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Norman Percy Allen

Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen rather than just read about it. In short: Norman Percy Allen (5 June 1903 – 23 February 1972) was a British metallurgist. Early life He was born in Wrexham, North Wales, the son of accountant Sidney Edward Allen and educated at Burton-on-Trent Boys' Grammar School and Sheffield University, where he obtained an honours degree in metallurgy.

Norman Percy Allen — main illustration
Norman Percy Allen — illustration

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Norman Percy Allen (5 June 1903 – 23 February 1972) was a British metallurgist.

Early life He was born in Wrexham, North Wales, the son of accountant Sidney Edward Allen and educated at Burton-on-Trent Boys' Grammar School and Sheffield University, where he obtained an honours degree in metallurgy.

Career He stayed on at Sheffield to carry out research into copper die-casting alloys, but in 1925 moved to Swansea University to work for three years on the porosity of copper and copper alloys, moving again in 1929 to Birmingham University to continue the work. He was awarded a D.Sc. by Birmingham University in 1934. In 1933 he left the university to join Mond Nickel Company at their Birmingham research laboratory under Dr Leonard Bessemer Pfeil, where he stayed until 1945. During that time he worked on the development of highly alloyed nickel base materials Nimonic having high strength and high oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures which served a key role in the use of such alloys in the new jet engines. In 1945, he joined the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) as Superintendent of the Metallurgy Division, where he stayed until his retirement in 1969. A major project there concerned the development of superconductors, their manufacture, use and ongoing development. Other projects involved the development of physical methods of analysis such as spectrographic analysis, chromatography, colorimetry, X-ray fluorescence and absorption spectrometry. In 1966 he was appointed deputy director of the NPL.

Honours and awards He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1956 and elected President of the Institution of Metallurgists for 1961/62. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1966 Birthday Honours.

Private life He died in 1972. He had married in 1929 Olive Williams, with whom he had 2 sons and a daughter,

References

Illustrations

Norman Percy Allen: Solvay Conference on Physics in Brussels 1951. Left to right, sitting: Crussaro, Allen, Cauchois, Borelius, Bragg, Møller, Sietz, Hollomon, Frank; middle row: Gerhart Rathenau [nl], Koster, Erik Rudberg [sv], Flamache, Goche, Groven, Orowan, Burgers, Shockley, Guinier, C.S. Smith, Dehlinger [de], Laval, Henriot; top row: Gaspart, Lomer, Cottrell, Homes, Curien
Solvay Conference on Physics in Brussels 1951. Left to right, sitting: Crussaro, Allen, Cauchois, Borelius, Bragg, Møller, Sietz, Hollomon, Frank; middle row: Gerhart Rathenau [nl], Koster, Erik Rudberg [sv], Flamache, Goche, Groven, Orowan, Burgers, Shockley, Guinier, C.S. Smith, Dehlinger [de], Laval, Henriot; top row: Gaspart, Lomer, Cottrell, Homes, Curien

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Norman Percy Allen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen

In research
Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen 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
Norman Percy Allen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1903 births, 1972 deaths, Academics of the University of Birmingham, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Norman Percy Allen means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Norman Percy Allen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Norman Percy Allen in simple terms?

Norman Percy Allen (5 June 1903 – 23 February 1972) was a British metallurgist. Early life He was born in Wrexham, North Wales, the son of accountant Sidney Edward Allen and educated at Burton-on-Trent Boys' Grammar School and Sheffield University, where he obtained an honours degree in metallurgy.

Why does Norman Percy Allen 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 Norman Percy Allen?

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 Norman Percy Allen.

Tags

  • 1903 births
  • 1972 deaths
  • Academics of the University of Birmingham
  • Alumni of the University of Sheffield
  • British fellows of the Royal Society
  • British metallurgists
  • Companions of the Order of the Bath
  • People from Wrexham
  • Scientists of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)

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