physics

Homer D. Hagstrum

Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum rather than just read about it. In short: Homer Dupre Hagstrum (March 11, 1915 – September 7, 1994) was an American physicist who specialized in surface physics. Born in St Paul, Minnesota he gained a BA degree in 1936, an MS in 1939 and a PhD in physics in 1940 at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Homer Dupre Hagstrum (March 11, 1915 – September 7, 1994) was an American physicist who specialized in surface physics. Born in St Paul, Minnesota he gained a BA degree in 1936, an MS in 1939 and a PhD in physics in 1940 at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He then worked for Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey, where he was a research physicist from 1940 to 1954, head of Surface Physics Research from 1954 to 1978 and Research Physicist in Surface Physics from 1978 to 1985. After 1946 Homer specialized in surface physics which was an unknown sub-field of physics at that time. He developed a metal multipurpose vacuum chamber in 1961 that is a model for many surface physics scientists today. In 1942 he and John R Pearce traveled to England to meet with British scientists working on RADAR. During this meeting Pearce (who wrote Science fiction stories) arranged a meeting with H. G. Wells, an internationally known science fiction writer. Pearce and Hagstrum also met with Rudy Kompfner during this trip. Hagstrum was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1949 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1976. He was chairman of Division of Electron and Atomic Physics of the American Physical Society in 1957, He was a recipient of the Medard W. Welch Award in 1974 and the Davisson–Germer Prize in 1975.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Homer D. Hagstrum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum

In research: Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum 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: Homer D. Hagstrum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 births, 1994 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Homer D. Hagstrum 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.

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How to study Homer D. Hagstrum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Homer D. Hagstrum in simple terms?

Why does Homer D. Hagstrum 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 Homer D. Hagstrum?

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 Homer D. Hagstrum.