Nelson James Terrell
US physicist (1923–2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nelson James Terrell (August 15, 1923–March 21, 2009)[1] was an US physicist and scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. James Terrell worked in relativity and astrophysics. The Terrell rotation, an image distortion of objects travelling near the speed of light, is named after him.[2]
August 15, 1923
James Terrell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nelson James Terrell Jr. August 15, 1923 Houston, United States |
| Died | March 21, 2009 (aged 85) Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States |
| Alma mater | Rice University |
| Known for | Terrell rotation |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Los Alamos National Laboratories |
Life
Nelson James Terrell Jr. was born in Houston, Texas in 1923.[1]
James Terrell did his undergraduate studies Rice University.[2]
In 1945, he married Anne Elizabeth Pearson.[1][3] Together, they had a daughter.[3]
From 1945 to 1947, the army sent Terrell to Japan. When he came back, he finished his PhD at Rice University in 1950.[3] He worked on nuclear fission and the theory of relativity.[4]
He worked as assistant professor at Western Reserve University,[4] and later joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1951.[2][4]
Terrell was member of the International Astronomical Union.[5]
He died in Los Alamos, New Mexico in 2009.[1]
Research
In 1957 he started publishing works on length contraction. He discovered that the appearance of objects looks rotated at large speed, as predicted by special relativity. This is now known as the Terrell rotation or Terrell effect.[2]
In 1966, he studied quasars. He postulated that quasars were originally ejected from the center of galaxies.[2][6] This conjecture was the matter of international debate.[2]
In the 1970s he worked on analysing the x-ray data of Cygnus X-1, a black hole candidate,[4] and worked on the x-ray data from the Vela B satellite. He produced a movie of the sky depicting dying stars, quasars, and black holes.[2][7]
He also worked on solving the diffraction problem of high intensity lasers.[4]