physics

William Arnold Anthony

William Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony rather than just read about it. In short: William Arnold Anthony (November 17, 1835 – May 29, 1908) was an American physicist. Biography Anthony was born in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William Arnold Anthony (November 17, 1835 – May 29, 1908) was an American physicist.

Biography Anthony was born in Coventry, Rhode Island. He was educated at the Yale Scientific School (today Sheffield Scientific School) and graduated in 1860. Between 1857 and 1860 he was director of a grade school in Crompton, Rhode Island. From 1860 to 1861 he taught natural sciences at the Providence Conference Seminary, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, followed by a teaching position at the Delaware Literary Institute in Franklin, New York until 1867. That year he became professor of physics and chemistry at the Antioch College, where he stayed until 1870. After a short time teaching at Iowa Agricultural College, he became professor of physics at the freshly founded Cornell University, where he held a position for fifteen years (1872–1887). While at Cornell, he introduced and taught the school's electrical engineering course, one of the first in the United States. He was a consulting electrician in Manchester, Connecticut, from 1887 to 1893. From 1893 until his death, he taught in the new day school of engineering at Cooper Union. He was the president of the AIEE from 1890-1, and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Though primarily a teacher, Anthony invested some time in research and development. Between 1857 and 1861 he constructed two types of turbines, increasing their efficiency up to 87% by using blades based on a mathematical model derived from fluid dynamics. In 1857 he built an electrodynamic machine with a power output of 25 amps at 250 volts, as well as a galvanometer which could measure between 0.1 and 250 amps. In 1875, while at Cornell, Arnold and student George Sylvanus Moler built a dynamo which was similar to the Gramme machine. He installed this generator in the basement of McGraw Hall, from which it which powered two electric arc lamps, one of which was located in the tower of Sage Chapel. It was said to be the "first locality in America, if not the world, to have a permanent installation of electric arc lamps." The lamps were "visible for many miles around, and it excited the wonder of the inhabitants." The machine was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. In 1884 Anthony constructed a colossal galvanometer, two meters in diameter, capable of measuring currents up to 250 amps "with a precision hitherto unattained." It was housed in a specially-built wooden structure on the Cornell campus made "entirely free from iron." He died at his home in Manhattan on May 29, 1908.

Publications His published papers include contributions read before these societies, and other numerous scientific articles which have appeared in the American Journal of Science, Journal of the Franklin Institute, the Popular Science Monthly, and several electrical journals. He is joint author with C. F. Brackett of an Elementary Textbook on Physics (New York, 1885), and he contributed a chapter to E. A. Thompson's Roentgen Rays and Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode (New York, 1896).

References

External links

"Anthony, William Arnold". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 128.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Arnold Anthony

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony

In research: William Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony 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 Arnold Anthony is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1835 births, 1908 deaths, American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Arnold Anthony 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 William Arnold Anthony in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William Arnold Anthony 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.
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Frequently asked questions

What is William Arnold Anthony in simple terms?

William Arnold Anthony (November 17, 1835 – May 29, 1908) was an American physicist. Biography Anthony was born in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Why does William Arnold Anthony 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 William Arnold Anthony?

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 William Arnold Anthony.