astronomy

Melvin Spencer Newman

Melvin Spencer Newman is a astronomy 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 Melvin Spencer Newman rather than just read about it. In short: Melvin Spencer Newman (March 10, 1908 – May 30, 1993) was an American chemist, Ohio State University professor, best known for inventing the Newman projection. Newman was born in New York City in a Jewish family, the youngest of Mae (née Polack) and Jacob K.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Melvin Spencer Newman (March 10, 1908 – May 30, 1993) was an American chemist, Ohio State University professor, best known for inventing the Newman projection. Newman was born in New York City in a Jewish family, the youngest of Mae (née Polack) and Jacob K. Newman's four children. His paternal grandfather was the New Orleans German-born investment banker and philanthropist Isidore Newman. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. When he was 14, they moved back to New York, where he attended Riverdale County School. From 1925 to 1932, he attended Yale University, where he obtained his B.A. magna cum laude in 1929 and his PhD in 1932, under the direction of Professor Rudolph J. Anderson. He was a member of Zeta Beta Tau. After postdoctoral stays at Yale, Columbia University and Harvard University, he began his independent career as an instructor at Ohio State University, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1940 and to full professor in 1944. He was a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Alpha Epsilon Delta, American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1956. Newman received numerous awards, including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry in 1961, the Morley Medal given by the Cleveland, Ohio section of the ACS in 1969, the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal by Yale in 1975, an honorary doctorate by the University of New Orleans in 1975, the Columbus section of the ACS award in 1976, and the Joseph Sullivant Medal by Ohio State University in 1976. In addition, the Newman projection - which allows organic chemists to represent different conformations of molecules in space - was introduced by the chemist. Newman was an avid golfer. Newman married Beatrice Crystal in 1933. They had two daughters and two sons: Kiefer, Susan, Beth and Robert. His sister Alice Louis was Nicolai Berezowsky's first wife.

See also the Newman-Kwart rearrangement, a reaction named after Newman and Harold Kwart

References

Paquette, L. A.; Orchin, M. "Melvin Spencer Newman", in National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: Biographical Memoirs, vol. 73, 335-348. National Academy Press, 1998. "Newman, Melvin Spencer," in: William Haynes (ed.), Chemical Who's who, vol. 3, 1951, p. 545.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Melvin Spencer Newman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Melvin Spencer Newman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Melvin Spencer Newman 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 Melvin Spencer Newman 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 Melvin Spencer Newman

In research: Melvin Spencer Newman appears in astronomy 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 Melvin Spencer Newman 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: Melvin Spencer Newman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1908 births, 1993 deaths, 20th-century American Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Melvin Spencer Newman 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 Melvin Spencer Newman in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Melvin Spencer Newman in simple terms?

Why does Melvin Spencer Newman matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Melvin Spencer Newman?

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 Melvin Spencer Newman.