Carl David Anderson

Profession: Nobel Laureat Physicist

Nationality:

Biography: Carl David Anderson was an American physicist, best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932 and the muon in 1936. He won the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the positron, an award which he shared with Victor Franz Hess who had discovered cosmic radiation.

Anderson's discovery of the positron, which first appeared during experiments using cosmic rays as unexpected particle tracks in his cloud chamber, confirmed the theoretical possibility of a positron as predicted by Paul Dirac. The basis of this discovery was the research of Anderson's classmate, Chung-Yao Chao.

Subsequently Anderson discovered the muon, initially known as the mu-meson, with his graduate student, Seth Neddermeyer. This was the first of many subatomic particles which would quickly disrupt the tidy conceptual schemes of particle physicists.

Born: September 3, 1905
Birthplace: NYC, New York, USA

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Snake
Star Sign: Virgo

Died: January 11, 1991 (aged 85)