physics

William J. Atkinson

William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson rather than just read about it. In short: William J. Atkinson (born about 1950), an American, is a senior scientist at Boeing Satellite Systems who was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2011.

Key takeaways

William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of William J. Atkinson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William J. Atkinson (born about 1950), an American, is a senior scientist at Boeing Satellite Systems who was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2011. An expert in nuclear and space radiation hardening and electro-optics, he was cited for "academic contributions in the areas of nuclear physics and for substantial applications of radiation technology to spaceborne applications in the aerospace community." In 2011, he was also honored as an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. IEEE Spectrum reported Atkinson "developed software known as TSAREME (short for Total Space and Atmospheric Radiation Effects on Microelectronics) to account for errors induced by the impact of radiation in near-Earth orbits and inside the atmosphere."

Selected publications Atkinson, William J.; Brezovich, Ivan A. (November 22, 2006). "An analytic solution from a spherical gamma emitter". American Journal of Physics. 74 (12): 1112–1114. Bibcode:2006AmJPh..74.1112A. doi:10.1119/1.2348891. ISSN 0002-9505. Atkinson, William J.; Seidler, William A. (2007). "Impact of device scaling and material composition on the soft error rates in avionic systems". Proceedings 2007 IEEE SoutheastCon. pp. 601–605. doi:10.1109/SECON.2007.342973. ISBN 978-1-4244-1028-6. S2CID 6477109. Atkinson, William J. (September 14, 2007). "Analytic solution for source distributions in brachytherapy to obtain uniform dose rates in spherical tumor models". Physics in Medicine & Biology. 52 (19): 5871–5879. Bibcode:2007PMB....52.5871A. doi:10.1088/0031-9155/52/19/009. PMID 17881805. S2CID 1801951. Atkinson, William J.; Hansen, David; Sunderland, David A.; Seidler, William A. (2008). "TSAREME, a comprehensive tool in evaluating radiation hardness of submicron technologies". IEEE SoutheastCon 2008. pp. 409–414. doi:10.1109/SECON.2008.4494329. ISBN 978-1-4244-1883-1. S2CID 34400265. Matzkind, Courtney; Seidler, William A.; Atkinson, William J. (July 12, 2009). "Disturbance of Electronics in Low-Earth Orbits by High Energy Electron Plasmas". SAE International Journal of Aerospace. 4 (1): 8–13. doi:10.4271/2009-01-2339. ISSN 1946-3855. Atkinson, William; Seidler, William; Matzkind, Courtney (2010), "Model Results on the Radiation-Hardness of Submicron Electronics in Aeronautical Systems", U.S. Air Force T&E Days 2010, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, doi:10.2514/6.2010-1724, ISBN 978-1-60086-965-5, S2CID 110639752, retrieved June 6, 2020 Atkinson, William; Collaboration, William J. Atkinson (2015). "Models for Examining Impact of Cosmic Rays on Integrated Circuits". APS. 2015: L1.037. Bibcode:2015APS..APR.L1037A. Atkinson, William J. (November 8, 2018). "Impact of Space radiation on Ultra-Sensitive In-Orbit IR Telescopes". Bulletin of the American Physical Society. 63 (19). American Physical Society.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William J. Atkinson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson

In research: William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950 births, American physicist stubs, Boeing people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson in simple terms?

William J. Atkinson (born about 1950), an American, is a senior scientist at Boeing Satellite Systems who was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2011.

Why does William J. Atkinson 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 J. Atkinson?

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 J. Atkinson.