physics

L. T. E. Thompson

L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson rather than just read about it. In short: Louis Ten Eyck Thompson (October 24, 1891 in South Haven, Michigan – December 13, 1978) known as Dr. Tommy) was an American physicist interested in thermodynamics and ballistics and as an expert working for the United States Navy from 1920 to 1954.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Louis Ten Eyck Thompson (October 24, 1891 in South Haven, Michigan – December 13, 1978) known as Dr. Tommy) was an American physicist interested in thermodynamics and ballistics and as an expert working for the United States Navy from 1920 to 1954. He was the first technical director at the Naval Ordnance Test Station in California, where he was involved in work on the Manhattan Project, helping design the "gun" used to initiate nuclear explosives, and most involved in the development of rockets for naval and marine fighter aircraft. Thompson received his Bachelor of Science degree from Kalamazoo College in 1914, Master of Arts degree in 1915 and Ph.D. in 1917 from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. During 1917–1919 he was an assistant professor and fellow at Clark University, performing research on thermodynamics and ballistics. The Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake named an award in his honor.

References Citations

Bibliography A.G. Webster and L. T. E. Thompson (1919). "A New Instrument For Measuring Pressures In a Gun". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 5 (7): 259–263. Bibcode:1919PNAS....5..259W. doi:10.1073/pnas.5.7.259. PMC 1091588. PMID 16576387. Retrieved 10 February 2011.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with L. T. E. Thompson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson

In research: L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson 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: L. T. E. Thompson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1891 births, 1978 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is L. T. E. Thompson in simple terms?

Why does L. T. E. Thompson 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 L. T. E. Thompson?

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 L. T. E. Thompson.