278:). this work aimed to produce estimates of the size and shape of gas molecules. Rankine's results in this area were published between 1910 and 1926. While at UCL, Rankine also served twice as President of 'The Chemical and Physical Society' (ChemPhysSoc), the students' society of the chemistry and physics departments, doing so in the years 1910–11 and 1915–16.
230:(UCL), graduating in 1904 with first-class honours in physics. Following graduation, he worked as an assistant in the UCL physics department from 1904, a position he remained in until 1919 apart from a period spent doing wartime research. In 1907, he married Ruby Irene Short, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.
370:
From 1925 to 1931, Rankine was additionally
Director of the Technical Optics Department at Imperial College. He was the second holder of this post, succeeding Frederic John Cheshire, and the department name was changed at his request (it had previously been the Optical Design Department). From 1931
876:
The
Encyclopædia Britannica: the new volumes, constituting, in combination with the twenty-nine volumes of the eleventh edition, the twelfth edition of that work, and also supplying a new, distinctive, and independent library of reference dealing with events and developments of the period 1910 to
511:
After the war, Rankine resumed his work with the Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company for a few years before resigning from full-time work in 1947. He continued as an advisor for the company until 1954 when his health began to break down. Rankine died at the age of 74 in a nursing home in his home town of
386:(later the Anglo-Iran Oil Company, and later still British Petroleum). It was in 1934 that the School of Applied Geophysics was established at Imperial College, with Rankine directing the research. His work in this area included improving the gravimeter invented by
401:
In 1937, Rankine resigned from
Imperial College to take up a full-time position with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, in which role he made several visits to Persia (Iran). This resignation was marked by the following rhyme, published in 1937 in
371:
onwards, Rankine was again solely
Professor of Physics following the merger of the Technical Optics Department with the Physics Department, with Louis Claude Martin taking over as leader of what was now a postgraduate section (and today is the
455:
One of the final positions he held was secretary to the Royal
Institution (1945–1953). It was in this role that he became a key player in the opposition to the Andrade reforms, a power struggle that led to a 1952 vote of no confidence in
309:
Rankine's research during and immediately after the war also looked at ways to achieve the optical transmission of sound, a problem being worked on by other scientists and engineers in several countries. The device was similar to the
261:
in
Physics (awarded by the University of London). A further two years after that, in 1912, he was elected a fellow of University College. His research in this period was on the viscosity of gases, and he invented a
861:
The award year of 1919 is noted by the
Library and Archive catalog Fellows' entry for Rankine at The Royal Society. The award, along with many others made for work done during the war, was gazetted in the
281:
During World War I, many scientists were seconded to conduct wartime research for the government. Rankine's wartime research took place in 1917 and 1918. He worked under recently appointed UCL professor
432:
During his career, Rankine was "an active member of several professional societies" and "held various honorary positions throughout his life". In 1925 he was elected a member of the
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440:(BAAS), serving as the Recorder for Section A (Mathematics and Physics) from 1921 to 1924, and President of Section A in 1932. He was Honorary Secretary of both the
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Rankine was married with four children, David (b. 1911), Peter (b. 1911), (Jean b. 1917) and Betty (date of birth unknown), and died in 1956 at the age of 74.
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minister of
Scottish descent, Alexander was brought up in and was a member of the Baptist Church. Like his father, his mother was also of Scottish ancestry.
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Chivers, R. C. (1998). "Early proposal for an acousto-optic gramophone". In
Sliwinski, Antoni; Linde, Bogumil B. J; Kwiek, Piotr (eds.).
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141:
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The date of death may have been 19 January, as noted by The Royal Society, which also fits with the details in the obituary in
424:
On his departure, Rankine became Emeritus Professor of Physics at Imperial College, holding that title from 1937 to his death.
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382:. His interest in this area developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and from 1927 onwards he became an advisor for the
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By the time the war had ended, Rankine had added to the distinguished reputation he had gained from work in fields such as
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452:(1931–32) and the Physical Society (1932–1934), both of these organisations later merging with the Institute of Physics.
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Notices of the proceedings at the meetings of the members of the Royal Institution, with abstracts of the discourses
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From Lardner to Massey – a history of physics, space science and astronomy at University College London 1826 to 1975
484:
in 1949, delivering the 33rd Guthrie Lecture on 19 March 1949, titled 'Experimental Studies in Thermal Convection'.
900:, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2011
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The birthdate is given in the Library and Archive catalogue Fellows' entry for Rankine at The Royal Society.
500:, and he contributed to both the design and testing done on the system in wind tunnels at the Empress Hall,
195:. He also served in a range of positions with many learned societies, including periods as president of the
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Rankine carried out government research during both World Wars, working on anti-submarine technology and on
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in 1922, and has been described as an "effective technique for the transmission of speech by sunlight".
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719:, Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2011 from Encyclopedia.com
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During World War II, Rankine again worked for the government, this time on the development of the
472:, Rankine was accorded other honours for his work. These included being asked to present the 1932
246:. This experiment was among a number being carried out at the time, and was intended as a test of
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of 1908, but he also worked on early devices for the optical transmission of sound, and improved
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The historical record (1836–1912) being a supplement to the Calendar completed to September 1912
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These changes mirrored Rankine's shift in interests from optics to the newly emerging field of
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Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
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who worked on the viscosity of gases, molecular dynamics, optics, acoustics and
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system for clearing fog from military runways. This work was done with the
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under the initials AOR (1922 edition), contributing the article on 'Sound'
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Christmas lecture for children at the Royal Institution, 27 December 1932
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For his government research work during World War I, Rankine was made an
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Christmas lecture for children at the Royal Institution, 3 January 1933
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Rankine, A. O. (1950). "Experimental Studies in Thermal Convection".
