George Jerrard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Harold George Jerrard

In research: Harold George Jerrard appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Harold George Jerrard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Harold George Jerrard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1921 births, 2013 deaths, 20th-century British sailors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Harold George Jerrard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Harold George Jerrard” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Harold George Jerrard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Harold George Jerrard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Harold George Jerrard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Harold George Jerrard in simple terms?

Why does Harold George Jerrard matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Harold George Jerrard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Harold George Jerrard.