Charles Hard Townes

1
Charles Hard Townes

• A History of a Nobel Prize Winning Physicist
• Allison
• Bonnie
• Eleanor

2
Family History

• Charles Townes was born in Greenville, SC on July
  28, 1915 to Henry and Ellen Townes.
• He is a descendent of William Bradford, the
  governor of Plymouth Colony, who came over on the
  Mayflower.

3
Family History Continued

• He was interested in science from an early age
  and spent his free time finding out how things
  worked on the farm he grew up on.
• He attended Greenville High and graduated at the
  age of 15. GHS did not offer a Physics course,
  but he enjoyed math, especially Geometry.

4
Education

• After graduating Greenville High, Townes attended
  Furman University.
• He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1935 at the age
  of 19 with degrees in Physics and Modern
  Languages.
• He completed his Masters degree in Physics at
  Duke and went on to do graduate work at
  California Institute of Technology.

5
Employment

• He worked in Bell Laboratories from 1933- 1947.
• In Bell, he worked extensively on designing radar
  bombing systems during World War II.
• He was appointed to the faculty at Columbia
  University in 1948, and came up with the idea of
  the MASER in 1951.

6
The M.A.S.E.R.

• The MASER (Microwave Amplification by the
  Stimulated Emission of Radiation) was used in
  many time measuring devices.
• For example a time-measuring
• device called the "atomic clock,
• and in extremely sensitive devices
• for detecting and measuring radiation.

7
The L.A.S.E.R.

• The L.A.S.E.R.(Light Amplification by Stimulated
  Emission of Radiation) patent was first is issued
  to Townes and Schawlow in 1960.
• The laser is used today in computers, CD players,
  surgery,
• and military missiles.

8
How the L.A.S.E.R. Works

• The laser works when a blinding flash from a
  xenon lamp raises the chromium atoms in the ruby
  crystal to a higher energy level.
• Photons, the tiniest units of light, are released
  by the atoms. They reflect back and forth in the
  ruby crystal, which, with its polished and
  silvered ends, acts as a resonant cavity.
• The reflecting photons stimulate additional atoms
  to emit radiation.

9
How the L.A.S.E.R. Works continued

• The emitted light is coherent, moving on the same
  frequency, and monochromatic, of a very pure
  wavelength, or color.
• As the photons build up enough energy, they surge
  through the partially silvered end of the ruby
  rod as a brilliant, powerful red beam of laser
  light.

10
The Nobel Prize

• In 1964, Charles H. Townes received the Nobel
  Prize for contributions to the study of quantum
  electronics, for work in the development of the
  Maser and Laser.
• Townes shared the Nobel Prize with
• two Soviet scientists, Alexander
• M. Prokharov and Nickolai G.
• Basov, who also made contributions
• to quantum electronics.

11
Current Life

• Charles Townes is currently living in Berkley,
  California, where he works as a Professor of
  Physics.
• He and his wife Francis Townes have four girls
  named Linda, Carla, Ellen, and Holly.

12
Interview with Charles Townes

• We held a brief phone interview with Charles
  Townes about his experience at Greenville High.
• What was the most influential class that you took
  at GHS? Mathematics, because it gave interesting
  problems and because there was no guess work. My
  favorite math class was Geometry
• What made you decide to take your first Physics
  course at Furman? The Science classes were not
  good in high school. I wanted to be a Biology
  major at first, but in my second year I took a
  Physics course and I knew Physics was my favorite
  subject when I walked into the class.

13
Group Members

• Bonnie- Gathered information, worked on Power
  Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes.
• Allison - Gathered information, worked on Power
  Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes.
• Eleanor- Gathered information, worked on Power
  Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes.

14
Bibliography

• Charles Townes Commemorative Gallery. Online
  Internet. 2 November 2003. lthttp//www.ri
  chland2.k12.sc.us/rce/towneslz.htm gt This gave
  an in-depth description of Dr. Townes life.
• Lasers- The Invention of the Laser at Bell
  Laboratories1958-1998. 1998. Online Internet.
  2 November 2003. lthttp//www.bell- labs.com/histo
  ry/laser/invention/townes-bio.html gt This gave a
  timeline of Dr. Townes life.
• Carper, Letitia. Adventures of a Scientist
  Conversation with Charles Townes.15 February
  2000. Online Internet. 2 November 2003.
  lthttp//globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people/Town
  es/townes -con0.html gt This gave an interview
  with Dr. Townes.