Clinton Joseph Davisson was a Nobel
Prize winning American physicist, known for his discovery of electron
diffraction. Born in late nineteenth century to a contract painter
father, he had to support his own education from the very start. After
graduating from Bloomington High School at the age of 21, he entered the
University of Chicago in the same year. However, it took him around
seven years to obtain his bachelor’s degree. For the greater part of his
college years, he worked at the Princeton University as part time
instructor, returning to the Chicago University only for the summer
quarters. Rest of the time, he privately studied with eminent academics
at Princeton, especially Professor O.W. Richardson. Late,r he did his
doctoral work with Richardson and received his PhD in three years.
Subsequently, he began his career as an Assistant Professor at Carnegie
Institute of Technology; but very soon shifted to Western Electric
Company, later renamed as Bell Telephone Laboratories. Here he spent his
most productive years and performed the famous Davisson-Germer
experiment, which resulted in the discovery of electron diffraction.
Afterwards he joined University of Virginia as visiting professor of
research, finally retiring from there after eight years.
Childhood & Early Years
- Clinton Joseph Davisson was born on 22 October 1881, in Bloomington, Illinois. His father, Joseph Davisson, was a soldier in the Union Army. In 1865, he settled in Bloomington and began working as a contract painter. His mother, Mary Calvert Davisson, was a teacher. He had one sister, Carrie.
- Clinton Davisson had his early education at Bloomington High School. He graduated from there in 1902 and entered University of Chicago on scholarship; but because of financial reason, had to leave after around four quarters.
- Sometime in 1903, he found employment with a telephone company in Bloomington. Fortunately, Professor Robert A. Millikan, who had spotted his talent, came to his aid at this juncture.
- On his recommendation, Davisson joined the Purdue University in January 1904 as an assistant in the physics department. Subsequently, in the fall of the same year, he went back to Chicago.
- He remained in residence at the University of Chicago for around a year. Then in the fall of 1905, again on the recommendation of Professor R. A. Millikan, Davisson joined Princeton University as a part time Instructor in Physics, a post he occupied until 1910.
- Here too he quickly impressed the professors and whenever his duties permitted him to do so, he studied under renowned academics like Professor Francis Magie, Professor E. P. Adams, Professor James Jeans and Professor O.W. Richardson. He also had the good fortune to assist Professor Richardson in his researches during this period.
- Also from 1905 to 1908, each year he returned to the University of Chicago for the summer quarters, thus completing his course. Finally in August 1908, he received his B.Sc. degree from the institution.
- Afterwards, he began his doctoral work under Professor Richardson at the University of Princeton and at the same time continued working as a part time instructor till 1910. He was awarded a Fellowship in Physics at the same institute for the year 1910-1911.
- Finally, Clinton Joseph Davisson completed his Ph.D in Physics in June 1911. His thesis was titled ‘On The Thermal Emission of Positive Ions From Alkaline Earth Salts’.Major Works
- Davisson’s experiment on electron diffraction was his most important work. In 1927, working with Germer, he discovered that when a beam of electrons is reflected from a metallic crystal it shows diffraction patterns similar to those of electromagnetic waves like X-rays.
- Known as Davisson–Germer experiment, it played an important role in demonstrating the wave–particle duality of electrons, as established by de Broglie hypothesis. Later, it also helped to establish quantum mechanics and the Schrödinger equation.
Awards & Achievements
- In 1937, Davisson received Nobel Prize in Physics for his “experimental discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystals". He shared the prize with George Paget Thomson, who independently worked on the same topic.
- He was also awarded with the Comstock Prize by the National Academy of Sciences in 1928; the Elliott Cresson Medal by the Franklin Institute in 1931, the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society (London) in 1935.
Personal Life & Legacy
- While working at the University of Princeton, Clinton Davisson met Professor O.W. Richardson’s sister Charlotte. They got married on August 4, 1911, just before he joined Carnegie Institute of Technology as Assistant Professor
- The couple had four children; three sons named Clinton Owen, James Willans and Richard Joseph and a daughter named Elizabeth Mary. James and Richard later followed their father’s footsteps and became research physicists.
- In 1954, Davisson retired from University of Virginia. He was now seventy-four and physically very weak. However, his mind was equally alert and his interest in scientific matters was high as before. Even at this stage, one could see him sitting for hours, trying to solve different scientific problems.
- Clinton Davisson died peacefully in sleep at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia on the night of February 1, 1958
