Elliot Quincy Adams
Encyclopedia
Elliot Quincy Adams was an American scientist. Chemist Gilbert N. Lewis
remarked that "the two most profound scientific minds, among the people he had known, were those of E[lliot] Q Adams and Albert Einstein
."
Adams was the son of Edward Perkins and Etta Medora (Elliot) Adams, and a descendant of John Adams, circa 1650 from Cambridge, Massachusetts
. He graduated from Medford High School
in Medford, Massachusetts
, and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, studying chemical engineering
under Gilbert N. Lewis
(1875–1946), and in 1909 earned his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering
. After graduation, Adams took a position with the General Electric
Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York
, where he worked with Irving Langmuir
on problems dealing with heat transfer. In 1912 Adams supplied the simple mathematical formula that is used to describe the conduction-convection loss from an incandescent filament operated in a gaseous atmosphere, and in the same year moved to Berkeley, California
, for doctoral studies at the University of California
. In 1914 he earned his Ph.D.under the direction of Gilbert N. Lewis
.
In 1917 Adams moved to Washington, D. C., to perform research in the Color Laboratory in the Department of Agriculture. From 1921-1949, when he retired, he worked for General Electric
at Nela Park
, East Cleveland, Ohio
. He made a seminal contribution to color science
in his 1942 paper, "X-Z planes in the 1931 I.C.I. system of colorimetry." In this paper, he provides two models for perceptually uniform color spaces. One, which he termed "chromatic value," was the precursor of the modern CIELAB uniform color space; the other, which he termed "chromatic valence," was the direct ancestor of the Hunter Lab color space
, and provided the elements of today's CIELUV. This paper showed how relatively simple transformations from XYZ
of Munsell
colors can have relatively uniform spacing of hue
and chroma.
Adams was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, American Physical Society
, Mineralogical Society of America
, and the Illuminating Engineering Society. In 1941 he was presented the Silver Beaver Award by the Boy Scouts of America
. Perhaps his best recognized effort was the book, coauthored with W. E. Forsythe, titled Fluorescent and Other Gaseous Discharge Lamps.
Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert Newton Lewis was an American physical chemist known for the discovery of the covalent bond , his purification of heavy water, his reformulation of chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists, his theory of Lewis acids and...
remarked that "the two most profound scientific minds, among the people he had known, were those of E[lliot] Q Adams and Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
."
Adams was the son of Edward Perkins and Etta Medora (Elliot) Adams, and a descendant of John Adams, circa 1650 from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. He graduated from Medford High School
Medford High School (Massachusetts)
Medford High School is a public high school located in the West Medford section of Medford, Massachusetts on the southwest border of the Middlesex Fells Reservation...
in Medford, Massachusetts
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, studying chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
under Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert Newton Lewis was an American physical chemist known for the discovery of the covalent bond , his purification of heavy water, his reformulation of chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists, his theory of Lewis acids and...
(1875–1946), and in 1909 earned his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
. After graduation, Adams took a position with the General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, where he worked with Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...
on problems dealing with heat transfer. In 1912 Adams supplied the simple mathematical formula that is used to describe the conduction-convection loss from an incandescent filament operated in a gaseous atmosphere, and in the same year moved to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, for doctoral studies at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. In 1914 he earned his Ph.D.under the direction of Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert Newton Lewis was an American physical chemist known for the discovery of the covalent bond , his purification of heavy water, his reformulation of chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists, his theory of Lewis acids and...
.
In 1917 Adams moved to Washington, D. C., to perform research in the Color Laboratory in the Department of Agriculture. From 1921-1949, when he retired, he worked for General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
at Nela Park
Nela Park
Nela Park is the headquarters of GE Lighting, and is located in East Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Today, GE Lighting is a part of GE's Consumer and Industrial business headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky...
, East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census....
. He made a seminal contribution to color science
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
in his 1942 paper, "X-Z planes in the 1931 I.C.I. system of colorimetry." In this paper, he provides two models for perceptually uniform color spaces. One, which he termed "chromatic value," was the precursor of the modern CIELAB uniform color space; the other, which he termed "chromatic valence," was the direct ancestor of the Hunter Lab color space
Lab color space
A Lab color space is a color-opponent space with dimension L for lightness and a and b for the color-opponent dimensions, based on nonlinearly compressed CIE XYZ color space coordinates....
, and provided the elements of today's CIELUV. This paper showed how relatively simple transformations from XYZ
CIE 1931 color space
In the study of color perception, one of the first mathematically defined color spaces is the CIE 1931 XYZ color space, created by the International Commission on Illumination in 1931....
of Munsell
Munsell color system
In colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that specifies colors based on three color dimensions: hue, value , and chroma . It was created by Professor Albert H...
colors can have relatively uniform spacing of hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
and chroma.
Adams was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
, Mineralogical Society of America
Mineralogical Society of America
The Mineralogical Society of America is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, and the arts...
, and the Illuminating Engineering Society. In 1941 he was presented the Silver Beaver Award by the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. Perhaps his best recognized effort was the book, coauthored with W. E. Forsythe, titled Fluorescent and Other Gaseous Discharge Lamps.