astronomy

Reginald Lawson Waterfield

Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield rather than just read about it. In short: Reginald Lawson Waterfield (12 April 1900 – 10 June 1986 in Woolston) was a British hematologist known for his work in amateur astronomy, specialising in astrometry and the photography of comets. He was elected to the British Astronomical Association on 25 November 1914 and to the Royal Astronomical Society on 10 November 1916.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Reginald Lawson Waterfield (12 April 1900 – 10 June 1986 in Woolston) was a British hematologist known for his work in amateur astronomy, specialising in astrometry and the photography of comets. He was elected to the British Astronomical Association on 25 November 1914 and to the Royal Astronomical Society on 10 November 1916. Both elections being at the proposal of W H Steavenson. Waterfield served as Director of the British Astronomical Association Mars Section from 1931 to 1942 and its president from 1954 to 1956. For his work in astronomy he won the 1942 Jackson-Gwilt Medal. After World War II he had to use a wheelchair due to polio. The minor planet 1645 Waterfield is named jointly for him and his cousin William Francis Herschel Waterfield (1886-1933), who was also a member of the British Astronomical Association and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was the son of Reginald Waterfield, a prominent teacher and clergyman.

Books Waterfield wrote two books on astronomy:- • A Hundred Years of Astronomy, Duckworth, 1938. • The Revolving Heavens, 1942.

Obituaries QJRAS vol 28 (1987), p. 544 JBAA vol 97 (1987), p. 211 BMJ vol 293 (1986), p. 214

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reginald Lawson Waterfield

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield

In research: Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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: Reginald Lawson Waterfield is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1900 births, 1986 deaths, 20th-century British astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 “Reginald Lawson Waterfield” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Reginald Lawson Waterfield in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Reginald Lawson Waterfield in simple terms?

Why does Reginald Lawson Waterfield 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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield?

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 Reginald Lawson Waterfield.