Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Albert Ernest Kempton (1911 - 2000) NCUACS catalogue no. 116/2/03 by Simon Coleman and Peter Harper A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Title: Compiled by: Simon Coleman Description level: Fonds Deposited in: Date of material: ca 1930-ca 2000 Reference code: GB 0012 Cambridge University Library Extent of material: ca 120 items Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Albert Ernest Kempton (1911-2000), physicist NCUACS catalogue no. 116/2/03 © National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists, University of Bath A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 The work of the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists is supported by the following societies and organisations: The British Computer Society The British Crystallographic Association The Geological Society Girton College Cambridge The Institute of Physics The Royal Society St John’s College Cambridge Trinity College Cambridge The Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Society of Chemistry The Wellcome Trust A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 NOT ALL THE MATERIAL IN THIS COLLECTION MAY YET BE AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION. ENQUIRIES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE FIRST INSTANCE TO: THE KEEPER OF MANUSCRIPTS CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WEST ROAD CAMBRIDGE A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 LIST OF CONTENTS GENERAL INTRODUCTION SECTION A BIOGRAPHICAL SECTION B RESEARCH SECTION C TEACHING A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 GENERAL INTRODUCTION PROVENANCE The papers were received for cataloguing from Christ's College Cambridge on 8 November 2000. OUTLINE OF THE CAREER OF ALBERT ERNEST KEMPTON Albert Ernest Kempton, the last of Ernest Rutherford’s research students at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, was born on 26th December 1911. After taking a First in Part 2 Physics at Cambridge in 1933, he joined the research on deuterons as a member of M.L.E. Oliphant’s team. In 1938 he joined the ’cyclotron team’, working with W.B. Lewis. During World War Il Kempton worked on the development of radar, particularly for coastal defence. In 1945 he returned to the Cavendish as a lecturer and remained there for the rest of his professional career. As a distinguished Fellow of Christ’s College, he was deeply involved in the College’s affairs and remained on the Council for thirty-five years. Kempton died on 17 April 2000. Section B, Research, includes a notebook relating to Kempton’s postgraduate thesis and a printed Section A, Biographical, chiefly consists of undergraduate notebooks and files. There are also drafts etc of speeches commemorating Kempton’s career, one by Sir Brian Pippard. DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION The papers date from c.1930 to c.2000. the School of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Advanced Studies, Dublin, 1944, and Los Alamos Report 24: ‘Lecture Series on Nuclear Physics’, undated (lecturers include F. Bloch, E. Segre, E. version of the same. There is also material relating to a series of lectures by Erwin Schroedinger at Bath, 2003 Section C, Teaching, presents a substantial body of material covering much of the period which Teller and V.F. Weisskopf. Kempton spent teaching at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge. Notebooks and papers date from 1956 to the 1970s. S. Coleman A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Biographical BIOGRAPHICAL A.1-A.22 Undergraduate notebooks A.23-A.24 Tributes UNDERGRADUATE NOTEBOOKS AND FILES 1931-1932 Most notebooks are inscribed ‘Trinity’, with the name of an academic term and, sometimes, the lecturer’s name, inside the front covers. These names are reproduced as titles in the following descriptions. the name of topic and a Loose notes are found intercalated in places. ‘Lent 1931: Electrodynamics, Dr J.D. Cockroft’. ‘Lent 1931: Electricity’. ’Michaelmas 1931: The Constitution of Matter’. ‘Michaelmas 1931: Electric Oscillations & Waves’. ’Michaelmas 1931: Light’. ‘Michaelmas 1931: Electric Oscillations & Waves’. Included are graphs of experimental results. ’Michaelmas 1931: Practical Physics’. A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Biographical ‘Lent 1932: X rays and Thermionics, Mr Stead’. ‘Michaelmas Wilson, Emm[anuel]’. 1932: Quantum Theory of Spectra, Mr ‘Michaelmas 1932: The Kinetic Theory of Gases, R.H. Fowler’. ‘lonisation and Radioactivity’. c. 1930-1933 Untitled notebook. c.1930-1933 Heading on first page is ‘Wave Motion’. A.13-A.20 Contents of an untitled file. c. 1930-1933 8 folders. 2 folders. A.21-A.22 c. 1930-1933 Notes on various topics. Contents of an unmarked file. Paginated 1-111, though disarranged. The notes are on thermodymanics and other topics. The occasion of the speech is unknown. Speech by Kempton’s career. Sir Photocopy of 2pp manuscript draft. Brian Pippard giving an account of A.23-A.24 TRIBUTES A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Biographical Tribute to Kempton delivered by the Master of Christ’s College, Cambridge. 