Harry Boot
Encyclopedia
Henry Albert Howard "Harry" Boot (29 July 1917 - 8 February 1983) was an English
physicist who with Sir John Randall and James Sayers
developed the cavity magnetron
, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War.
and attended King Edward's School, Birmingham
and the University of Birmingham
.
While working on his Ph.D.
the war broke out. His professor Mark Oliphant had seen the klystron
at Stanford University
but it produced insufficient power to be useful as a radar
transmitter. He assigned John Randall and Boot to the problem. By late February 1940, they had invented the much more powerful cavity magnetron
which was fitted in an experimental radar by May 1940.
James Sayers
later refined the magnetron still further by strapping alternate cavities. As with many British inventions of this period, the magnetron was provided to the US for free when they entered World War II
. American firms grew rich on the unpatented use of the invention. Initially Boot and Randall were awarded £50 each for the magnetron for "improving the safety of life at sea" but later Boot, Randall and Sayers received a £36,000 prize in 1949 for their work.
After some work on nuclear physics, Boot returned to magnetrons and after the war built a cyclotron
at Birmingham. In 1948 he joined the Scientific Civil Service in the Royal Naval Scientific Service, where he worked until his retirement. He enjoyed sailing, owning two boats at Salcombe
in Devon. He died in 1983.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
physicist who with Sir John Randall and James Sayers
James Sayers (physicist)
Professor James Sayers was an important Northern Irish physicist, who played a crucial role in developing centimetric radar - now used in microwave ovens.-Early life:...
developed the cavity magnetron
Cavity magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War.
Biography
He was born in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and attended King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
and the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
While working on his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
the war broke out. His professor Mark Oliphant had seen the klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
but it produced insufficient power to be useful as a radar
History of radar
The history of radar starts with experiments by Heinrich Hertz in the late 19th century that showed that radio waves were reflected by metallic objects. This possibility was suggested in James Clerk Maxwell's seminal work on electromagnetism...
transmitter. He assigned John Randall and Boot to the problem. By late February 1940, they had invented the much more powerful cavity magnetron
Cavity magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
which was fitted in an experimental radar by May 1940.
James Sayers
James Sayers (physicist)
Professor James Sayers was an important Northern Irish physicist, who played a crucial role in developing centimetric radar - now used in microwave ovens.-Early life:...
later refined the magnetron still further by strapping alternate cavities. As with many British inventions of this period, the magnetron was provided to the US for free when they entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. American firms grew rich on the unpatented use of the invention. Initially Boot and Randall were awarded £50 each for the magnetron for "improving the safety of life at sea" but later Boot, Randall and Sayers received a £36,000 prize in 1949 for their work.
After some work on nuclear physics, Boot returned to magnetrons and after the war built a cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
at Birmingham. In 1948 he joined the Scientific Civil Service in the Royal Naval Scientific Service, where he worked until his retirement. He enjoyed sailing, owning two boats at Salcombe
Salcombe
Salcombe is a town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, built mostly on the steep west side of the estuary and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in Devon. He died in 1983.