William Lawrence Bragg

William Lawrence Bragg
Born	31 March 1890 North Adelaide, South Australia
Died	1 July 1971 Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Residence	Australia, UK
Nationality	Australian- English
Institution	Victoria University Cambridge University
Alma Mater	University of Adelaide Cambridge University
Academic Advisor	J.J. Thompson and W.H. Bragg
Notable Students	Ronald Wilfried Gurney
Known for	X-ray diffraction
Notable Prizes	Nobel Prize in Physics (1915)
Youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Prize. He is the son of W.H. Bragg. Note that the PhD did not exist at Cambridge until 1919, and so J.J. Thompson and W.H. Bragg were his Master's advisors.

Sir William Lawrence Bragg CH, FRS, (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915 with his father Sir William Henry Bragg. He was the director of the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge when the discovery of the structure of DNA was made by James Watson and Francis Crick in February 1953. Together with King's College London's Maurice Wilkins, Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Image File history File links William_Lawrence_Bragg. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... North Adelaide is the predominately residential suburb north of the River Torrens but within the Adelaide Parklands. ... Emblems: Hairy Nosed Wombat (faunal); Leafy Seadragon (marine); Piping Shrike (bird: unofficial); Sturts Desert Pea (floral); Opal (gemstone) Motto: United for the Common Wealth Slogan or Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Const. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Timber framed buildings in St Nicholas Street The Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of pargeting Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk and a non-metropolitan district in East Anglia, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The Victoria University of Manchester (VUM) was a large university in Manchester in England. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... Sir William Henry Bragg OM, Cantab, OKW (Westward, Cumbria, England July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942) was an English physicist and chemist, educated at King Williams College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... Image File history File links Nobel. ... Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) accepting the Nobel Prize for his work on magnetohydrodynamics [1]. List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... Sir William Henry Bragg OM, Cantab, OKW (Westward, Cumbria, England July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942) was an English physicist and chemist, educated at King Williams College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. ... ... Sir William Henry Bragg OM, Cantab, OKW (Westward, Cumbria, England July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942) was an English physicist and chemist, educated at King Williams College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. ... The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order (decoration). ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... ... Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) accepting the Nobel Prize for his work on magnetohydrodynamics [1]. List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sir William Henry Bragg OM, Cantab, OKW (Westward, Cumbria, England July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942) was an English physicist and chemist, educated at King Williams College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. ... There is more than one person with the name James Watson: James Watson, participant in the Battle of the Little Bighorn James Watson, author of the novel Talking in Whispers James Watson, U.S. Senator from New York (1797-1801) James Watson, painter of 77 portraits held by the U... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English physicist, molecular biologist and neuroscientist, most noted for being one of the co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. ...

Biography

Bragg was born in North Adelaide, South Australia. He was an impressionable boy and showed an early interest in science. His father, William Henry Bragg, was Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Adelaide. Shortly after starting school aged 5, William Lawrence Bragg fell from his tricycle and broke his arm. His father had recently read about Röntgen's experiments in Europe and used the newly discovered X-rays to examine the broken arm. This is the first recorded surgical use of X-rays in Australia. Bragg is also listed on the List of Australians. North Adelaide is the predominately residential suburb north of the River Torrens but within the Adelaide Parklands. ... Emblems: Hairy Nosed Wombat (faunal); Leafy Seadragon (marine); Piping Shrike (bird: unofficial); Sturts Desert Pea (floral); Opal (gemstone) Motto: United for the Common Wealth Slogan or Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Const. ... Sir William Henry Bragg OM, Cantab, OKW (Westward, Cumbria, England July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942) was an English physicist and chemist, educated at King Williams College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. ... The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide. ... Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (March 27, 1845 – February 10, 1923) was a German physicist, of the University of Würzburg, who, on November 8, 1895, produced wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that are now known as x-rays or Röntgen Rays. ... This is a list of notable people born in Australia. ...

Bragg was a very able student. After beginning his studies at St Peter's College, in 1904 he went to the University of Adelaide at age 14 to study mathematics, chemistry and physics, graduating in 1908. In the same year his father accepted a job at Leeds University, and brought the family back to England. Bragg entered Trinity College, Cambridge in the autumn of 1909 and received a major scholarship in mathematics, despite taking the exam while in bed with pneumonia. After initially excelling in mathematics, he transferred to the physics course in the later years of his studies, and graduated in 1911. St Peters College, commonly Saints, is an independent boys school in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... University Tower, University of Leeds The University of Leeds (United Kingdom) is amongst the largest of British universities and the most popular by applicants, with 52,444 applicants in 2003 for 7,228 places (UCAS). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names King’s Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Bragg is most famous for his law on the diffraction of X-rays by crystals. Bragg's law makes it possible to calculate the positions of the atoms within a crystal from the way in which an X-ray beam is diffracted by the crystal lattice. He made this discovery in 1912, during his first year as a research student in Cambridge. He discussed his ideas with his father, who developed the X-ray spectrometer in Leeds. This tool allowed many different types of crystals to be analysed. The collaboration between father and son led many people to believe that the father had initiated the research, a fact that upset the son. In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... In physics, Braggs law is the result of experiments into the diffraction of x-rays off crystal surfaces at certain angles, derived by the English physicists Sir W.H. Bragg and his son Sir W.L. Bragg in 1913. ...

