| Authorised form of name | Wolfendale; Sir; Arnold Whittaker (1927 - 2020); physicist; astronomer |
| Dates | 1927 - 2020 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Rugby, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 25 June 1927 |
| Place of death | Durham, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of death | 21 December 2020 |
| Occupation | Physicist and astronomer |
| Research field | Physics |
| Astronomy |
| Cosmology |
| Cosmic rays |
| Science policy |
| Activity | Education:
St Michael's Church School, Stretford Grammar School , University of Machester, BSc (1948), PhD (1953), DSc (1970)
Career:
University of Manchester, Assistant Lecturer (1953); Lecturer (1954); University of Durham, Professor, (1956-1992), Emeritus Professor (1992-2020); Regional Scientific Training Officer, Civil Defence Movement; declined offer of job as Chief Scientist to the Ministry of Defence (1982); Astronomer Royal (1991-1995);
Honours:
Kt 1995 for services to astronomy
Memberships:
European Physical Society (President 1999-2001); FRAS (1973, President 1981-1983) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 17/03/1977 |
| Age at election | 49 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1980-1982
Committee and panels:
Committee on the public understanding of science (1997); International Travel Grants Panel 5 (2003-2006)
Lectures:
Bakerian 2002 'Cosmic rays: what are they and where do they come from?' |
| Relationships | Married (1) Audrey Darby, 3 Feb 1951; (2) Dorothy Middleton, Sep 2015. Worked under Patrick Blackett PRS at University of Manchester and later George Rochester FRS, whom he followed to University of Durham |
| PublishedWorks | RCN 13250
RCN 21126
RCN 21127
RCN R72689
RCN 11314
RCN R73945
RCN 13208
RCN R82786
RCN 20008
RCN 40358
RCN 57765
RCN R80345
RCN R77989
RCN 23293
RCN 23294
RCN 23295 |
| OtherInfo | Arnold Wolfendale conducted research on cosmic rays — immensely energetic particles from sources mainly beyond our Solar System. Arnold became, in particular, a world expert on muons — an elementary particle similar to the electron. His expertise was important in accounting for cosmic ray background effects in experiments that successfully detected neutrinos emitted by nuclear fusion within the Sun.
Arnold developed the neon flash tube and the solid iron spectrograph to improve cosmic ray detection and measurement of their energies. As well as helping us to understand their origin, cosmic ray research has bearing due to the damage that these charged particles can inflict on electronic circuits and living organisms — directly in those sent into space, and indirectly in those on Earth through secondary radiation.
Arnold’s eminence was recognised in his appointment as Astronomer Royal in 1991. He served as President of both the European Physical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society. He was knighted for services to astronomy in 1995.
Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS died on 21 December 2020. |
| Royal Society Obituary or Memoir | Click to view (may be contained within a meeting notice, presidential address or list of death notices) |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
|
| Source | Sources:
DNB
Royal Society profile page https://royalsociety.org/people/arnold-wolfendale-12551/ (accessed 20 January 2021)
Wikipeadie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Wolfendale (accessed 20 January 2021)
References:
J C Taylor and A W Wolfendale, ' John Harrison: clockmaker and Copypley Medallist. A public memorial at last' in NR 2007 vol 61 pp 53-62
Anne Purkiss 'Scientists 1985 - 2010; Portraits of Fellows of the Royal Society' 2010, p. 51 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/51751144 |
| Code | NA5462 |