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784:, History of UCL, University College London. Retrieved 19 April 2011
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in the 1880s, and the system being developed by the Polish engineer
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During this period at UCL, Rankine worked under the Irish physicist
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1007:, The Royal Institution of Great Britain. Retrieved 18 April 2011
988:, The Royal Institution of Great Britain. Retrieved 18 April 2011
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designs. The latter part of his career was spent working for the
270:), enabling him to carry out experimental determinations of the
302:. His final posting was as Director of the research station at
242:. In 1908, he and Trouton carried out what become known as the
1101:"The Physical Society: Seventy-fifth Anniversary Celebrations"
516:, London, on 20 January 1956,. His obituary was published in
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544:(A.O. Rankine, Allan Ferguson; The University Press, 1932)
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from 1918. Rankine's work in this area was mentioned in
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Alexander Oliver Rankine was born on 8 December 1881 in
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685:, Saturday, 21 January 1956; pg. 9; Issue 53434; col A
825:
Will America or England Win Race to Make Movies Talk?
427:
363:. It was around this time that Rankine wrote for the
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772:, University of London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1912
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Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
355:. In 1919, he was appointed Professor of Physics at
864:
Supplement to the London Gazette, of 8 January 1919
550:(A. O. Rankine, Petroleum Warfare Department, 1945)
1239:People educated at Royal Grammar School, Guildford
852:, Imperial College London. Retrieved 19 April 2011
438:British Association for the Advancement of Science
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148:(8 December 1881 – 20 January 1956) was a British
915:The history of Imperial College London, 1907–2007
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731:"On the Electrical Resistance of Moving Matter"
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257:Two years later, in 1910, Rankine obtained his
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850:A History of Optics at Imperial College London
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548:F.I.D.O. investigation wind tunnel experiments
448:(1926–31). He also served as president of the
298:research station, both as part of work by the
1018:"Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution"
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729:Trouton, F. T.; Rankine, A. O. (1908).
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998:Alexander Oliver Rankine (1881–1956)
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928:"Prof. A. O. Rankine, O.B.E., F.R.S"
917:, Hannah Gay, World Scientific, 2007
798:. Vol. 3581. pp. 237–244.
602:"Alexander Oliver Rankine 1881-1956"
408:Royal College of Science Association
286:and British-born Canadian physicist
179:Rankine is most associated with the
172:, and was a professor of physics at
99:Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
1259:Fellows of the Institute of Physics
1244:Alumni of University College London
796:Acousto-Optics and Applications III
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681:Obituary: Professor A. O. Rankine,
474:Royal Institution Christmas Lecture
13:
1279:Presidents of the Physical Society
1274:English people of Scottish descent
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428:Learned and professional societies
234:University College and World War I
14:
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420:At the fact that he's struck oil.
879:, Volume 3, Hugh Chisholm (1922)
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436:. He was also involved with the
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300:Admiralty Research Laboratory
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498:Petroleum Warfare Department
488:World War II and later years
222:Rankine was educated at the
7:
645:(University College London)
478:Fellow of the Royal Society
320:Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner
314:constructed by US inventor
168:. He studied and worked at
94:Fellow of the Royal Society
10:
1300:
1087:10.1088/0370-1298/63/5/301
969:, Volume 24, 1925, page 86
290:. Rankine worked first at
244:Trouton–Rankine experiment
181:Trouton–Rankine experiment
76:Trouton–Rankine experiment
979:RI Secretaries since 1799
898:Rankine, Alexander Oliver
717:Rankine, Alexander Oliver
414:If Rankine prefers travel
384:Anglo-Persian Oil Company
228:University College London
193:Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
170:University College London
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984:11 February 2012 at the
418:No one of us will cavil,
398:"of great sensitivity".
240:Frederick Thomas Trouton
138:Alexander Oliver Rankine
35:Alexander Oliver Rankine
1003:13 January 2011 at the
480:. He was also made the
365:Encyclopædia Britannica
174:Imperial College London
126:Imperial College London
1153:Martin, L. C. (1956).
756:10.1098/rspa.1908.0037
621:10.1098/rsbm.1956.0017
422:
226:, and then studied at
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394:) and constructing a
316:Alexander Graham Bell
199:and secretary to the
166:fog dispersal systems
831:, October 1922, p.29
542:Discussion on vision
446:Institute of Physics
268:Rankine viscosimeter
1171:1956Natur.177..408M
1117:1949Natur.163S.438.
1111:(4142): 438. 1949.
1079:1950PPSA...63..417R
1034:1932Natur.130T.960.
1028:(3295): 960. 1932.
944:1937Natur.139R.830.
938:(3524): 830. 1937.
747:1908RSPSA..80..420T
284:William Henry Bragg
272:Sutherland constant
464:Awards and honours
444:(1923–29) and the
345:molecular dynamics
288:Arthur Stewart Eve
276:William Sutherland
252:special relativity
1165:(4505): 408–409.
804:10.1117/12.330481
434:Royal Institution
416:To academic toil,
392:Eötvös gravimeter
201:Royal Institution
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116:Scientific career
25:Alexander Rankine
16:British physicist
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55:(1956-01-20)
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1234:1956 deaths
1229:1881 births
614:: 248–255.
502:Earls Court
207:Early years
1223:Categories
555:References
404:The Record
380:geophysics
375:section).
312:photophone
185:gravimeter
154:geophysics
41:1881-12-08
1141:The Times
812:109908939
683:The Times
518:The Times
373:photonics
349:acoustics
335:in 1919.
304:Kingswear
213:Guildford
150:physicist
1001:Archived
982:Archived
600:(1956).
292:Aberdour
1167:Bibcode
1113:Bibcode
1075:Bibcode
1052:4077571
1030:Bibcode
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