Ralph Fowler

Biography

Born in Roydon, Essex. Studied at the University of Cambridge (Trinity College). During the First World War served in the naval artillery. Worked in Cambridge, where he collaborated with P. A. M. Dirac, E. A. Milne, S. Chandrasekhar. Was the scientific advisor of Chandrasekhar. Married the daughter of Ernest Rutherford. Awards: Hughes Medal (1924), Royal Medal (1936).

Key discoveries

• Formulated the zeroth law of thermodynamics as a postulate of the transitivity of thermal equilibrium.
• Together with L. W. Nordheim explained field electron emission (tunneling) via the Fowler-Nordheim model.
• Applied statistical mechanics to degenerate electron gas in white dwarfs, laying the foundation for the theory of compact stars.
• Developed the theory of chain reactions in stellar interiors.