Ira Sprague Bowen (December 21, 1898 – February 6, 1973) was an American physicist and
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
. In 1927 he discovered that
nebulium
Nebulium was a proposed chemical element, element found in astronomical observation of a nebula by William Huggins in 1864. The strong green emission spectrum, emission lines of the Cat's Eye Nebula, discovered using spectroscopy, led to the post ...
was not really a
chemical element
A chemical element is a chemical substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its ...
but instead
doubly ionized oxygen
In astronomy and atomic physics, doubly ionized oxygen is the ion O2+ (O III in spectroscopic notation).
Ion
Its emission forbidden lines in the visible spectrum fall primarily at the wavelength 500.7 nm, and secondarily at 495.9 n ...
.
Life and work
Bowen was born in
Seneca Falls, New York
Seneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 9,027 at the 2020 census.
The Town of Seneca Falls contains the former village also called Seneca Falls. The town is east of Geneva, New York, in the north ...
in 1898 to Philinda Sprague and James Bowen. Due to frequent moves of his family he was home schooled until his father died in 1908. From that point on he attended
Houghton College
Houghton University is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts college in Houghton, New York, United States. Houghton was founded in 1883 by Willard J. Houghton and is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church.[Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...]
from which he graduated in 1919. During his time at Oberlin, Bowen did some research on the properties of steel for the scientist
Robert Hadfield
Sir Robert Abbott Hadfield, 1st Baronet FRS (28 November 1858 in Sheffield – 30 September 1940 in Surrey) was an English metallurgist, noted for his 1882 discovery of manganese steel, one of the first steel alloys. He also invented silicon ...
. Their results were published in 1921.
Bowen began studying 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 ...
in fall 1919. By 1921 he took a position in the research group of
Robert Andrews Millikan
Robert Andrews Millikan ( ; March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 "for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect".
Millikan gradua ...
. He was assigned to do
ultraviolet spectroscopy
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of th ...
of chemical elements. Millikan was persuaded by
George Ellery Hale
George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American astrophysicist, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-leading ...
to move to the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
in 1921 and Bowen moved with him. The contact with Hale enabled Bowen also to work at the
Mount Wilson Observatory
The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an Observatory#Astronomical observatories, astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson (California), Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabrie ...
and the
Palomar Observatory
The Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...
. Bowen gave lectures on general physics at Caltech and did research on cosmic rays and followed his studies on UV spectroscopy. He also did calculations on spectra for the light elements of the
periodic table
The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...
. With that data and the inspiration from a chapter on
gaseous nebula and the emission of radiation at low density in the book ''Astronomy'' by
Henry Norris Russell
Henry Norris Russell ForMemRS HFRSE FRAS (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he ...
,
Raymond Smith Dugan
Raymond Smith Dugan (May 30, 1878 – August 31, 1940) was an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. His parents were Jeremiah Welby and Mary Evelyn Smith and he was born in Montague in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
His undergr ...
and
John Quincy Stewart
John Quincy Stewart (September 10, 1894 – March 19, 1972) was an American astrophysicist.
He obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1919. He taught astrophysics at Princeton from 1921 until he retired in 1963.
Stewart ...
he achieved his best known discovery.
The green emission lines of the
Cat's Eye Nebula
The Cat's Eye Nebula (also known as NGC 6543 and Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by ...
at 4959 and 5007
Ångström
The angstrom (; ) is a unit of length equal to m; that is, one ten-billionth of a metre, a hundred-millionth of a centimetre, 0.1 nanometre, or 100 picometres. The unit is named after the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814–18 ...
were discovered by
William Huggins
Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was a British astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, Margaret.
Biography
William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex, in 1 ...
in 1864. Because no known element was showing these emission lines in the experiment it was concluded in the late 1890s that a new element was responsible for that lines, it was called
nebulium
Nebulium was a proposed chemical element, element found in astronomical observation of a nebula by William Huggins in 1864. The strong green emission spectrum, emission lines of the Cat's Eye Nebula, discovered using spectroscopy, led to the post ...
. Bowen was able to calculate the
forbidden transition
In spectroscopy, a forbidden mechanism (forbidden transition or forbidden line) is a spectral line associated with absorption or emission of photons by atomic nuclei, atoms, or molecules which undergo a transition that is not allowed by a particu ...
s of
doubly ionized oxygen
In astronomy and atomic physics, doubly ionized oxygen is the ion O2+ (O III in spectroscopic notation).
Ion
Its emission forbidden lines in the visible spectrum fall primarily at the wavelength 500.7 nm, and secondarily at 495.9 n ...
to be exactly where the lines had been found. The low probability for collisions in the nebula made it impossible for the oxygen to get from the excited stated to the ground state and so the forbidden transitions were the main path for the relaxation. Bowen published his findings in 1927 and concluded that nebulium was not really a
chemical element
A chemical element is a chemical substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its ...
.
Bowen was the first director of the
Palomar Observatory
The Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...
, serving from 1948 to 1964.
Before his retirement in 1964 and even afterwards Bowen was involved in the improvement of the optical design of several large optical instruments, for example the 100 inch
Irenee duPont at the
Las Campanas Observatory
Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) is an astronomy, astronomical observatory managed by the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS). Located in Chile's Atacama Region, it sits about northeast of the city of La Serena, Chile, La Serena. The LCO's telesc ...
.
He is also known in the context of meteorology for the introduction of the
Bowen ratio
The Bowen ratio is used to describe the type of heat transfer for a surface that has moisture. Heat transfer can either occur as sensible heat (differences in temperature without evapotranspiration) or latent heat (the energy required during a cha ...
, which quantifies the ratio of sensible to latent heat over an evaporating surface.
Honors
Ira Sprague Bowen was elected to the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
in 1936, the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1940, and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1950.
;Awards
*
Henry Draper Medal
The Henry Draper Medal is awarded every 4 years by the United States National Academy of Sciences "for investigations in astronomical physics". Named after Henry Draper, the medal is awarded with a gift of USD $15,000. The medal was established ...
from the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
(1942)
*
Howard N. Potts Medal (1946)
*
Rumford Prize
Founded in 1796, the Rumford Prize, awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is one of the oldest scientific prizes in the United States. The prize recognizes contributions by scientists to the fields of heat and light. These terms ...
of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
(1949)
Frederic Ives Medal(1952)
*
Bruce Medal
The Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was ...
(1957)
*
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship The Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research. The idea for the lectureship came from then society President Harlow Shapley in 1945, ...
(1964)
*
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awar ...
(1966)
;Named after him
*The crater
Bowen on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
*
Asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
3363 Bowen
*
Bowen ratio
The Bowen ratio is used to describe the type of heat transfer for a surface that has moisture. Heat transfer can either occur as sensible heat (differences in temperature without evapotranspiration) or latent heat (the energy required during a cha ...
of turbulent fluxes from a surface
External links
Bruce Medal pageNational Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
Oral histories
Oral history interview transcript for Ira Sprague Bowen on 9 August 1968, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives- Session I
Oral history interview transcript for Ira Sprague Bowen on 26 August 1969, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives- Session II
Obituaries
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Ira Sprague
20th-century American astronomers
1898 births
1973 deaths
California Institute of Technology faculty
Bowne, Ira
Howard N. Potts Medal recipients
California Institute of Technology alumni
Houghton University alumni
Bowne, Ira
People from Seneca Falls, New York
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Members of the American Philosophical Society