astronomy

Thornton Carle Fry

Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry rather than just read about it. In short: Thornton Carle Fry (7 January 1892, Findlay, Ohio – 1 January 1991) was an applied mathematician, known for his two widely-used textbooks, Probability and its engineering uses (1928) and Elementary differential equations (1929). Career Thornton C.

Key takeaways

Thornton Carle Fry belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Thornton Carle Fry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thornton Carle Fry (7 January 1892, Findlay, Ohio – 1 January 1991) was an applied mathematician, known for his two widely-used textbooks, Probability and its engineering uses (1928) and Elementary differential equations (1929).

Career Thornton C. Fry received his bachelor's degree from Findlay College in 1912 and then pursued graduate study in Wisconsin in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. He received his M.A. in 1913 and his Ph.D. in 1920 in applied mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with thesis under the supervision of Charles S. Slichter. Fry was employed as an industrial mathematician by Western Electric Company from 1916 to 1924 and then by Bell Telephone Laboratories (Bell Labs), which was half-owned by Western Electric. He headed a corporate division for industrial applications of mathematics and statistics and was involved in research and development for the U.S. federal government in both world wars. After retiring (due to reaching the mandatory retirement age) from Bell Labs in 1956, he was hired by William Norris as a Senior Consultant for the UNIVAC division of Sperry Rand. He would subsequently be appointed as Vice-President head of the UNIVAC Division over Norris in April 1957. After retiring from Sperry-Rand in 1961 he worked as a consultant with Boeing Scientific Research Labs and also, during the 1960s, with Walter Orr Roberts, director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. In 1924 Fry was an Invited Speaker of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Toronto. In 1982 the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) gave him the MAA's distinguished service award.

Selected publications Fry, Thornton C. (1916). "The graphical computation of transit factors". Popular Astronomy. 24: 17–21. Bibcode:1916PA.....24...17F. Fry, Thornton C. (1916). "Graphical solution of the position of a body in an elliptic orbit". The Astronomical Journal. 29: 141–146. Bibcode:1916AJ.....29..141F. doi:10.1086/104144. Fry, Thornton C. (1919). "The solution of circuit problems. Mathematical methods of investigation resulting from the application of Fourier's integral". Physical Review. 14 (2): 115–136. Bibcode:1919PhRv...14..115F. doi:10.1103/physrev.14.115. with R. V. L. Hartley: Hartley, R. V. L.; Fry, Thornton C. (1921). "The binaural location of pure tones". Physical Review. 18 (6): 431–442. Bibcode:1921PhRv...18..431H. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.18.431. with R. V. L. Hartley: Hartley, R. V. L.; Fry, Thornton C. (1922). "The binaural location of complex sounds". Bell Labs Technical Journal. 1 (2): 33–42. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1922.tb00387.x. Fry, Thornton C. (1929). "The theory of the Schroteffekt". Journal of the Franklin Institute. 199 (2): 203–220. doi:10.1016/S0016-0032(25)91045-9. Fry, T. C. (1929). "The use of continued fractions in the design of electrical networks". Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 35 (4): 463–498. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1929-04747-5. Fry, Thornton C. (1929). "Differential equations as a foundation for electrical circuit theory". The American Mathematical Monthly. 36 (10): 499–504. doi:10.1080/00029890.1929.11987013. JSTOR 2299959. Fry, Thornton C. (1932). "Two problems in potential theory". The American Mathematical Monthly. 39 (4): 199–209. doi:10.2307/2300663. JSTOR 2300663. with John R. Carson: Carson, John R.; Fry, Thornton C. (1937). "Variable frequency electric circuit theory with an application to the theory of frequency-modulation". Bell Labs Technical Journal. 16 (4): 513–540. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1937.tb00766.x. Fry, Thornton C. (1937). "The semicentennial celebration of the American Mathematical Society—September 6–9, 1938". Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. 43 (9): 593–594. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1937-06580-3. Fry, Thornton C. (1938). "The χ2-test of significance". Journal of the American Statistical Association. 33 (203): 513–525. doi:10.1080/01621459.1938.10502328. "Industrial Mathematics by Thornton C. Fry, Mathematical Research Director, Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York, NY". In: Research—A National Resource. II. Industrial Research, Report of the National Resource Council to the National Resources Planning Board, December 1940. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. 1941. pp. 268–288. Fry, Thornton C. (1941). "Industrial mathematics". Bell Labs Technical Journal. 20 (3): 255–292. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1941.tb03138.x. Fry, Thornton C. (1945). "Some numerical methods for locating roots of polynomials" (PDF). Quarterly of Applied Mathematics. 3 (2): 89–105. doi:10.1090/qam/12910. Fry, Thornton C. (1956). "Mathematics as a profession today in industry". The American Mathematical Monthly. 63 (2): 71–80. doi:10.2307/2306427. JSTOR 2306427. Fry, T. C. (1964). "Mathematicians in industry—the first 75 years". Science. 143 (3609): 934–938. Bibcode:1964Sci...143..934F. doi:10.1126/science.143.3609.934. JSTOR 1712826. PMID 17743925.

Patents "System for determining the direction of propagation of wave energy." U.S. Patent 1,502,243, issued July 22, 1924. "Harmonic analyzer." U.S. Patent 1,503,824, issued August 5, 1924. "Filtering circuit." U.S. Patent 1,559,864, issued November 3, 1925.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thornton Carle Fry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry

In research: Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry 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: Thornton Carle Fry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1892 births, 1991 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Thornton Carle Fry in simple terms?

Why does Thornton Carle Fry 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 Thornton Carle Fry?

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 Thornton Carle Fry.