Louis Harold Gray
English physicist (1905–1965)
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Louis Harold Gray FRS (10 November 1905 – 9 July 1965) was an English physicist who worked mainly on the effects of radiation on biological systems. He was one of the earliest contributors of the field of radiobiology.[6] Amongst many other achievements, he defined a unit of radiation dosage (absorbed dose) which was later named after him as an SI unit, the gray.[7][8]
Born10 November 1905
Died9 July 1965 (aged 59)
Louis Harold Gray | |
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LH Gray (left) and J Boag supervising construction of the Gray Laboratory at Mount Vernon Hospital in north London. | |
| Born | 10 November 1905 |
| Died | 9 July 1965 (aged 59) |
| Education | |
| Known for | Bragg–Gray cavity theory Gray (unit) |
| Spouse | Frieda Marjorie Picot |
| Parents |
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| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Workplaces |
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| Thesis | (1930) |
| James Chadwick[2] | |
Early life
Gray was born as an only child on 10 November 1905 to parents Harry and Amy Gray. His father worked at a post office.[9]
Career
- 1933 – Hospital physicist at Mount Vernon Hospital, London
- 1936 – Developed the Bragg–Gray equation, the basis for the cavity ionization method of measuring gamma-ray energy absorption by materials[10][11]
- 1937 – Built an early neutron generator at Mount Vernon Hospital[12]
- 1938 – Studied biological effects of neutrons using the generator
- 1940 – Developed concept of RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness) of doses of neutrons
- 1952 – Initiated research into cells in hypoxic tumors and hyperbaric oxygen
- 1953 – Oliver Scott established the British Empire Cancer Campaign Research Unit in Radiobiology[13] at Mount Vernon Hospital with Hal Gray as director which in 1970 became the Cancer Research Campaign's Gray Laboratory and then (in 2001) the Gray Cancer Institute.
- 1953–1960 – Under Gray's direction, Jack W. Boag developed pulse radiolysis[14]
- 1962 – Ed Hart, of Argonne National Laboratory, and Jack Boag[15] discovered the hydrated electron using pulse radiolysis at the Gray Laboratory – this discovery initiated a new direction of research that is still very active today and is vital for understanding the effects of radiation on biological tissue, for instance in cancer treatment.