Paul Ulrich Villard
Encyclopedia
Paul Ulrich Villard was a French chemist
and physicist
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
, Rhône
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
.
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
rue d'Ulm, Paris
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
, France, on January 13, 1934.
Paul Ulrich Villard (28 September 1860 – 13 January 1934) was a French chemist
and physicist
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
, Rhône
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
.
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
rue d'Ulm, Paris
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
, France, on January 13, 1934.
Paul Ulrich Villard (28 September 1860 – 13 January 1934) was a French chemist
and physicist
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
, Rhône
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
.
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
rue d'Ulm, Paris
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
, France, on January 13, 1934.
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and 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...
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-External links:*...
, Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
.
Early research
Villard graduated from the École Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
rue d'Ulm, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
Discovery of gamma rays
Villard investigated the radiation from radium salts that escaped from a narrow aperture in a shielded container onto a photographic plate, through a thin layer of lead that was known to stop alpha raysAlpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
Later work
Villard spent much time perfecting safer and more accurate methods of radiation dosimetry, which had been done very crudely up until then (typically by evaluating the quality of the image of the experimenter's hand produced on a photographic plate). In 1908, Villard pioneered the use of a ionization chamber for the dosimetry of ionizing radiation. His work became the basis for subsequent efforts which culminated in the "German unit of radiation".Retirement and death
Villard retired away from Paris. He died in BayonneBayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, France, on January 13, 1934.
Paul Ulrich Villard (28 September 1860 – 13 January 1934) was a French chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and 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...
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-External links:*...
, Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
.
Early research
Villard graduated from the École Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
rue d'Ulm, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
Discovery of gamma rays
Villard investigated the radiation from radium salts that escaped from a narrow aperture in a shielded container onto a photographic plate, through a thin layer of lead that was known to stop alpha raysAlpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
Later work
Villard spent much time perfecting safer and more accurate methods of radiation dosimetry, which had been done very crudely up until then (typically by evaluating the quality of the image of the experimenter's hand produced on a photographic plate). In 1908, Villard pioneered the use of a ionization chamber for the dosimetry of ionizing radiation. His work became the basis for subsequent efforts which culminated in the "German unit of radiation".Retirement and death
Villard retired away from Paris. He died in BayonneBayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, France, on January 13, 1934.
Paul Ulrich Villard (28 September 1860 – 13 January 1934) was a French chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and 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...
, born in Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or
Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d'Or is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-External links:*...
, Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, 28 September 1860. He discovered gamma rays in 1900 while studying the radiation emanating from radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
.
Early research
Villard graduated from the École Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
in 1881 and taught in several Lycées, ending with a Lycée in Montpellier. He would maintain a laboratory position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure until his retirement. At the time when he discovered what we now call gamma rays, Villard was working in the chemistry department of the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
rue d'Ulm, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Villard is also credited with the discovery of argon hydrate. He spent the early part of his career (1888–1896) focusing on similar compounds at high pressure.
Discovery of gamma rays
Villard investigated the radiation from radium salts that escaped from a narrow aperture in a shielded container onto a photographic plate, through a thin layer of lead that was known to stop alpha raysAlpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
. He was able to show that the remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified before...
Villard was a modest man and he didn't suggest a specific name for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
because they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.
Later work
Villard spent much time perfecting safer and more accurate methods of radiation dosimetry, which had been done very crudely up until then (typically by evaluating the quality of the image of the experimenter's hand produced on a photographic plate). In 1908, Villard pioneered the use of a ionization chamber for the dosimetry of ionizing radiation. His work became the basis for subsequent efforts which culminated in the "German unit of radiation".Retirement and death
Villard retired away from Paris. He died in BayonneBayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, France, on January 13, 1934.