2pp typescript entitled The Master's Address’. A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Research RESEARCH c.1930-1944 ’Provisional Survey & Notes for c.[1930]-1935 Notebook entitled Fellowship Thesis’. Manuscript notes. From front: The above title is followed by the heading ‘The Constitution of the Light Nuclei’ and the date ’22 May 1935’. Further headings include the following: Mutation Properties of a Nucleus’, Spontaneous Disint.[egration]’, ‘Nuclear Symmetry - Spins etc’. Paginated 1-77. back: From Notes undergraduate work. on various topics, probably for ‘Some Experiments on the Artificial Transmutation of the Light Elements’, by Kempton. [21936] The work is described as a ‘dissertation’ in the preface and appears to be the finished version of the ’Fellowship Thesis’ in B.1. Inscribed ’Trinity College’ on title page. chapters, with one exception, was done _ Printed and bound. The work is organised in four chapters with Notebook entitled "Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge’. 201pp. appendices and bibliography. Kempton writes ’All the experimental work of the first three in collaboration with Dr Oliphant and Lord Rutherford’. Notes on experimental work carried out by Kempton at Included are graphs and the Cavendish Laboratory. many pages of intercalated notes. A number of pages and graphs are inscribed with dates, all 1937. 136pp copy of a typescript of the lectures, so entitled. "Statistical Thermodynamics’, seminar lectures delivered in January-March 1944 at the School of Theoretical Physics, by Erwin Schroedinger.’ Course of A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Research LA [Los Alamos] Report 24: Lecture Series on Nuclear Physics’. report The lectures, with the names of the lecturers also given: is organised into following the series of series: C.L. lecturer: E.M. lecturers: ‘Terminology; ‘Radioactivity’; McMillan. First Second series: E. Teller, F. Bloch. Third series: 'Neutron Physics’; lecturer: 'Two Body Problem’; J.H. lecturer: 'The Statistical Theory of Nuclear Reactions’; lecturer: V.F. Weisskopf. Sixth series: 'Diffusion Theory; lecturer: R.F. Christy. Fourth Critchfield. Fifth series: E. Segré, Williams. series: A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Teaching TEACHING 1956-c.1978 C.1-C.11 Notebooks C.12-C.90 Teaching files NOTEBOOKS 1957-c.1970 The notes are mostly copied from publications and relate to Kempton’s teaching at the Cavendish Laboratory. Some can be dated by inscriptions found on some of the pages. 1957. contents of original files. Manuscript and typescript papers used for teaching, c. 1957-c.1970. 6 notebooks. C.12-C.90 TEACHING FILES 1956-c.1978 A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Teaching Some of the manuscript notes are not in Kempton’s hand. C.12-C.13 ‘Practical Courses for Part II Physics’. 72pp typescript so entitled. page. Inscribed ‘July 1956’ on title 2 folders. C.14-C.15 Teaching papers. 1962-1969 Contents of a file. 2 folders. C.16-C.17 Teaching papers. Contents of a file. 2 folders. C.18-C.20 3 folders. Contents of a file. 3 folders. C.21-C.23 Teaching papers. Contents of a file. Teaching papers. Contents of a file. Contents of a file. C.24-C.27 Teaching papers. 4 folders. Teaching papers. A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Teaching C.29-C.32 ’‘Hewish 1977 (& 1976)’. Contents of a file so inscribed. 4 folders. C.33-C.35 ’New Lectures for 1977-1978’. Contents of a file so inscribed. 3 folders. C.36-C.40 Teaching papers. Contents of a file. 5 folders. Contents of a file. 2 folders. C.43-C.44 Teaching papers. C.41-C.42 Teaching papers. Contents of a file so inscribed. Contents of a file so inscribed. Contents of a file. C.45-C.50 Teaching papers. C.51-C.54 ‘Howie’. 2 folders. 6 folders. A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Teaching 4 folders. Teaching material. Contents of a folder. Teaching material. Contents of a file. 2 folders. C.58-C.60 Teaching papers. Contents of a file. 3 folders. Teaching papers. 6 folders. Contents of a file. 4 folders. C.71-C.73 Teaching papers. C.61-C.64 Teaching papers. Contents of a file. 2 folders. Contents of a file so inscribed. C.74-C.75 ‘Lectures Misc’. Contents of a file. 3 folders. [?1970s] A.E. Kempton NCUACS 116/2/03 Teaching C.76-C.78 Riley’. [?1970s] Contents of a file so inscribed. 3 folders. Teaching papers. Contents of a file. 6 folders. [?1970s] C.85-C.89 Teaching papers. [?1970s] Contents of a file. 5 folders. 3 lectures on nuclear physics given on 7, September 1945. 10 and 11 include ‘Passage of 5pp photocopy of typescript abstracts of the lectures. The titles of the lectures are not given. Topics (indicated by headings) Radiation through Matter’, Nuclear transformations’ and the Modern Theory of the Nucleus’.
KEMPTON, Albert Ernerst
Published: 13 September, 2023 Author: admin