
This open access book is a biography of Joseph L. Pawsey. It examines not only his life but the birth and growth of the field of radio astronomy and the state of science itself in twentieth century Australia. The book explains how an isolated continent with limited resources grew to be one of the leaders in the study of radio astronomy and the design of instruments to do so. Pawsey made a name for himself in the international astronomy community within a decade after WWII and coined the term radio astronomy. His most valuable talent was his ability to recruit and support bright young scientists who became the technical and methodological innovators of the era, building new telescopes from the Mills Cross and Chris (Christiansen) Cross to the Parkes radio telescope. The development of aperture synthesis and the controversy surrounding the cosmological interpretation of the first major survey which resulted in the Sydney research group's disagreements with Nobel laureate Martin Ryle play major roles in this story. This book also shows the connections among prominent astronomers like Oort, Minkowski, Baade, Struve, famous scientists in the UK such as J.A. Ratcliffe, Edward Appleton and Henry Tizard, and the engineers and physicists in Australia who helped develop the field of radio astronomy. Pawsey was appointed the second Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Green Bank, West Virginia) in October 1961; he died in Sydney at the age of 54 in late November 1962. Upper level students, scientists and historians will find the information, much of it from primary sources, relevant to any study of Joseph L. Pawsey or radio astronomy. This is an open access book.
Joseph L. Pawsey, founder of Australian radio astronomy, Radio astronomy, history, Radio cosmology book, thema EDItEUR::T Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes::TJ Electronics and communications engineering::TJF Electronics engineering::TJFC Electronics: circuits and components, Radar research in World War II, Solar radio astronomy, Ionosphere research, 2c survey, Radiophysics Laboratory, Telescope arrays, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PG Astronomy, space and time, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDD Scientific standards, measurement etc, Aperture synthesis
Joseph L. Pawsey, founder of Australian radio astronomy, Radio astronomy, history, Radio cosmology book, thema EDItEUR::T Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes::TJ Electronics and communications engineering::TJF Electronics engineering::TJFC Electronics: circuits and components, Radar research in World War II, Solar radio astronomy, Ionosphere research, 2c survey, Radiophysics Laboratory, Telescope arrays, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PG Astronomy, space and time, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDX History of science, thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDD Scientific standards, measurement etc, Aperture synthesis
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| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
