Brendan Scaife
Encyclopedia
Brendan K. P. Scaife FTCD
, MRIA
, Boyle Laureate (b. 19 May 1928) is an Irish academic engineer
and physicist
who carried out pioneering work on the theory of dielectrics. He founded the Dielectrics Group in Trinity College Dublin where he is Fellow Emeritus and formerly Professor of Electromagnetism
and of Engineering Science. Scaife showed that in a linear system the decay function is directly proportional to the autocorrelation
function of the corresponding fluctuating macroscopic variable, and proved how the spectral density
of the dipole moment fluctuations of a dielectric body could be calculated from the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity, ε (ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). It was independent of Ryogo Kubo
who in 1957 developed the corresponding theory for magnetic materials. The work was published prior to the work of Robert Cole in 1965 which is often cited.
; he graduated in 1949. At Queen Mary College there was a high-voltage laboratory run by Professor Hans Tropper, whose lectures on electromagnetic theory inspired Scaife. After graduation, he began research into the properties of insulating materials under Tropper’s direction. Scaife’s doctoral research broke new ground in the study of dielectrics.
’s invention prior to the War had been constructed at Queen Mary by an Indian student S. Sharan for his Ph.D. work. This bridge was applied successfully to measurements of samples subjected to high pressures.
After completing this work and a brief period of employment with GEC in Wembley, he returned with his Irish parents to Ireland where he remained for the rest of his career in spite of many offers from Britain.
in 1954. Here Prof. Erwin Schrödinger
was still a Senior Professor as was Cornelius Lanczos
. The work of these two leading theoretical Physicists of the 20th century was a source of great inspiration to him and helped in shaping his future work. In 1961 he joined the School of Engineering at Trinity College
.
His interest in the theory of dielectrics led to a collaboration with Professor Fröhlich
at the University of Liverpool
, where he was a regular visitor in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He developed a life long friendship with Herbert Fröhlich and the members of his research group. Scaife sought to apply the work of Callen
and Welton (1951) on the Fluctuation-dissipation theorem to Frohlich’s work on dipole moment fluctuations in dielectric bodies. This work on the theory of dielectrics culminated in a long report in 1959 published by the Electrical Research Association (now ERA Technology Ltd ) on “Dispersion and fluctuation in linear systems with particular reference to dielectrics”. In this he pointed out that, in a linear system, the decay function was directly proportional to the autocorrelation function of the corresponding fluctuating macroscopic variable. He showed how the spectral density of the dipole moment fluctuations of a dielectric body could be calculated from the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity ε(ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). This work was later published in Progress in Dielectrics, 1963. It was independent of Ryogo Kubo
who in 1957 developed the corresponding theory for magnetic materials. The work was published prior to the work of Robert Cole in 1965 which is often cited.
The theory of the equilibrium relative permittivity, ε(ω) of dipolar substances had been developed by Kirkwood
(1939) and Frohlich
(1948), who built on the pioneering work of Debye
(1913) and Onsager
(1936). It was hoped that the results of his 1959 report could be used to generalise the work of Onsager, Kirkwood and Frohlich and to obtain a theory for the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity ε(ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). The first step was to clarify the concept of the reaction field introduced by Onsager. Once this had been done it was possible to see how a generalisation of Onsager’s equation for ε(0) to the frequency-dependent case would be obtained. Such an equation was published in a short note in 1964 in the Proceedings of the Physical Society of London 84, 616. The justification of this equation had first appeared in an Electrical Research report, which Scaife published in 1965. A more extended version was given in Complex Permittivity published in 1971.
(1908) of molecular rotational brownian motion
. His work on the plane rotator was published for the first time in 1971, and also for the sphere; it was published in collaboration with J.T.Lewis and J.R.McConnell (also a Boyle Laureate) in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy
A, 76 (1976) 43 (It is for this paper that he appears in Famous Trails to Paul Erdős
). In the work on inertial effects it had been usual to neglect dipole-dipole coupling. A correct procedure to remedy this neglect was described in his book published in 1989. Unfortunately an exact, self-consistent solution of the proposed Langevin equation is not possible. Whether an adequate approximate solution can be obtained is still an open question.
α (ω) = α’(ω) - i α”(ω) = ( ε (ω) -1 ) / (ε (ω) +2 )
which is directly proportional to the complex polarizability of a macroscopic sphere of unit radius. It has been shown by a number of investigators that the polarizability plot is superior to the Cole-Cole plot for representation of high frequency dielectric data. His book Principles of Dielectrics published in 1989 contains many results and discussions which had not been previously published.
) in Van der Waals
forces, With another student, W.T.Coffey, he explored the extension of Onsager’s theory to take account of high field effects on the polarisation of dipolar materials.
