physics

Richard F. Post

Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Freeman Post (November 14, 1918 – April 7, 2015) was an American physicist notable for his work in nuclear fusion, plasma physics, magnetic mirrors, magnetic levitation, magnetic bearing design and direct energy conversion. Post was a winner of the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics and led the controlled thermonuclear research group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 23 years.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Freeman Post (November 14, 1918 – April 7, 2015) was an American physicist notable for his work in nuclear fusion, plasma physics, magnetic mirrors, magnetic levitation, magnetic bearing design and direct energy conversion. Post was a winner of the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics and led the controlled thermonuclear research group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 23 years. He held a total of 34 patents in the fields of nuclear fusion, particle accelerators, and electronic and mechanical energy storage.

Early life and education Post was born in Pomona, California, the son of Miriam (Colcord) and Freeman Post. He is a descendant of colonist Robert Coe. He received a BA in physics from Pomona College in 1940 and a PhD in physics from Stanford University in 1951. After his PhD, he was inspired to pursue fusion energy research by a college professor.

Career Post joined the staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as leader of the controlled thermonuclear research group until 1974. During this time, he developed many of the concepts behind magnetic mirrors and direct energy conversion. He worked with Marshall Rosenbluth to develop the stability of plasma inside mirror machines. From 1974 to 1987 he was deputy associate director of the magnetic fusion energy program at LLNL. This was a heavily funded effort by the United States Department of Energy to build a succession of magnetic mirror machines, including the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) and the Tandem Mirror Facility. After 1987, Post was senior scientist in the magnetic fusion energy program. He has held advisory roles at NASA, the National Academy of Sciences and the United States Air Force. Post's notable work includes inductrack and magnetically levitated flywheels.

Personal life Post and his wife Marylee (a poet) were the parents of actress Markie Post and her two brothers, Steve and Rodney. Although he retired in 1994, Post continued to work in his lab four days a week, up until the week of his death on April 7, 2015.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard F. Post

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post

In research: Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post 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: Richard F. Post is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2015 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard F. Post in simple terms?

Why does Richard F. Post 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 Richard F. Post?

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 Richard F. Post.