October 11, 1996 - Death of Rolf Widerøe, physicist who developed the radio wave tube

Rolf Widerøe was born in Oslo, Norway, on 11 July 1902. He studied physics at the University of Oslo, where he graduated in 1924. After graduating, he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Physics at the University of Oslo.

In 1926 he developed the radio wave tube, an electronic device that uses a magnetic field to accelerate electrons through a vacuum tube. The accelerated electrons produce waves that can be used to transmit radio signals.

The radio wave tube was a major technological breakthrough that was used to develop radio broadcasting, television, and microwave communications, as well as for scientific research, such as nuclear physics and particle physics.

Widerøe also made significant contributions to scientific research. In 1932, he developed a particle accelerator called a betatron, a device that uses a magnetic field to accelerate electrons to high energies. It was used to study the properties of electrons and subatomic particles. In addition, he worked on the development of larger particle accelerators, such as the synchrocyclotron and the synchrotron. These accelerators are used to accelerate particles to even higher energies.

Widerøe was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was also awarded the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1970.

He died in Oslo, Norway, in 1996, aged 93.