Percy Williams Bridgman (April 21, 1882–August 20, 1961) was an American physicist who won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the physics of high pressures. April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Many famous physicists of the 20th and 21st century are found on the list of recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Hannes Alfvén, 1970 winner for work on astrophysical plasmas List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ...

Bridgman was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He entered Harvard University in 1900, studying physics, and from 1910 he began teaching at Harvard, finally as a professor from 1919. He had, in 1905, begun undertaking research regarding certain phenomena under the influence of pressure. Due to a machinery malfunction, he modified his pressure apparatus, and the result was that he had invented a new piece of machinery that would enable him to create pressures up to and above 100,000 kgf/cm² (10 GPa. This is a huge improvement on previous machinery in which pressures of only 3000 kgf/cm² (0.3 GPa) could be attained. He developed the Bridgman seal. Cambridge City Hall Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The deprecated unit kilogram-force (kgf) or kilopond (kp) is the force exerted by one kilogram of mass in standard Earth gravity (defined as exactly 9. ... cm redirects here, alternate uses: cm (disambiguation) A centimetre (symbol cm; American spelling: centimeter) is an SI unit of length. ... The gigapascal, symbol GPa is an SI unit of pressure. ... The Bridgman seal seals a high pressure volume by the use of an unsupported area to create a higher pressure between two pistons. ...

With this new apparatus a plethora of new research was investigated, including research into the effect of pressure on electrical resistance, and solid and fluid conditions under pressure.

Bridgman is known also for his studies of electrical conduction in metals and properties of crystals and for his writings on the philosophy of modern science. He was also one of the 11 signatories to the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. ...

Major works

• The Logic of Modern Physics (1927)
• The Nature of Physical Theory (1936)

External links

Bridgman's Nobel Prize website