physics

Roy W. Gould

Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould rather than just read about it. In short: Roy Walter Gould (April 25, 1927 – February 19, 2022) was an American electrical engineer and physicist who specialized in plasma physics. In 1959, he (together with Alvin Trivelpiece) was the first to describe electrostatic waves that were propagating at the boundary of a magnetized plasma column, now commonly known as Trivelpiece–Gould modes.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Roy Walter Gould (April 25, 1927 – February 19, 2022) was an American electrical engineer and physicist who specialized in plasma physics. In 1959, he (together with Alvin Trivelpiece) was the first to describe electrostatic waves that were propagating at the boundary of a magnetized plasma column, now commonly known as Trivelpiece–Gould modes. Gould was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1971 for pioneering contributions to microwave electronics and plasma physics and distinguished service in higher education.

Early life and career Gould was born in Los Angeles, California on April 25, 1927. He studied at Caltech (bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1949), at Stanford University (master's degree in electrical engineering in 1950) and received his doctorate in physics from Caltech in 1956 (on microwave and radio noise from the sun). In 1951–52, he was a research engineer for rocket control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech and from 1953 to 1955 at Hughes Aircraft, where he researched electron tubes. In 1955, he became an associate professor and 1960 professor of electrical engineering at Caltech. In 1974, he changed to the faculty of physics as professor of applied physics, and from 1980 he was Simon Ramo Professor. Since 1996 he was professor emeritus. From 1979 to 1985, he was chairman of the division of engineering and applied science at Caltech. From 1970 to 1972, he was director of fusion research at the Atomic Energy Commission.

Personal life Gould died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 94.

Honors and awards In 1966, he became a fellow of the American Physical Society. He has been a member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1971 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1974. In 1994, he received the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roy W. Gould

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould

In research: Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould 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: Roy W. Gould is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 births, 2022 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Roy W. Gould in simple terms?

Why does Roy W. Gould 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 Roy W. Gould?

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 Roy W. Gould.