Charles Hard Townes A History of a Nobel Prize Winning Physicist Allison Bonnie Eleanor

Family History Charles Townes was born in Greenville, SC on July 28, 1915 to Henry and Ellen Townes. He is a descendent of William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth Colony, who came over on the Mayflower.

Family History Continued He was interested in science from an early age and spent his free time finding out how things worked on the farm he grew up on. He attended Greenville High and graduated at the age of 15. GHS did not offer a Physics course, but he enjoyed math, especially Geometry.

Education After graduating Greenville High, Townes attended Furman University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1935 at the age of 19 with degrees in Physics and Modern Languages. He completed his Masters degree in Physics at Duke and went on to do graduate work at California Institute of Technology.

Employment He worked in Bell Laboratories from In Bell, he worked extensively on designing radar bombing systems during World War II. He was appointed to the faculty at Columbia University in 1948, and came up with the idea of the MASER in 1951.

The M.A.S.E.R. The MASER (Microwave Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation) was used in many time measuring devices. For example: a time-measuring device called the "atomic clock,” and in extremely sensitive devices for detecting and measuring radiation.

The L.A.S.E.R. The L.A.S.E.R.(Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) patent was first is issued to Townes and Schawlow in The laser is used today in computers, CD players, surgery, and military missiles.

How the L.A.S.E.R. Works The laser works when a blinding flash from a xenon lamp raises the chromium atoms in the ruby crystal to a higher energy level. Photons, the tiniest units of light, are released by the atoms. They reflect back and forth in the ruby crystal, which, with its polished and silvered ends, acts as a resonant cavity. The reflecting photons stimulate additional atoms to emit radiation.

How the L.A.S.E.R. Works continued… The emitted light is coherent, moving on the same frequency, and monochromatic, of a very pure wavelength, or color. As the photons build up enough energy, they surge through the partially silvered end of the ruby rod as a brilliant, powerful red beam of laser light.

The Nobel Prize In 1964, Charles H. Townes received the Nobel Prize for contributions to the study of quantum electronics, for work in the development of the Maser and Laser. Townes shared the Nobel Prize with two Soviet scientists, Alexander M. Prokharov and Nickolai G. Basov, who also made contributions to quantum electronics.

Current Life Charles Townes is currently living in Berkley, California, where he works as a Professor of Physics. He and his wife Francis Townes have four girls named Linda, Carla, Ellen, and Holly.

Interview with Charles Townes We held a brief phone interview with Charles Townes about his experience at Greenville High. What was the most influential class that you took at GHS? Mathematics, because it gave interesting problems and because there was no guess work. My favorite math class was Geometry What made you decide to take your first Physics course at Furman? The Science classes were not good in high school. I wanted to be a Biology major at first, but in my second year I took a Physics course and I knew Physics was my favorite subject when I walked into the class.

Group Members Bonnie- Gathered information, worked on Power Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes. Allison - Gathered information, worked on Power Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes. Eleanor- Gathered information, worked on Power Point, and interviewed Dr. Townes.

Bibliography “Charles Townes Commemorative Gallery.” Online Internet. 2 November This gave an in-depth description of Dr. Townes’ life. “Lasers- The Invention of the Laser at Bell Laboratories: ” Online Internet. 2 November This gave a timeline of Dr. Townes’ life. labs.com/history/laser/invention/townes-bio.html Carper, Letitia. “Adventures of a Scientist: Conversation with Charles Townes.”15 February Online Internet. 2 November This gave an interview with Dr. Townes. -con0.html