Charles Thomson Rees Wilson

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (February 14, 1869 – November 15, 1959) was a Scottish physicist.

Related Topics:
February 14 - 1869 - November 15 - 1959 - Scottish - Physicist

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He was born in the parish of Glencorse, Midlothian to a farmer, John Wilson, and his mother Annie Clerk Harper. After his father died in 1873, his family moved to Manchester. He was educated at Owen's College, studying biology with the intent to become a physician. He then went to Cambridge University where he became interested in physics and chemistry.

Related Topics:
Parish - Midlothian - 1873 - Manchester - Owen's College - Biology - Physician - Cambridge University - Physics - Chemistry

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He thereafter became particularly interested in meteorology, and in 1893 he began to study clouds and their properties. He worked for some time at the observatory on Ben Nevis, where he made observations of cloud formation. He then tried to reproduce this effect on a smaller scale in the laboratory in Cambridge, expanding humid air within a sealed container. He later experimented with the creation of cloud trails in his chamber caused by ions and radiation. For the invention of the cloud chamber he received the Nobel Prize in 1927.

Related Topics:
Meteorology - 1893 - Observatory - Ben Nevis - Laboratory - Cambridge - Ion - Radiation - Cloud chamber - Nobel Prize - 1927

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He married Jessie Fraser in 1908, the daughter of a minister from Glasgow, and the couple had four children. He died near Edinburgh, surrounded by his family.

Related Topics:
1908 - Minister - Glasgow - Edinburgh

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The Wilson crater on the Moon is co-named for him, Alexander Wilson and Ralph Elmer Wilson.

Related Topics:
Wilson crater - Moon - Alexander Wilson - Ralph Elmer Wilson

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