Francis Sears

American physicist

Francis Weston Sears

Born| (1898-10-01)October 1, 1898

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Died| November 12, 1975(1975-11-12) (aged 77)

Hanover, New Hampshire

Citizenship| USA
Alma mater| Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for| University Physics
Debye–Sears effect
Spouse| Mildred Cornwall
Scientific career
Fields| Physics
Acousto-optics
Education
Institutions| Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College

Francis Weston Sears (October 1, 1898 – November 12, 1975) was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics at MIT for 35 years before moving to Dartmouth College in 1956.[1] At Dartmouth, Sears was the Appleton Professor of Physics.[2][3] He is best known for co-authoring University Physics, an introductory physics textbook, with Mark Zemansky. The book, first published in 1949, is often referred to as "Sears and Zemansky", although Hugh Young became a coauthor in 1973.

In 1932 he collaborated with Peter Debye in the discovery of what is now called the Debye–Sears effect, the diffraction of light by ultrasonic waves.[4][5]

Sears was a fellow of the Optical Society of America, and was active in the American Association of Physics Teachers, serving as its treasurer from 1950 to 1958, followed by successive one-year terms as president-elect and president.[6] He retired to Norwich, Vermont and died in Hanover, New Hampshire, of a stroke on November 12, 1975.[7][8][6]

## Awards

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* 1961 — Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers[2][9]

## Books

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* Sears, Francis W. (1935). An Introduction to Optics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
* Sears, Francis W. (1946). Electricity and Magnetism. Reading, Massachusetts. Addison-Wesley[10]
* Sears, Francis; Mark Zemansky; et al. (1948). College Physics (1st ed.). Addison Wesley.[11]
* Sears, Francis W. (1950). An Introduction to Thermodynamics, the Kinetic Theory of Gases and Statistical Mechanics. Addison Wesley. 2nd edition, 1953[12][13]
* Sears, Francis W. (1950). Mechanics, heat and sound. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Addison Wesley.
* Sears, Francis (1958). Mechanics, Wave Motion, and Heat (1st ed.). Addison Wesley.[14]
* Francis W. Sears (1975). Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Thermodynamics. Addison Wesley. ISBN 020106894X.[15]

## See also

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Wikiquote has quotations related to Francis Sears.

* MIT Physics Department

## References

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1. ^ "Biographical notes", Journal of the Optical Society of America, 66(12): 1446
2. ^ a b O'Connell, George (March 1962). "The faculty". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
3. ^ O'Connell, George (October 1961). "The faculty". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
4. ^ "Descendants of Richard Sears - Eighth Generation". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
5. ^ Debye-Sears ultrasonic cell
6. ^ a b King, Allen L. (1976). "Francis W. Sears, 1898–1975". American Journal of Physics. 44 (3): 3. Bibcode:1976AmJPh..44....3K. doi:10.1119/1.10535.
7. ^ Zemansky, Mark W. (February 1976). "Francis W. Sears". Physics Today. 29 (2): 65. Bibcode:1976PhT....29b..65Z. doi:10.1063/1.3023329. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28.
8. ^ "Francis Sears". The New York Times. November 14, 1975. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
9. ^ Olsen, Leonard O. (1979). "Francis Weston Sears: Oersted Medalist for 1961". In Phillips, Melba (ed.). 50 Years On Teaching Physics. pp. 125–126\. doi:10.1063/9780735421325_031. ISBN 9780735421325.
10. ^ Platt, John R. (1946). "Review of Principles of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism by Francis Weston Sears". Science. 104 (2692): 112–113\. doi:10.1126/science.104.2692.112. PMID 17790179. S2CID 177021679. p. 113
11. ^ Nierenberg, William A. (1948). "Review of College Physics: Mechanics, Heat and Sound (Pt. 1.) by Francis Weston Sears and Mark W. Zemansky". Science. 107 (2768): 73. doi:10.1126/science.107.2768.73.
12. ^ Leaf, Boris; Cardwell, A. B. (1953). "Review of An Introduction to Thermodynamics, the Kinetic Theory of Gases, and Statistical Mechanics, 2nd edition by Francis Weston Sears". American Journal of Physics. 21 (7): 580. Bibcode:1953AmJPh..21..580S. doi:10.1119/1.1933565.
13. ^ Friedman, Abraham S. (1954). "Review of An Introduction to Thermodynamics, the Kinetic Theory of Gases, and Statistical Mechanics, 2nd edition by Francis Weston Sears". Physics Today. 7 (4): 26. doi:10.1063/1.3061598.
14. ^ Ablow, C. M. (1959). "Review of Mechanics, Wave Motion, and Heat by Francis Weston Sears". Physics Today. 12 (6): 52–54\. doi:10.1063/1.3060858.
15. ^ Turoff, Robert David (1976). "Review of Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Thermodynamics by Francis W. Sears and Gerhard L. Salinger". American Journal of Physics. 44 (2): 192–194\. doi:10.1119/1.10595.

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