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Walker Bleakney (February 8, 1901 – January 15, 1992) was an American physicist,National Academies Press, Biographical Memoirs V.73 (1998), Walker Bleakney by GEORGE T. REYNOLDS
/ref> one of inventors of
mass spectrometers Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...
, and widely noted for his research in the fields of
atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...
, molecular physics,
fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
, the ionization of gases, and blast waves.Princeton University Library Manuscripts Division:Walker Bleakney Papers, 1920s-1961
/ref> Bleakney was the chair of the department of physics at Princeton University. He was the head of the Princeton Ballistic Project during World War II.


Career

Bleakney graduated from Whitman College in 1924 with a BS degree. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1930. He then spent his entire career at Princeton University, first as a National Research Fellow, then as an instructor in 1932. He then became an assistant professor in 193

an associate professor in 1938 and a full professor in 1944. Bleakney became the chair of the Department of Physics in 1960, and remained in that capacity until 1967. Early in his career at Princeton, Bleaker was able to make a difference in nuclear physics. For example, he proved that heavy water contains traces of triple-weight hydrogen (1935). In a team with other Princeton physicists he produced Hydrogen 3 in 1934.New York Times: LAST OF ELEMENTS MADE IN 'QUANTITY'; Princeton Physicists Announce Creation of Hydrogen Three in Tangible Form. FILL GAP IN ATOMIC TABLE Washington Science Session Hears of Synthetic Production From Water.By WILLIAM L. LAURENCE. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. April 29, 1934


Awards and Distinctions

* Walker Bleakney was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nati ...
in 1959 * National Research Council Fellow, 1930–32 * Citations for World War II research * Honorary D.Sc., Whitman College, 1955 * American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1963 * Cyrus Fogg Bracket Professor of Physics, Princeton University, 1953 * Class of 1909 Professor of Physics, Princeton University, 1963


References


Further reading

* R. J. Emrich. Walker Bleakney and the development of the shock tube at Princeton. Shock Wave 5(1996):327–39.


External links


National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleakney, Walker 1901 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American physicists University of Minnesota alumni Princeton University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Mass spectrometrists Fellows of the American Physical Society