physics

Maurice Karnaugh

Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh rather than just read about it. In short: Maurice Karnaugh (; October 4, 1924 – November 8, 2022) was an American physicist, mathematician, computer scientist, and inventor known for the Karnaugh map used in Boolean algebra. Early life and education Karnaugh earned a B.A in physics from the City College of New York in 1948 and a PhD. in physics from Yale in 1952.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Maurice Karnaugh (; October 4, 1924 – November 8, 2022) was an American physicist, mathematician, computer scientist, and inventor known for the Karnaugh map used in Boolean algebra.

Early life and education Karnaugh earned a B.A in physics from the City College of New York in 1948 and a PhD. in physics from Yale in 1952. He later studied mathematics and physics at City College of New York (1944 to 1948) and transferred to Yale University to complete his B.Sc. (1949), M.Sc. (1950) and Ph.D. in physics with a thesis on The Theory of Magnetic Resonance and Lambda-Type Doubling in Nitric-Oxide (1952).

Career Karnaugh worked at Bell Labs and IBM from 1952 to 1993. From 1980 until 1999 Karnaugh taught computer science at Polytechnic University of New York. At Bell Labs, (1952 to 1966), developing the PLC (aura) map (1954) as well as patents for PCM encoding and magnetic logic circuits and coding. He later worked at IBM's Federal Systems Division in Gaithersburg (1966 to 1970) and at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center (1970 to 1994), studying multistage interconnection networks. Karnaugh was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1976, and held an adjunct position at Polytechnic University of New York (now New York University Tandon School of Engineering) at the Westchester campus from 1980 to 1999.

Karnaugh Map While at Bell Labs, in 1953 Karnaugh invented a form of logic diagram which provides an alternative technique for representing Boolean functions. The diagram is known as the Karnaugh Map.

Personal life and death

Karnaugh was married to the former Linn Blank Weil from 1970 until his death in 2022. He had two sons, Robert Victor Karnaugh and Paul Joseph Karnaugh, from his first marriage. Karnaugh died in The Bronx on November 8, 2022, at the age of 98.

Publications Karnaugh, Maurice (November 1953) [1953-04-23, 1953-03-17]. "The Map Method for Synthesis of Combinational Logic Circuits" (PDF). Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Part I: Communication and Electronics. 72 (5): 593–599. doi:10.1109/TCE.1953.6371932. S2CID 51636736. Paper 53-217. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16. Karnaugh, Maurice (June 1972). "Issues in Computer Communications". IEEE Transactions on Communications. 20 (3): 495–498. doi:10.1109/TCOM.1972.1091197. S2CID 51640082. Karnaugh, Maurice (May 1976). "A New Class of Algorithms for Multipoint Network Optimization". IEEE Transactions on Communications. 24 (5): 500–505. doi:10.1109/TCOM.1976.1093334. Karnaugh, Maurice (March 1992). Generalized quicksearch for expert systems. Eighth Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Applications. pp. 30–34. doi:10.1109/CAIA.1992.200007. Karnaugh, Maurice (2017-01-17) [2015-07-05]. "Symbolic Sets and the Real Line" (PDF). symbolicsets.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-07. (61 pages)

See also List of pioneers in computer science

References

External links Maurice Karnaugh at DBLP Bibliography Server List of publications at ACM Digital Library

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Maurice Karnaugh

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh

In research: Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh 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: Maurice Karnaugh is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1924 births, 2022 deaths, 21st-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Maurice Karnaugh 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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Frequently asked questions

What is Maurice Karnaugh in simple terms?

Maurice Karnaugh (; October 4, 1924 – November 8, 2022) was an American physicist, mathematician, computer scientist, and inventor known for the Karnaugh map used in Boolean algebra. Early life and education Karnaugh earned a B.A in physics from the City College of New York in 1948 and a PhD. in ph…

Why does Maurice Karnaugh 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 Maurice Karnaugh?

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 Maurice Karnaugh.