John Sealy Townsend

For other people with the same name, see John Townsend (disambiguation).
Sir
John Sealy Townsend
FRS
Born(1868-06-07)7 June 1868
Galway, Ireland
Died16 February 1957(1957-02-16) (aged 88)
Oxford, England
CitizenshipIreland
United Kingdom
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
University of Cambridge
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMathematical physics
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
Academic advisorsJ. J. Thomson
Doctoral students
Signature

Sir John Sealy Edward Townsend FRS[1] (7 June 1868 – 16 February 1957) was an Irish-British mathematical physicist who conducted various studies concerning the electrical conduction of gases (concerning the kinetics of electrons and ions) and directly measured the electrical charge. He was a Wykeham Professor of physics at Oxford University.[2]

The phenomenon of the electron avalanche was discovered by him, and is known as the Townsend discharge.

  1. ^ Von Engel, A. (1957). "John Sealy Edward Townsend. 1868-1957". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 3: 256–272. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1957.0018.
  2. ^ Bleaney, B. (2002). "Two Oxford science professors, F. Soddy and J. S. E. Townsend". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 56 (1): 83–88. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2002.0168. PMID 15773039. S2CID 336398.