289:). 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.
241:(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.
381:
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
887:
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
522:
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
397:(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
412:
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
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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
466:
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
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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
272:
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
872:
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
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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
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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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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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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
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On his departure, Rankine became Emeritus Professor of Physics at Imperial College, holding that title from 1937 to his death.
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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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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
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in 1949, delivering the 33rd Guthrie Lecture on 19 March 1949, titled 'Experimental Studies in Thermal Convection'.
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911:, 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.
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206:. 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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730:, 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
483:, Rankine was accorded other honours for his work. These included being asked to present the 1932
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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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795:, 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
1018:, The Royal Institution of Great Britain. Retrieved 18 April 2011
999:, 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
281:), enabling him to carry out experimental determinations of the
269:
313:. His final posting was as Director of the research station at
253:. In 1908, he and Trouton carried out what become known as the
1112:"The Physical Society: Seventy-fifth Anniversary Celebrations"
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555:(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
696:, Saturday, 21 January 1956; pg. 9; Issue 53434; col A
836:
Will America or England Win Race to Make Movies Talk?
374:. It was around this time that Rankine wrote for the
783:, University of London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1912
618:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
366:. In 1919, he was appointed Professor of Physics at
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Supplement to the London Gazette, of 8 January 1919
561:(A. O. Rankine, Petroleum Warfare Department, 1945)
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863:, Imperial College London. Retrieved 19 April 2011
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159:(8 December 1881 – 20 January 1956) was a British
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742:"On the Electrical Resistance of Moving Matter"
305:on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, then at the
268:Two years later, in 1910, Rankine obtained his
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861:A History of Optics at Imperial College London
559:F.I.D.O. investigation wind tunnel experiments
459:(1926–31). He also served as president of the
309:research station, both as part of work by the
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1166:"Prof. A. O. Rankine, O.B.E., F.R.S"
1009:Alexander Oliver Rankine (1881–1956)
939:"Prof. A. O. Rankine, O.B.E., F.R.S"
928:, Hannah Gay, World Scientific, 2007
809:. Vol. 3581. pp. 237–244.
613:"Alexander Oliver Rankine 1881-1956"
419:Royal College of Science Association
297:and British-born Canadian physicist
190:Rankine is most associated with the
183:, and was a professor of physics at
110:Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
1270:Fellows of the Institute of Physics
1255:Alumni of University College London
807:Acousto-Optics and Applications III
692:Obituary: Professor A. O. Rankine,
485:Royal Institution Christmas Lecture
1290:Presidents of the Physical Society
1285:English people of Scottish descent
439:Learned and professional societies
245:University College and World War I
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431:At the fact that he's struck oil.
890:, Volume 3, Hugh Chisholm (1922)
447:. He was also involved with the
1295:20th-century British physicists
350:Imperial College and geophysics
235:Royal Grammar School, Guildford
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311:Admiralty Research Laboratory
1275:Fellows of the Royal Society
509:Petroleum Warfare Department
499:World War II and later years
233:Rankine was educated at the
656:(University College London)
489:Fellow of the Royal Society
331:Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner
325:constructed by US inventor
179:. He studied and worked at
105:Fellow of the Royal Society
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1098:10.1088/0370-1298/63/5/301
980:, Volume 24, 1925, page 86
301:. Rankine worked first at
255:Trouton–Rankine experiment
192:Trouton–Rankine experiment
87:Trouton–Rankine experiment
990:RI Secretaries since 1799
909:Rankine, Alexander Oliver
728:Rankine, Alexander Oliver
425:If Rankine prefers travel
395:Anglo-Persian Oil Company
239:University College London
204:Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
181:University College London
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77:University College London
995:11 February 2012 at the
429:No one of us will cavil,
409:"of great sensitivity".
251:Frederick Thomas Trouton
149:Alexander Oliver Rankine
46:Alexander Oliver Rankine
18:Alexander Oliver Rankine
1014:13 January 2011 at the
491:. He was also made the
376:Encyclopædia Britannica
185:Imperial College London
137:Imperial College London
1164:Martin, L. C. (1956).
767:10.1098/rspa.1908.0037
632:10.1098/rsbm.1956.0017
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405:) and constructing a
327:Alexander Graham Bell
210:and secretary to the
177:fog dispersal systems
842:, October 1922, p.29
553:Discussion on vision
457:Institute of Physics
279:Rankine viscosimeter
1182:1956Natur.177..408M
1128:1949Natur.163S.438.
1122:(4142): 438. 1949.
1090:1950PPSA...63..417R
1045:1932Natur.130T.960.
1039:(3295): 960. 1932.
955:1937Natur.139R.830.
949:(3524): 830. 1937.
758:1908RSPSA..80..420T
295:William Henry Bragg
283:Sutherland constant
475:Awards and honours
455:(1923–29) and the
356:molecular dynamics
299:Arthur Stewart Eve
287:William Sutherland
263:special relativity
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445:Royal Institution
427:To academic toil,
403:Eötvös gravimeter
212:Royal Institution
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27:British physicist
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625:: 248–255.
513:Earls Court
218:Early years
1234:Categories
566:References
415:The Record
391:geophysics
386:section).
323:photophone
196:gravimeter
165:geophysics
52:1881-12-08
1152:The Times
823:109908939
694:The Times
529:The Times
384:photonics
360:acoustics
346:in 1919.
315:Kingswear
224:Guildford
161:physicist
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