engineering

Lawrence R. Hafstad

Lawrence R. Hafstad is a engineering 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad rather than just read about it. In short: Lawrence Randolph Hafstad (June 18, 1904 – October 12, 1993) was an American electrical engineer and physicist notable for his pioneering work on nuclear reactors and development of proximity fuzes. In 1939, he created the first nuclear fission reaction in the United States.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Lawrence Randolph Hafstad (June 18, 1904 – October 12, 1993) was an American electrical engineer and physicist notable for his pioneering work on nuclear reactors and development of proximity fuzes. In 1939, he created the first nuclear fission reaction in the United States.

Biography Hafstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the son of two Norwegian immigrants. He attended the University of Minnesota, graduating in electrical engineering in 1926. He had begun working with the Carnegie Institution for Science from 1928. In 1931, he earned the American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for his research with Merle A. Tuve and Odd Dahl. He was awarded his Ph.D. in physics at Johns Hopkins University in 1933. Between 1935 and 1939, he was a frequent participant at the Washington Conferences on Theoretical Physics sponsored by George Washington University and Carnegie Institute of Washington. Between 1946 and 1954, he was a professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University. From 1947-1949, he was director of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. During that same period, he was executive secretary of the research and development board at the Department of Defense. From 1949 to 1955, he served as director of reactor development with the United States Atomic Energy Commission. In 1955, he became a vice president at the General Motors Corporation and was chief of its research laboratories. In 1968, Hafstad was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Hafstad died on October 12, 1993, at his home in the Oldwick section of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.

Honors and awards Medal of Merit of the United States Navy (1946) King's Medal in Defense of Freedom of the British Government (1946)

References

External links Merle Tuve, Lawrence Hafstad, and Odd Dahl with a cloud chamber for high voltage work in 1931

Related Reading Castell, Lutz; Otfried Ischebeck (2013) Time, Quantum and Information (Springer Science & Business Media) ISBN 9783662105573 Dahl, Per F. (2002) From Nuclear Transmutation to Nuclear Fission, 1932-1939 (CRC Press) ISBN 9781420034318 Fernandez, Bernard; Georges Ripka (2012) Unravelling the Mystery of the Atomic Nucleus (Springer Science & Business Media) ISBN 9781461441809 Mehra, Jagdish (2004) The Conceptual Completion and Extensions of Quantum Mechanics 1932-1941 (Springer Science & Business Media) ISBN 9780387218052

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lawrence R. Hafstad

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lawrence R. Hafstad claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad

In research: Lawrence R. Hafstad appears in engineering 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad 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: Lawrence R. Hafstad is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1904 births, 1993 deaths, 20th-century American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lawrence R. Hafstad 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 “Lawrence R. Hafstad” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Lawrence R. Hafstad in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Lawrence R. Hafstad in simple terms?

Why does Lawrence R. Hafstad matter?

Because it connects several engineering 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 Lawrence R. Hafstad?

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 Lawrence R. Hafstad.