physics

Perley G. Nutting

Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting rather than just read about it. In short: Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) was an American optical physicist and the founder of the Optical Society of America (OSA). He served as its first president from 1916 to 1917.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) was an American optical physicist and the founder of the Optical Society of America (OSA). He served as its first president from 1916 to 1917. OSA is now known as Optica. Born August 22, 1873, in Randolph, Wisconsin, Nutting was a graduate of Stanford University (BA, 1897), the University of California, Berkeley (MA, 1899), and Cornell University (PhD, 1903). He joined the National Bureau of Standards as a physicist in 1903. It is claimed that in 1904, Nutting constructed one of the earliest, if not the first, neon sign, which was displayed at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition; however, this story has been disputed. In 1910, Nutting joined the staff of Eastman Kodak Company prior to the arrival of Kodak's first research director Kenneth Mees, in 1912. He was the author of the 1912 book Outlines of Applied Optics, which called for an increased level of academic study in the applied optics field. In 1915, Nutting convened a series of meetings among Rochester, New York–based physicists that resulted in the founding of the OSA in January 1916. Nutting moved from Kodak to Westinghouse Electric Company in 1917. In 1924 he returned to government work, moving to the United States Geological Survey where he remained until his retirement in 1943. He died August 8, 1949. Nutting's son, Perley G. Nutting Jr., was the tireless grad student known as observer PGN for the demonstration of the MacAdam ellipse.

References

External links Past Presidents of the Optical Society of America

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Perley G. Nutting

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting

In research: Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting 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: Perley G. Nutting is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1873 births, 1949 deaths, American optical physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Perley G. Nutting in simple terms?

Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) was an American optical physicist and the founder of the Optical Society of America (OSA). He served as its first president from 1916 to 1917.

Why does Perley G. Nutting 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 Perley G. Nutting?

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 Perley G. Nutting.