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Alfred M. Mayer | |
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Alfred Marshall Mayer (born inBaltimore, Maryland, 13 November 1836; died inMaplewood, New Jersey, 13 July 1897) was an American physicist.
He was born toCharles F. Mayer, a lawyer and state senator, and Eliza C. Mayer.
He attendedSt. Mary's College, but left for the workshop and drafting room of amechanical engineer, where he remained two years, acquiring a knowledge of the use of tools, mechanical drawing, and methods of constructing machines. He then spent two years in obtaining a thorough knowledge ofanalytical chemistry by laboratory practice. In 1856 he was called to the chair of physics and chemistry in theUniversity of Maryland, and from 1859 to 1861 he held a similar post inWestminster College, Missouri.
In 1863/4 he studied physics, mathematics, and physiology in theUniversity of Paris, and on his return he filled successively chairs inPennsylvania College,Gettysburg, andLehigh University,Bethlehem, from 1865 to 1870. At Lehigh, he had charge of the department ofastronomy, and superintended the erection of an observatory, from which he made a series of observations ofJupiter. He had charge of the expedition that was sent toBurlington, Iowa, under the auspices of theU.S. Nautical Almanac office to photograph thesolar eclipse of 7 August 1869, and made 41 perfect photographs. He was elected as a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1869.[1] In 1871 he accepted the professorship of physics inStevens Institute of Technology,Hoboken, New Jersey.
His scientific researches after his appointment at Stevens were principally published in theAmerican Journal of Science under the title of “Researches inAcoustics” (1871-1875). These include experiments showing that the translation of a vibrating body causes it to emit waves differing in length from those produced by the same vibrating body when stationary; a method of detecting the phases of vibration in the air surrounding a sounding body, leading to his invention of the topophone; mode of measuring the wavelengths and velocities of sound in gases, resulting in the invention of an acousticpyrometer; the determination of relative intensities of sound; five new methods of sonorous analysis for the decomposition of a compound sound into its elementary tones; the discovery that the fibrils of the antennae of the male mosquito vibrate sympathetically to notes which have the range of pitch of the sounds given out by the female mosquito; and the determination of the laws of vibration oftuning forks, especially in the direction of the bearing of these laws on the action of thechronoscopes that are used in determining the velocities of projectiles.
Mayer received the degree ofPh.D. from Pennsylvania College in 1866. He was a member of scientific societies, and in 1872 was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences. In 1873 he was one of the associate editors of theAmerican Journal of Science, but after a year's service withdrew on account of failing eyesight and went to visitEngland.
He contributed to theScientific American Supplement during 1876-1878 an extensive series of papers “On the Minute Measurements of Modern Science.” His other memoirs include:
Besides his numerous articles in his special branches of inquiry contributed to cyclopædias and journals, he published:
His brotherFrancis Blackwell Mayer was a noted painter. Their uncleBrantz Mayer was a noted author.Alfred Goldsborough Mayer was his son.
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