physics

William Alfred Fowler

William Alfred Fowler 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 William Alfred Fowler rather than just read about it. In short: William Alfred Fowler (August 9, 1911 – March 14, 1995) was an American astrophysicist. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe." He is known for his theoretical and experimental research into nuclear reactions within stars and the energy elements produced in the process.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

William Alfred Fowler (August 9, 1911 – March 14, 1995) was an American astrophysicist. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe." He is known for his theoretical and experimental research into nuclear reactions within stars and the energy elements produced in the process. With Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge and Fred Hoyle, he authored the influential B2FH paper, Synthesis of the Elements in Stars.

Early life On 9 August 1911, Fowler was born in Pittsburgh. Fowler's parents were John MacLeod Fowler and Jennie Summers Watson. Fowler was the eldest of his siblings, Arthur and Nelda. The family moved to Lima, Ohio, a steam railroad town, when Fowler was two years old. Growing up near the Pennsylvania Railroad yard influenced Fowler's interest in locomotives. In 1973, he travelled to the Soviet Union just to observe the steam engine that powered the Trans-Siberian Railway plying the nearly 2,500-kilometre (1,600 mi) route that connects Khabarovsk and Moscow.

Education In 1933, Fowler graduated from the Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In 1936, Fowler received a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.

Career

In 1936, Fowler became a research fellow at Caltech. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1938. In 1939, Fowler became an assistant professor at Caltech. Although an experimental nuclear physicist, Fowler's most famous paper was his collaboration with Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge, Synthesis of the Elements in Stars. Significantly, Margaret Burbidge was first author, her husband Geoffrey Burbidge second, Fowler third, and Cambridge cosmologist Fred Hoyle fourth. That 1957 paper in Reviews of Modern Physics categorized most nuclear processes for origin of all but the lightest chemical elements in stars. It is widely known as the B2FH paper. Though the theory of Stellar Nucleosynthesis established in the paper was later cited by the Nobel Committee as the reason for Fowler's 1983 Nobel in Physics, neither any of the Burbidges nor Hoyle shared in the award. In 1942, Fowler became an associate professor at Caltech. In 1946, Fowler became a Professor at Caltech. Fowler, along with Lee A. DuBridge, Max Mason, Linus Pauling, and Bruce H. Sage, was awarded the Medal for Merit in 1948 by President Harry S. Truman. Fowler succeeded Charles Lauritsen as director of the W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory at Caltech, and was himself later succeeded by Steven E. Koonin. Fowler was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Gerald Ford. Fowler was Guggenheim Fellow at St John's College, Cambridge in 1962–63. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1962, won the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society in 1963, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1965, won the Vetlesen Prize in 1973, the Eddington Medal in 1978, the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1979, and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 (shared with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar) for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe . Fowler's doctoral students at Caltech included Donald D. Clayton and George M. Fuller.

Personal life A lifelong fan of steam locomotives, Fowler owned several working models of various sizes. Fowler's first wife was Adriane Fay (née Olmsted) Fowler (1912-1988). They had two daughters, Mary Emily and Martha. In December 1989, Fowler married Mary Dutcher, an artist, in Pasadena, California. On 11 March 1995, Fowler died from kidney failure in Pasadena, California. He was 83.

Publications Fowler, W.A.; Lauritsen, C.C (1949-05-26). "Gamma radiation from light nuclei under proton bombardment" (PDF). Physical Review. 73 (2): 314–315. Bibcode:1948PhRv...73..181F. doi:10.1103/physrev.73.181.2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-08. Cook, C.W.; Fowler, W.A.; Lauritsen, C.C.; Lauritsen, T. (1957-07-15). "B12, C12 and the Red Hot Giants". Physical Review. 107 (2): 508. Bibcode:1957PhRv..107..508C. doi:10.1103/physrev.107.508. Clayton, D.D; Fowler, W.A; Hull, T.E; Zimmerman, B.A. (1961-03-01). "Neutron capture chains in heavy element synthesis". Annals of Physics. 12 (3): 331–408. Bibcode:1961AnPhy..12..331C. doi:10.1016/0003-4916(61)90067-7. ISSN 0003-4916. Burbidge, E. M.; Burbidge, G. R.; Fowler, W. A.; Hoyle, F. (1957). "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars". Reviews of Modern Physics. 29 (4): 547–650. Bibcode:1957RvMP...29..547B. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547. ISSN 0034-6861. LCCN 31021290. OCLC 5975699. Fowler, W. A. (June 1958). Temperature and Density Conditions for Nucleogenesis by Fusion Processes in Stars. W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory. doi:10.2172/4308210. OSTI 4308210. Seeger, P. A.; Fowler, W. A.; Clayton, Donald D. (1965). "Nucleosynthesis of heavy elements by neutron capture". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 11: 121–166. Bibcode:1965ApJS...11..121S. doi:10.1086/190111. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2022-03-21. Bodansky, D.; Clayton, Donald D.; Fowler, W.A. (1968-01-22). "Nucleosynthesis during silicon burning". Physical Review Letters. 20 (4): 161–164. Bibcode:1968PhRvL..20..161B. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.20.161. Archived from the original on 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2022-03-21. Holmes, J.A.; Woosley, S.E.; Fowler, W.A.; Zimmerman, B.A. (1976). "Tables of thermonuclear-reaction-rate for neutron-induced reactions on heavy nuclei". Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables. 18: 305. Bibcode:1976ADNDT..18..305H. doi:10.1016/0092-640x(76)90011-5. Caughlan, G.R.; Fowler, W.A.; Zimmerman, B.A. (September 1975). "Thermonuclear reaction rates, II". Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 13: 69–112. Bibcode:1975ARA&A..13...69F. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.13.090175.000441. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-03-21.

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Alfred Fowler

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Alfred Fowler 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 William Alfred Fowler 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 William Alfred Fowler 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 William Alfred Fowler

In research: William Alfred Fowler 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 William Alfred Fowler 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: William Alfred Fowler is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1911 births, 1995 deaths, American Nobel laureates, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Alfred Fowler 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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Frequently asked questions

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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.

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