physics

John D. Strong

John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong rather than just read about it. In short: John Donovan Strong (1905-1992) was an American physicist and astronomer. One of the world's foremost optical scientists of his day, Strong was known for being the first to detect water vapor in the atmosphere of Venus and for developing a number of innovations in optical devices, ranging from improved telescope mirrors to anti-reflective coatings for optical elements and diffraction gratings.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John Donovan Strong (1905-1992) was an American physicist and astronomer. One of the world's foremost optical scientists of his day, Strong was known for being the first to detect water vapor in the atmosphere of Venus and for developing a number of innovations in optical devices, ranging from improved telescope mirrors to anti-reflective coatings for optical elements and diffraction gratings.

Career Born in Lawrence, Kansas in 1905, Strong received degrees from the University of Kansas (BA 1926) and the University of Michigan (M.S., 1928, Ph.D., 1930). After twelve years at Caltech and wartime research at Harvard on infrared systems, Strong became professor and director of the Astrophysics and Physical Meteorology Laboratories at Johns Hopkins University in 1946, where, among many other projects, he conducted research on balloon astronomy for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). He retired in 1981. Strong died of pancreatic cancer in 1992.

Research Strong published hundreds of papers throughout his career and was author of Procedures in Experimental Physics, a standard physics textbook for many years. Strong served as president of the American Optical Association in 1959 and patented numerous inventions for optics in spectroscopy as well as golf (see US patent 3720467A ).

Awards Strong won Longstreth and Levy Medals from the Franklin Institute and OSA's Frederic Ives Medal. He was later elected a Fellow in OSA's inaugural Fellows class in 1959 and an Honorary member in 1981.

Selected publications Strong, John (1 January 1986). Procedures in Experimental Physics (1986th ed.). Lindsay Pubns. ISBN 978-0-917914-56-0. Strong, John (15 January 2004). Concepts of Classical Optics (2004th ed.). Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-43262-5. Strong, John (28 October 1989). Procedures in Applied Optics (1st ed.). Marcel Dekker, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8247-7987-0.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John D. Strong

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong

In research: John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong 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: John D. Strong is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1905 births, 1992 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is John D. Strong in simple terms?

Why does John D. Strong 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 John D. Strong?

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 John D. Strong.