science

Russell Shearman

Russell Shearman is a science 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 Russell Shearman rather than just read about it. In short: Russell Morrison Shearman (April 27, 1908 – May 5, 1956) was an Oscar-winning American special effects artist. He was electrocuted while repairing equipment used in filming The Sharkfighters in Cuba 1956, serving as head technician on the picture.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Russell Morrison Shearman (April 27, 1908 – May 5, 1956) was an Oscar-winning American special effects artist. He was electrocuted while repairing equipment used in filming The Sharkfighters in Cuba 1956, serving as head technician on the picture.

Career As RKO Studio's head of special effects, he won a Technical Achievement Award for It's a Wonderful Life at the 19th Academy Awards in 1946, shared with department staffer Marty Martin and Jack Lannan, for developing a new method of creating artificial snow for motion picture sets it was the movie's only Award. Before that time, most fake movie snow was mostly made from cornflakes painted white, and was so loud when stepped on that dialogue had to be re-dubbed afterwards. The new compound utilized water, soap flakes, Foamite (a foaming agent made from licorice waste, used in fire extinguishers) and sugar. Shearman won an Academy Award during the 21st Academy Awards for Best Special Effects on the film Portrait of Jennie, shared with Paul Eagler, Charles L. Freeman, Joseph McMillan Johnson, Clarence Slifer and James G. Stewart.

Filmography The Sharkfighters (1956) The Kentuckian (1955) Beachhead (1954) Vera Cruz (1954) The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) The Diamond Queen (1953) Bwana Devil (1952) The Crimson Pirate (1952) Hans Christian Andersen (1952) Portrait of Jennie (1948) It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Death According to Shearman's May 8, 1956 obituary in the Los Angeles Times, he was "electrocuted while repairing equipment used for a film being made on the Isle of Pines in Cuba". The Times describes him as an Academy Award winning special effects man “credited with the development of many machines and gadgets used in motion-picture production”. It states he was serving as chief technician on the picture The Sharkfighters, an account of the U.S. Navy's efforts to develop an effective shark repellent. Shearman was not an underwater cameraman, and there is no indication he was working as one while electrocuted.

References

External links Russell Shearman at IMDb

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Russell Shearman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Russell Shearman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Russell Shearman 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 Russell Shearman 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 Russell Shearman

In research: Russell Shearman appears in science 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 Russell Shearman 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: Russell Shearman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1908 births, 1956 deaths, Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Russell Shearman 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 Russell Shearman in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Russell Shearman in simple terms?

Why does Russell Shearman matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Russell Shearman?

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 Russell Shearman.