Bragg's research work was interrupted by both World War I and World War II. During both wars he worked on sound ranging methods for locating enemy guns. In autumn 1915, his brother Robert was killed. At about the same time William Lawrence Bragg received the news that he had become the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, aged 25. Between the wars, from 1919 to 1937, he worked at the Victoria University of Manchester as Langworthy Professor of Physics. He married in 1921, to Alice Hopkinson. He was knighted in 1941. Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Nobel Prize medal. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Victoria University of Manchester (VUM) was a large university in Manchester in England. ...

After World War II, he returned to Cambridge, splitting the Cavendish Laboratory into research groups. He believed that 'the ideal research unit is one of six to twelve scientists and a few assistants'. In 1948 Bragg became interested in the structure of proteins and was partly responsible for creating a group that used physics to solve biological problems. He played a major part in the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, in that he provided support to Francis Crick and James D. Watson who worked under his aegis at the Cavendish. Bragg was gratified to see that the X-ray method that he developed forty years before was at the heart of this profound insight into the nature of life itself. At the same time at the Cavendish Max Perutz was also doing his Nobel Prize winning work on the structure of haemoglobin. Bragg subsequently successfully lobbied for and nominated Crick, Watson and Wilkins for the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Wilkins' share recognised the contribution made by King's College London, under Sir John Randall, to the determination of the structure of DNA and its subsequent validation by the KCL staff. Plaque, at old site The Cavendish Laboratory is the University of Cambridges Department of Physics, and is part of the universitys School of Physical Sciences. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English physicist, molecular biologist and neuroscientist, most noted for being one of the co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. ... James Dewey Watson KBE(Hon) ForMemRS (born April 6, 1928) is an American scientist, best known as one of the four discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule. ... Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM (May 19, 1914 – February 6, 2002) was an Austrian-British molecular biologist. ... Nobel Prize medal. ... 3-dimensional structure of hemoglobin Hemoglobin or haemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red cells of the blood in mammals and other animals. ...

In April 1953 Bragg accepted the job of Resident Professor at the Royal Institution in London. He proposed that the Royal Institution should perform some form of public service, and suggested a series of lectures to show experiments to schoolchildren. This idea was met with an enthusiastic response, and by 1965 20,000 schoolchildren were attending these lectures each year. He worked at the Royal Institution until his retirement in September 1966. The Royal Institution of Great Britain was set up in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, including Henry Cavendish and its first president George Finch, the 9th Earl of Winchilsea, for diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for...

William Lawrence Bragg's hobbies included painting, literature and a life-long interest in gardening. When he moved to London, he missed having a garden and so worked as a part-time gardener, unrecognised by his employer, until a guest at the house expressed surprise at seeing him there.

Bragg received both the Copley Medal and the Royal Medal of the Royal Society, and in 1967 was made a Companion of Honour by the Queen. He died at a hospital near his home at Waldringford on 1 July 1971. The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... The Royal Medals of the Royal Society of London were established by King George IV. They were further supported with certain changes to their conditions, by King William IV and Queen Victoria. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order (decoration). ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ...

Since 1992 the Australian Institute of Physics has awarded the Bragg Gold Medal for Excellence in Physics for the best PhD thesis by a student at an Australian university. Bragg is also listed on the List of Australians. PhD usually refers to the academic title Doctor of Philosophy PhD can also refer to the manga Phantasy Degree This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... This is a list of notable people born in Australia. ...

• spouse = Alice Hopkinson (m. 1921)
• children = Stephen Lawrence, David William, Margaret Alice, Patience Mary

Timeline

• Victoria University of Manchester (1919–37)
• Cambridge University (1938–53)

The Victoria University of Manchester (VUM) was a large university in Manchester in England. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ...

Prizes

• Nobel Prize (1915)
• Matteucci Medal (1915)
• Royal Medal (1946)
• Copley Medal (1966)

Nobel Prize medal. ... The Matteucci Medal was established to award physicists for their fundamental contributions. ... The Royal Medals of the Royal Society of London were established by King George IV. They were further supported with certain changes to their conditions, by King William IV and Queen Victoria. ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ...

References

Biography: "Light Is A Messenger, the life and science of William Lawrence Bragg" by Graeme Hunter, ISBN 0-19-852921-X; Oxford University Press, 2004.

Ridley, Matt; "Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code (Eminent Lives)" will be first published in July 2006 in the USA and then in the U.K. September 2006, by HarperCollins Publishers; 192 pp, ISBN 0-06-082333-X; this book is already being shown on Amazon for advance orders pre-publication. [This short book is in the publisher's "Eminent Lives" series.]

External links

• 'Death' of D.N.A. Helix (Crystaline) joke funeral card.
• [1] First press stories on D.N.A.
• Nobelprize.org - The Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915