John William Nicholson

John William Nicholson
John William Nicholson
Born	1 November 1881; Darlington, Great Britain
Died	3 October 1955 (aged 73)
Nationality	Great Britain
Awards	Adams Prize (1919); FRS (1917)[1];
	Scientific career
Fields	Mathematician

John William Nicholson, FRS[1] (1 November 1881 – 3 October 1955) was an English mathematician.

Career

Based on the results of astronomical spectroscopy of nebula he proposed in 1911 the existence of several yet undiscovered elements. Coronium with an atomic weight of 0.51282, nebulium with a weight of 1.6281 and protofluorine with a weight of 2.361.[1] Ira Sprague Bowen was able to attribute the spectroscopical lines of nebulium to doubly ionized oxygen making the new elements obsolete for their explanation.[2] Some authors have pointed out the remarkable success that Nicholson's work initially experienced in spite of being founded on concepts that were eventually shown to be incorrect. [3]

Awards and honours

Nicholson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1917.[1] In 1919, Nicholson won the Adams Prize.

References

Wilson, W. (1956). "John William Nicholson 1881-1955". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 2: 209–214. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1956.0014. JSTOR 769485.
Bowen, I. S. (1927). "The Origin of the Nebulium Spectrum". Nature. 120 (3022): 473. Bibcode:1927Natur.120..473B. doi:10.1038/120473a0.
- Scerri, E.R. (2016). A Tale of Seven Scientists. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023299-3.

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[frs-1] Wilson, W. (1956). "John William Nicholson 1881-1955". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 2: 209–214. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1956.0014. JSTOR 769485.

[Bowen1927-2] Bowen, I. S. (1927). "The Origin of the Nebulium Spectrum". Nature. 120 (3022): 473. Bibcode:1927Natur.120..473B. doi:10.1038/120473a0.

[Scerri2016-3] Scerri, E.R. (2016). A Tale of Seven Scientists. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023299-3.

[4] Scerri, E.R. (2016). A Tale of Seven Scientists. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023299-3.