March 15, 1962 – Death of Arthur Compton, discoverer of the effect confirming that light has both wave and particle properties

He received his Master of Arts from Princeton University and then studied for his PhD in Physics on “X-ray Reflection Intensity and the Distribution of Electrons in Atoms”.

In 1919, he received one of the first two National Research Council grants which he allowed to go to the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in England. He worked with George Paget Thomson, son of Joseph. J. Thomson and Compton studied the scattering and absorption of gamma rays.

In 1923, his studies of X-rays led him to discover the Compton Effect, whereby the wavelength of high-energy electromagnetic radiation when scattered by electrons changes. This confirmed that electromagnetic radiation has both wave and particle properties, an important tenet of quantum theory.

In 1927, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with British physicist Charles Wilson, for his discovery of the Compton effect and for his research on cosmic rays, reflection, polarization, and X-ray spectra.

If you want to know more about this scientist, click on the following link: Arthur Compton