With research students K.Raji, J.C.Fisher, K.V.Kamath and V.J.Rossiter he carried out experimental studies of the equilibrium permittivity of alkali halides when subjected to high pressures. Results were reported in several papers. He was helped by his elder brother, W. Garrett Scaife, whom B. K. P. Scaife had first got interested in dielectrics. Later Garrett Scaife took a keen interest in designing and automating the high pressure equipment and establishing the dielectric measuring techniques, and devoted a good part of his career studying the dielectric properties of liquids and liquid crystals under high pressures.
and in collaboration with Professor J. H. Calderwood, he published a number of important papers. In one of the papers published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
of London, 269 (1971) 217, they showed that the complicated transient voltage and current behaviour observed in liquids under irradiation can be explained by a simple model of the motion of space charge in a dielectric medium.
Beside his interest in dielectrics and magnetic fluids, he has made contributions to telecommunications, mathematical methods in signal processing and to the history of science and technology. In regard to the latter, while working with his former research student and colleague S.S.Swords on a study of the early history of radar
, he made contact with many of the pioneers of radar: the information and insights he acquired materially contributed to a new understanding of the international beginnings of radar.
Scaife edited Vol.IV of The Mathematical Papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton
He has also published a biography of James MacCullagh, another Irish mathematician and theoretical physicist, and contemporary of Hamilton.
in recognition of his international reputation in the field of Dielectrics. He was awarded the Boyle medal of the Royal Dublin Society
in 1992.
Trinity College Dublin awards the B.K.P.Scaife Prize to undergraduate students in electronic and electrical engineering in his honour.
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
, MRIA
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
, Boyle Laureate (b. 19 May 1928) is an Irish academic engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who carried out pioneering work on the theory of dielectrics. He founded the Dielectrics Group in Trinity College Dublin where he is Fellow Emeritus and formerly Professor of Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
and of Engineering Science. Scaife showed that in a linear system the decay function is directly proportional to the autocorrelation
Autocorrelation
Autocorrelation is the cross-correlation of a signal with itself. Informally, it is the similarity between observations as a function of the time separation between them...
function of the corresponding fluctuating macroscopic variable, and proved how the spectral density
Spectral density
In statistical signal processing and physics, the spectral density, power spectral density , or energy spectral density , is a positive real function of a frequency variable associated with a stationary stochastic process, or a deterministic function of time, which has dimensions of power per hertz...
of the dipole moment fluctuations of a dielectric body could be calculated from the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity, ε (ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). It was independent of Ryogo Kubo
Ryogo Kubo
was a Japanese mathematical physicist, best known for his works in statistical physics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.In the early 1950s, Kubo transformed research into the linear response properties of near-equilibrium condensed-matter systems, in particular the understanding of...
who in 1957 developed the corresponding theory for magnetic materials. The work was published prior to the work of Robert Cole in 1965 which is often cited.
Early life
Brendan Kevin Patrick Scaife was born in London on 19 May 1928 and just after World War II he began his undergraduate studies in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Queen Mary College, University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
; he graduated in 1949. At Queen Mary College there was a high-voltage laboratory run by Professor Hans Tropper, whose lectures on electromagnetic theory inspired Scaife. After graduation, he began research into the properties of insulating materials under Tropper’s direction. Scaife’s doctoral research broke new ground in the study of dielectrics.
Complex Permittivity of Polar Liquids
Brendan Scaife was the first scientist to successfully measure the complex permittivity of a number of polar liquids such as eugenol, glycerol and water as a function of pressure up to 12 kbar. This is published in a research note in Proc. Phys. Soc. B, 68 (1955) 790. Up to that time, Chan and Danforth working in Bridgman’s laboratory in the U.S.A., had measured essentially the equilibrium relative permittivity ε(ω) of a number of liquids. At the time the experimental facilities in this area of research were severely limited. Commercial bridges for measuring complex permittivity were not available. A three terminal transformer coupled ratio arm bridge based on BlumleinAlan Blumlein
Alan Dower Blumlein was a British electronics engineer, notable for his many inventions in telecommunications, sound recording, stereo, television and radar...
’s invention prior to the War had been constructed at Queen Mary by an Indian student S. Sharan for his Ph.D. work. This bridge was applied successfully to measurements of samples subjected to high pressures.
After completing this work and a brief period of employment with GEC in Wembley, he returned with his Irish parents to Ireland where he remained for the rest of his career in spite of many offers from Britain.
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies; work with Schrödinger and Fröhlich
Brendan Scaife joined the Dublin Institute for Advanced StudiesDublin Institute for Advanced Studies
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Dublin, Ireland was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach of the time, Éamon de Valera under the . The Institute consists of 3 schools: The , the and the . The directors of these schools are currently Professor Werner Nahm, Professor Luke Drury and...
in 1954. Here Prof. Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
was still a Senior Professor as was Cornelius Lanczos
Cornelius Lanczos
Cornelius Lanczos Löwy Kornél was a Hungarian-Jewish mathematician and physicist, who was born on February 2, 1893, and died on June 25, 1974....
