James Van Allen

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James Van Allen
Thomas Sralla-2 4/17/03
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BIOGRPAHY

• Born September 7, 1914 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
• Died Allen is still alive today at the age of 88
• Occupation Physicist
• - Second of four sons of Alfred M. Van Allen and
  Alma E. (Olney) Van Allen
• Interested at science at age of 12
• When he was 12, James invented an artificial
  lightning generator
• Physics became his passion starting in high school

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BIOGRAPHY

• Van Allen attended Wesleyan College in his
  hometown.
• - In 1935, James received his Bachelor of Science

• Degree from Wesleyan and entered the State
  University of Iowa.
• From then, he moved to Carnegie Institute, then
  on to the Applied Physics Laboratory at John
  Hopkins University
• Allen married Abigail Fithian Halsey on October
  13, 1945

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CONTRIBUTIONS

• James Van Allen discovered bands of high-level
  radiation that surrounded the Earth.
• These belts are part of the Earths
  magnetosphere.
• Van Allen created the radio proximity fuse. This
  is a small tracking device that triggered weapons
  when they were close to a target.
• He also headed the V-2 Rocket Program by
  miniaturizing instruments through the army, this
  led to capturing rockets from other countries.

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MAIN IDEAS

• When James was a child, he built an Electrostatic
  Generator with his brother that produced high
  electrical voltages like lightning bolts
• World War II became a big factor in James life
  because of his invention of the proximity fuse
• This fuse consisted of a radio transmitter and
  receiver attached to weapons
• Van Allen was appointed to administer and
  coordinate rocket-based researcher for the U.S.
  Army

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DISCOVERY-Earth's Radiation

• In 1953, two rockets sent up puzzled James Van
  Allen. He discovered that levels of radiation at
  an altitude of 30 miles were much higher than
  expected
• A new satellite was later invented and sent up.
  Results showed that above 600 miles, no radiation
  was detected
• Even with this data, Van Allen had a hypothesis
  High levels of radiation were jamming the counter
  of the satellite and caused it to read zero
• Van Allens theory was later confirmed true

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DISCOVERY OF
VAN ALLEN BELTS

• - By May 1958, Van Allen had an
  explanation for the results two belts of
  radiation existed
• The explanation was proved, the belts consist of
  high-speed protons and electrons spiraling around
  the Earths magnetic lines of force.
• These charged particles are sudden outbursts of
  gases or energy from the suns surface
• The particles are then carried by solar wind into
  the Earths atmosphere

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Value of Contribution
For his discovery of the belts and other
contributions to science, Van Allen has received
many scientific awards and honors, including the
Space Flight Award of the American Astronautical
Society, the John A. Fleming award, and many
others. His discoveries have also led to a better
understanding of our world.
A model of the Van Allen radiation belts
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AGREE OR DISAGREE?
I agree with James Van Allens theories. By
studying, he invented items and discovered the
bands of high- level radiation that surrounded
the Earth. Through many tests and knowledge Van
Allen came up with theories and conclusions about
our world. These theories have been proved, so
Van Allens knowledge has given us a better
understanding of life
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Bibliography

• James Van Allen DISCovering Biography. Gale
  Research, 1997. Gale Group. April 15, 2003.
  http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC/
• 2. DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research,
  1997. Gale Group. April 15, 2003.
  http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC/
• 3. James Van Allen.UXL Biographies Gale
  Group. April 17, 2003. http//galenet.galegroup.c
  om/servlet/SRC/

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Van Allen Radiation Belts
OUTER BELT
INNER BELT