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Roger Elliott (physicist)

Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Roger James Elliott (8 December 1928 – 16 April 2018) was a British theoretical physicist specialising in the magnetic, semiconductor, and optical properties of condensed matter. He was awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize, the Guthrie Medal and Prize, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sir Roger James Elliott (8 December 1928 – 16 April 2018) was a British theoretical physicist specialising in the magnetic, semiconductor, and optical properties of condensed matter. He was awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize, the Guthrie Medal and Prize, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He was awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees by the universities of Paris, Bath, and Essex.

Life Born in Chesterfield, Elliott's father was a policeman, who died of tuberculosis when Elliott was three. Elliott was brought up by his mother and three unmarried aunts in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Elliott obtained a DPhil in mathematics and theoretical physics from the University of Oxford in 1952. He was a theoretical physicist specialising in the magnetic, semiconductor, and optical properties of condensed matter. He was a research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1952–3, then at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment until 1955, when he was appointed to a lecturership at the University of Reading. He returned to the University of Oxford in 1957, where he was the Wykeham Professor of Physics from 1974 until 1988. He served as chief executive of Oxford University Press from 1988 until 1993. The Institute of Physics awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize jointly to Elliott and Kenneth William Harry Stevens in 1968, and the Guthrie Medal and Prize to Elliott in 1990. Elliott was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1976 and knighted in 1987. He has been awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees by the universities of Paris (1983), Bath (1991), and Essex (1993). Elliott died on 16 April 2018 at the age of 89.

See also Elliott formula

References

External links Homepage at the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roger Elliott (physicist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist)

In research
Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) 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
Roger Elliott (physicist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1928 births, 2018 deaths, British fellows of the Royal Society, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roger Elliott (physicist) in simple terms?

Sir Roger James Elliott (8 December 1928 – 16 April 2018) was a British theoretical physicist specialising in the magnetic, semiconductor, and optical properties of condensed matter. He was awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize, the Guthrie Medal and Prize, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Socie…

Why does Roger Elliott (physicist) 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 Roger Elliott (physicist)?

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 Roger Elliott (physicist).

Tags

  • 1928 births
  • 2018 deaths
  • British fellows of the Royal Society
  • British theoretical physicists
  • English physicists
  • Fellows of New College, Oxford
  • Fellows of St John's College, Oxford
  • Fellows of the American Physical Society
  • Knights Bachelor
  • Maxwell Medal and Prize recipients
  • Members of Academia Europaea
  • People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire

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