Gordon Ferrie Hull (October 7, 1870 in Garnet, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

– October 7, 1956) was a Canadian-American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, teacher and

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 ...

, especially known for the experimental detection of the radiation pressure exerted by light which he achieved in 1903.

Life

Hull began his career in 1890-1891 as a teacher of mathematics and science at Hamilton Collegiate Institute, Ontario. He attended Toronto University where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1892 and became a Fellow in physics,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

1892-1895 . Hull earned his 1897 doctorate of physics at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and was later a professor of physics there at Colby College. Thereafter (1899–1940), he taught physics at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. In addition, he had a research position at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1905–1906) and taught physics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(1909–1915). As well as his academic career he was conscripted into the army in both World War I (1918–1919) and World War II (1941–1944) as major, in the

United States Army Ordnance Department The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply A ...

.Hull papers at Dartmouth College
/ref> He married Wilhelmine Brandt on September 5, 1911. He had one son, Gordon Ferrie Hull, Jr. He is especially famous for his 1903 experiment conducted with

Ernest Fox Nichols Ernest Fox Nichols (June 1, 1869 – April 29, 1924) was an American educator and physicist. He served as the 10th President of Dartmouth College. Early life Nichols was born in Leavenworth County, Kansas, and received his undergraduate de ...

in which they were the first to demonstrate the

radiation pressure Radiation pressure (also known as light pressure) is mechanical pressure exerted upon a surface due to the exchange of momentum between the object and the electromagnetic field. This includes the momentum of light or electromagnetic radiation of ...

exerted by a beam of light. The apparatus is now known as the

Nichols radiometer A Nichols radiometer was the apparatus used by Ernest Fox Nichols and Gordon Ferrie Hull in 1901 for the measurement of radiation pressure. It consisted of a pair of small silvered glass mirrors suspended in the manner of a torsion balance b ...

. Much of this apparatus is now in the Smithsonian, thanks to the generosity of Gordon F. Hull, Jr. Hull died on October 7, 1956, his 86th birthday.

Publications

*''Survey of Modern Physics'' (1936) *''Elementary Modern Physics'' (1948)

Bibliography

References

External links

Photo of Gordon Ferrie Hull at Life magazine, 1937The Papers of Gordon Ferrie Hull
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Hull, Gordon Ferrie 1870 births 1956 deaths American physicists