Carl D. Anderson
| Carl David Anderson | |
|---|---|
Anderson 1936
|
|
| Born |
September 3, 1905 New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | January 11, 1991 (aged 85) San Marino, California, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology (B.S. and Ph.D) |
| Doctoral advisor | William Smythe |
| Notable students |
Donald A. Glaser Cinna Lomnitz Seth Neddermeyer |
| Known for |
Discovery of the positron Discovery of the muon |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1936) Elliott Cresson Medal (1937) |
Carl David Anderson (September 3, 1905 – January 11, 1991) was an American physicist. He is best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932, an achievement for which he received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics, and of the muon in 1936.
Anderson was born in New York City, the son of Swedish immigrants. He studied physics and engineering at Caltech (B.S., 1927; Ph.D., 1930). Under the supervision of Robert A. Millikan, he began investigations into cosmic rays during the course of which he encountered unexpected particle tracks in his (modern versions now commonly referred to as an Anderson) cloud chamber photographs that he correctly interpreted as having been created by a particle with the same mass as the electron, but with opposite electrical charge. This discovery, announced in 1932 and later confirmed by others, validated Paul Dirac's theoretical prediction of the existence of the positron. Anderson first detected the particles in cosmic rays. He then produced more conclusive proof by shooting gamma rays produced by the natural radioactive nuclide ThC'' (208Tl) into other materials, resulting in the creation of positron-electron pairs. For this work, Anderson shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics with Victor Hess.
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