. The work of these two leading theoretical Physicists of the 20th century was a source of great inspiration to him and helped in shaping his future work. In 1961 he joined the School of Engineering at Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
His interest in the theory of dielectrics led to a collaboration with Professor Fröhlich
Fröhlich
Fröhlich is a German language surname meaning cheerful. It may refer to:* Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, German evangelist, theologian and writer* Adolf Froelich, Polish inventor, dentist and officer* Albrecht Fröhlich, German Jewish mathematician...
at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, where he was a regular visitor in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He developed a life long friendship with Herbert Fröhlich and the members of his research group. Scaife sought to apply the work of Callen
Herbert Callen
Herbert B. Callen was an American physicist best known as the author of the textbook Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics, the most frequently cited thermodynamic reference in physics research literature...
and Welton (1951) on the Fluctuation-dissipation theorem to Frohlich’s work on dipole moment fluctuations in dielectric bodies. This work on the theory of dielectrics culminated in a long report in 1959 published by the Electrical Research Association (now ERA Technology Ltd ) on “Dispersion and fluctuation in linear systems with particular reference to dielectrics”. In this he pointed out that, in a linear system, the decay function was directly proportional to the autocorrelation function of the corresponding fluctuating macroscopic variable. He showed how the spectral density of the dipole moment fluctuations of a dielectric body could be calculated from the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity ε(ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). This work was later published in Progress in Dielectrics, 1963. It was independent of Ryogo Kubo
Ryogo Kubo
was a Japanese mathematical physicist, best known for his works in statistical physics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.In the early 1950s, Kubo transformed research into the linear response properties of near-equilibrium condensed-matter systems, in particular the understanding of...
who in 1957 developed the corresponding theory for magnetic materials. The work was published prior to the work of Robert Cole in 1965 which is often cited.
The theory of the equilibrium relative permittivity, ε(ω) of dipolar substances had been developed by Kirkwood
John Gamble Kirkwood
John "Jack" Gamble Kirkwood was a noted chemist and physicist, holding faculty positions at Cornell University, the University of Chicago, California Institute of Technology, and Yale University.-Early life and background:Kirkwood was born in Gotebo, Oklahoma, the oldest child of John Millard and...
(1939) and Frohlich
Fröhlich
Fröhlich is a German language surname meaning cheerful. It may refer to:* Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, German evangelist, theologian and writer* Adolf Froelich, Polish inventor, dentist and officer* Albrecht Fröhlich, German Jewish mathematician...
(1948), who built on the pioneering work of Debye
Debye
The debye is a CGS unit of electric dipole momentElectric dipole moment is defined as charge times displacement: Historically the debye was defined as the dipole moment resulting from two charges of opposite sign but an equal magnitude of 10-10 statcoulomb10-10 statcoulomb is approximately 0.2083...
(1913) and Onsager
Lars Onsager
Lars Onsager was a Norwegian-born American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.He held the Gibbs Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry at Yale University....
(1936). It was hoped that the results of his 1959 report could be used to generalise the work of Onsager, Kirkwood and Frohlich and to obtain a theory for the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity ε(ω) = ε’(ω) - iε”(ω). The first step was to clarify the concept of the reaction field introduced by Onsager. Once this had been done it was possible to see how a generalisation of Onsager’s equation for ε(0) to the frequency-dependent case would be obtained. Such an equation was published in a short note in 1964 in the Proceedings of the Physical Society of London 84, 616. The justification of this equation had first appeared in an Electrical Research report, which Scaife published in 1965. A more extended version was given in Complex Permittivity published in 1971.
Inertial Effects
In the work published up to 1965, inertial effects had not been fully taken into account. An early attempt to remedy this deficiency was made by Rocard in 1933. A major advance was made by Sack (1953,1957) and Gross (1955). Sack’s work was based on the Fokker Planck equation governing the temporal evolution of the orientational distribution for molecules. In an attempt to clarify the physical aspects of the problem, Scaife derived Sack’s results by starting from the stochastic Langevin equationLangevin equation
In statistical physics, a Langevin equation is a stochastic differential equation describing the time evolution of a subset of the degrees of freedom. These degrees of freedom typically are collective variables changing only slowly in comparison to the other variables of the system...
(1908) of molecular rotational brownian motion
Rotational Brownian motion
Rotational Brownian motion is the random change in the orientation of a polar molecule due to collisions with other molecules. It is an important element of theories of dielectric materials....
