Nicholas Christofilos
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Constantine Christofilos (Νικόλαος Χριστοφίλου) (December 16, 1916 – September 24, 1972) was a Greek-American
physicist
.
Christofilos was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Greece
. He was working for an Athens
elevator company when he became interested in high-energy particle physics
.
In 1946 he independently developed ideas for a Synchrotron
and in 1949 he conceived the strong-focusing principle
. Rather than publishing in a journal he submitted a patent application in the US and Greece.
His discovery went unnoticed for several years and strong-focusing was rediscovered in 1952 and applied to accelerators at
Brookhaven
, Cornell
and CERN
.
Christofilos was offered a position at Brookhaven in 1953. In 1956 he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL) to continue his work on the Astron
, a proposed fusion reactor under the Sherwood Project
. At LLNL, Christofilos worked on a number of military projects. He became a member of JASON
and was the principal behind Operation Argus
, a series of high-altitude nuclear detonations intended to create a radiation belt in the upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere as a defence against Soviet
ICBMs.
In the early 1960s Christofilos proposed Extreme low Frequency Waves (ELF
) as practical way to communicate with submarines. The concept was tested in a 22500 square miles (58,274.7 km²) antenna system called Project Sanguine
.
In 1963 he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal
.
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Christofilos was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He was working for an Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
elevator company when he became interested in high-energy particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
.
In 1946 he independently developed ideas for a Synchrotron
Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
and in 1949 he conceived the strong-focusing principle
Strong focusing
In accelerator physics strong focusing or alternating-gradient focusing is the principle that the net effect on a particle beam of charged particles passing through alternating field gradients is to make the beam converge...
. Rather than publishing in a journal he submitted a patent application in the US and Greece.
His discovery went unnoticed for several years and strong-focusing was rediscovered in 1952 and applied to accelerators at
Brookhaven
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
, Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
.
Christofilos was offered a position at Brookhaven in 1953. In 1956 he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
(LLNL) to continue his work on the Astron
Astron (fusion reactor)
The Astron is a type of fusion power device pioneered by Nicholas Christofilos and built at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during the 1960s and 70s. Astron used a unique confinement system that avoided several of the problems found in contemporary designs like the stellarator and...
, a proposed fusion reactor under the Sherwood Project
Project Sherwood
Project Sherwood was the codename for a United States program in controlled nuclear fusion. It was funded under the Atoms for Peace initiative during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
. At LLNL, Christofilos worked on a number of military projects. He became a member of JASON
JASON Defense Advisory Group
JASON is an independent group of scientists which advises the United States government on matters of science and technology. The group was first created as a way to get a younger generation of scientists—that is, not the older Los Alamos and MIT Radiation Laboratory alumni—involved in advising the...
and was the principal behind Operation Argus
Operation Argus
Operation Argus was a series of nuclear weapons tests and missile tests secretly conducted during August and September 1958 over the South Atlantic Ocean by the United States's Defense Nuclear Agency, in conjunction with the Explorer 4 space mission. Operation Argus was conducted between the...
, a series of high-altitude nuclear detonations intended to create a radiation belt in the upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere as a defence against Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
ICBMs.
In the early 1960s Christofilos proposed Extreme low Frequency Waves (ELF
Extremely low frequency
Extremely low frequency is a term used to describe radiation frequencies from 3 to 300 Hz. In atmosphere science, an alternative definition is usually given, from 3 Hz to 3 kHz...
) as practical way to communicate with submarines. The concept was tested in a 22500 square miles (58,274.7 km²) antenna system called Project Sanguine
Sanguine (transmitter)
Sanguine was the name of an SLF-transmitter of the US-Navy, which was used to transmit on the frequency 76 hertz signals to submarines. The transmitter sites were in Michigan and Wisconsin. As aerial ground dipoles were used....
.
In 1963 he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal
Elliott Cresson Medal
The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848...
.
External links
- http://puhep1.princeton.edu/~mcdonald/accel/christofilos.pdf Nicholas C. Christofilos, His Contributions to Physics, A.C. Melissinos, 1993 (Talk given at CERN, Rhodes, Greece, 1993)
- http://www.llnl.gov/accomplishments/sixties.pdf The Sixties at LLNL. Mentions Christofilos and the ASTRON project.
- http://w3.pppl.gov/ppst/docs/coleman.pdf Greek Fire – Christofilos and the Astron Project in America's Fusion Program, Elisheva Coleman, Princeton University Junior Thesis, 2004