John William Nicholson
John William Nicholson | |
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| Born | 1 November 1881 |
| Died | 3 October 1955 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Great Britain |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
John William Nicholson, FRS[1] (1 November 1881 – 3 October 1955) was an English mathematician.
Career[]
Based on the results of astronomical spectroscopy of nebula he proposed in 1911 the existence of several yet undiscovered elements. Coronium with an atomic weight of 0.51282, nebulium with a weight of 1.6281 and protofluorine with a weight of 2.361.[1] Ira Sprague Bowen was able to attribute the spectroscopical lines of nebulium to doubly ionized oxygen making the new elements obsolete for their explanation.[2] Some authors have pointed out the remarkable success that Nicholson's work initially experienced in spite of being founded on concepts that were eventually shown to be incorrect. [3]
Awards and honours[]
Nicholson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1917.[1] In 1919, Nicholson won the Adams Prize.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Wilson, W. (1956). "John William Nicholson 1881-1955". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 2: 209–214. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1956.0014. JSTOR 769485.
- ^ Bowen, I. S. (1927). "The Origin of the Nebulium Spectrum". Nature. 120 (3022): 473. Bibcode:1927Natur.120..473B. doi:10.1038/120473a0.
- ^ *Scerri, E.R. (2016). A Tale of Seven Scientists. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023299-3.
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- 1881 births
- 1955 deaths
- English mathematicians
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- People from Darlington