. His work on the plane rotator was published for the first time in 1971, and also for the sphere; it was published in collaboration with J.T.Lewis and J.R.McConnell (also a Boyle Laureate) in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
A, 76 (1976) 43 (It is for this paper that he appears in Famous Trails to Paul Erdős
Paul Erdos
Paul Erdős was a Hungarian mathematician. Erdős published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. He worked on problems in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, classical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory...
). In the work on inertial effects it had been usual to neglect dipole-dipole coupling. A correct procedure to remedy this neglect was described in his book published in 1989. Unfortunately an exact, self-consistent solution of the proposed Langevin equation is not possible. Whether an adequate approximate solution can be obtained is still an open question.
Polarizability Plot - or Scaife Plot - for representing High Frequency data
In 1963 Scaife suggested replacing the complex permittivity, ε (ω), Cole-Cole plot (1941), with a polarizability plot, α (ω). In this α”(ω) is plotted against α’(ω), where α’(ω) and α”(ω) are the real and imaginary co-ordinates of the functionα (ω) = α’(ω) - i α”(ω) = ( ε (ω) -1 ) / (ε (ω) +2 )
which is directly proportional to the complex polarizability of a macroscopic sphere of unit radius. It has been shown by a number of investigators that the polarizability plot is superior to the Cole-Cole plot for representation of high frequency dielectric data. His book Principles of Dielectrics published in 1989 contains many results and discussions which had not been previously published.
Casimir effect; High field effects; Alkali Halides; Garrett Scaife & High Pressure Studies
With his research student T.Ambrose, Professor Scaife applied the theory of dipole moment fluctuations to retardation effects (the Casimir effectCasimir effect
In quantum field theory, the Casimir effect and the Casimir–Polder force are physical forces arising from a quantized field. The typical example is of two uncharged metallic plates in a vacuum, like capacitors placed a few micrometers apart, without any external electromagnetic field...
) in Van der Waals
Van der Waals force
In physical chemistry, the van der Waals force , named after Dutch scientist Johannes Diderik van der Waals, is the sum of the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules other than those due to covalent bonds or to the electrostatic interaction of ions with one another or with neutral...
forces, With another student, W.T.Coffey, he explored the extension of Onsager’s theory to take account of high field effects on the polarisation of dipolar materials.
With research students K.Raji, J.C.Fisher, K.V.Kamath and V.J.Rossiter he carried out experimental studies of the equilibrium permittivity of alkali halides when subjected to high pressures. Results were reported in several papers. He was helped by his elder brother, W. Garrett Scaife, whom B. K. P. Scaife had first got interested in dielectrics. Later Garrett Scaife took a keen interest in designing and automating the high pressure equipment and establishing the dielectric measuring techniques, and devoted a good part of his career studying the dielectric properties of liquids and liquid crystals under high pressures.
Collaboration with Prof J.H.Calderwood
For several years Brendan Scaife was a visiting Professor at the University of SalfordUniversity of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
and in collaboration with Professor J. H. Calderwood, he published a number of important papers. In one of the papers published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London, 269 (1971) 217, they showed that the complicated transient voltage and current behaviour observed in liquids under irradiation can be explained by a simple model of the motion of space charge in a dielectric medium.
Ferrofluids and Other Interests
In collaboration with his colleague and former research student, P.C. Fannin, he designed a split toroid technique ("Fannin's (Toroidal) Technique") to measure the magnetic susceptibility of ferrofluids. He also explored the dispersion of the frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility of these fluids, developing the necessary underlying theoretical understanding. This is published in a number of papers from 1986 to 1991. This work has laid the foundation of yet another important area of research.Beside his interest in dielectrics and magnetic fluids, he has made contributions to telecommunications, mathematical methods in signal processing and to the history of science and technology. In regard to the latter, while working with his former research student and colleague S.S.Swords on a study of the early history of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, he made contact with many of the pioneers of radar: the information and insights he acquired materially contributed to a new understanding of the international beginnings of radar.
Scaife edited Vol.IV of The Mathematical Papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton
He has also published a biography of James MacCullagh, another Irish mathematician and theoretical physicist, and contemporary of Hamilton.
Fellowship of Trinity College Dublin and other recognition
He was elected to Fellowship of Trinity College Dublin (F.T.C.D.) in 1964 and was appointed Reader in 1966. In 1967 he became an Associate Professor. In 1972 was appointed to a Chair of Engineering Science and in the same year was elected to the Royal Irish Academy. He was awarded a D.Sc.(Eng.) of the University of London for his published work in 1973. In 1986 he was elected to a Personal Chair in ElectromagnetismElectromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
in recognition of his international reputation in the field of Dielectrics. He was awarded the Boyle medal of the Royal Dublin Society
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
in 1992.
Trinity College Dublin awards the B.K.P.Scaife Prize to undergraduate students in electronic and electrical engineering in his honour.