Arthur Compton

thumb|Arthur Compton, 1927 Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation. It was a sensational discovery at the time: the wave nature of light had been well-demonstrated, but the idea that light had both wave and particle properties was not easily accepted. He is also known for his leadership of the Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Laboratory, and served as Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1945 to 1953. Quotes The benefits of science are not only material ones. The truths that science teaches are of common interest the world over. The language of science is universal, and is a powerful force in bringing the peoples of the world closer together. Banquet speech for his Nobel Prize, 1927. Not only mesons are interesting... MESON2016 conference Quotes about Compton The way things are is always more interesting than the way we thought they were. Henry Anton Erikson, encouraging Compton after a 1916 experiment on magnetic electron orientation yielded an unexpected negative result; as recalled in A. H. Compton, "Personal Reminiscences," in The Cosmos of Arthur Holly Compton, edited by M. Johnston, Knopf, New York 1967, p. 23. External links Category:1892 births Category:1962 deaths Category:Academics from the United States Category:Physicists from the United States Category:Nobel laureates in Physics Category:Presbyterians from the United States Category:Scientists from Ohio Category:Nobel laureates from the United States Category:Princeton University alumni Category:University of Chicago faculty Category:Manhattan Project people