Edward Neville da Costa Andrade FRS ( 27 December 1887 – 6 June 1971) was an English

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, writer, and poet. He told ''The Literary Digest'' his name was pronounced "as written, i.e., like ''air raid'', with ''and'' substituted for ''air''." In the scientific world Andrade is best known for work (with

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both Atomic physics, atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nu ...

) that first determined the wavelength of a type of

gamma radiation A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...

, proving it was far higher in energies than X-rays known at the time. Also, a rheological model suggested by him and bearing his name is still widely employed in continuum mechanics and its geophysical applications. In popular culture he was best known for his appearances on The Brains Trust.

Life

Edward Neville Andrade was a Sephardi Jew, his family having arrived in London from Portugal during the Napoleonic era, and was a descendant of Moses da Costa Andrade (not Moses da Costa as is sometimes stated). da Costa Andrade was his 2nd great-grandfather, a feather merchant in London's East End. The surname "Andrade" might nevertheless be of Portuguese origin (see notes on original pronunciation) born and raised in London he attended St. Dunstan's College in Catford, which was noted as the first school to have a laboratory for teaching secondary school age pupils. From there he attended University College London under Prof F. T. Trouton where he gained a first-class honours degree in physics in 1907. After graduating he stayed on to pursue research, choosing to study the flow of solid metals under stress, a subject to which he returned several times over the sixty-year course of his research career In 1910 Edward Neville studied for a doctorate on the electrical properties of flames under Prof Lenard at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

and then had a brief but productive spell of research with

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1914. They carried out diffraction experiments to determine the wavelengths of gamma-rays from radium, and were the first to be able to quantitate these, thereby showing that they were shorter than the wavelengths of then-known X-ray radiation that was produced by "Roentgen tubes". He joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and then became Professor of Physics at the Ordnance College in Woolwich in 1920.

Career

He was Quain Professor of Physics at University College, London from 1928 to 1950, and then Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution for three years, until opposition to his attempts to reform the RI led to a vote of no confidence in him by members of the RI, following which he resigned. In 1943 Andrade was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on ''Vibrations and Waves'', then in 1950 he developed the lectures further and presented the series on ''Waves and Vibrations''. Andrade was also a broadcaster, coming to fame during the War on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio's '' The Brains Trust''. *The Structure of the Atom (1923) *Engines (1928) *The Mechanism of Nature (1930) *Simple Science with Julian Huxley. *More Simple Science (1935) with Julian Huxley. *Sir Isaac Newton (1950) *An Approach to Modern Physics (1956) *A Brief History of the Royal Society (1960) *Physics for the Modern World (1962) *Rutherford and the Nature of the Atom (1964) His papers are held by the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

References

External links

E N da C Andrade: Some Personal Reminiscences (pdf)

Oral History interview transcript with Edward Andrade on 18 December 1962, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrade, Edward English physicists English radio personalities English non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society English Jews Jewish poets Jewish British physicists Heidelberg University alumni Academics of University College London 1887 births 1971 deaths Presidents of the Physical Society English male poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers English expatriates in Germany Military personnel from London Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I British people of Portuguese-Jewish descent English people of Portuguese descent