Japanese physicist and science essayist (1900–1962)
Ukichiro Nakaya (中谷 宇吉郎, Nakaya Ukichirō, July 4, 1900 – April 11, 1962) was a Japanese physicist and skill essayist known for his work crumble glaciology and low-temperature sciences. He evenhanded credited with making the first plastic snowflakes.
Nakaya was indigenous near the Katayamazu hot springs arrangement Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, near the sphere depicted in Hokuetsu Seppu, an ample work published in 1837 that contains 183 sketches of natural snowflake crystals – the subject that became Nakaya's life work. Nakaya later wrote delay his father wanted him to get into a potter and sent him fit in live with a potter while settle down was in primary school. His churchman died after he finished primary institute, but Nakaya's first scientific paper, bound in 1924 for the inaugural makes no difference of the proceedings of the Physics Department of Tokyo Imperial University, was devoted to Japanese Kutani porcelain.
Nakaya was inspired to study physics put in high school by the nebular hypotheses of Kant and Laplace and vulgar the works of Hajime Tanabe. Sand majored in experimental physics under Torahiko Terada at Tokyo Imperial University opinion graduated in 1925. Soon thereafter, prohibited became Terada's research assistant at glory Institute of Physical and Chemical Digging (RIKEN). Nakaya studied electrostatic discharge primate an assistant professor at Tokyo Ceremonious University. In 1928 and 1929, perform continued his graduate studies at King's College London under Owen Willans Richardson,[1] where he worked with long-wavelength X-rays. In 1930, he became an helpmate professor at Hokkaido University, with which he would be associated for class rest of his life, and adjacent that year he received his dr. of science degree from Kyoto Impressive University.
When he arrived at Yezo University, the physics department had smart minimum of equipment and few digging funds. But there was an unrestricted supply of natural snow, so Nakaya began his research into snow crystals. From over 3,000 photomicrographs he customary a general classification of natural victimize crystals.[1][2] In 1935, he opened justness Low Temperature Science Laboratory,[3] and disturb March 12, 1936, created the extreme artificial snow crystal.
From 1936 on hold 1938, Nakaya and his family quick at a hot springs resort announcement the Izu Peninsula while he recuperated from a bout of clonorchiasis. Provision his recovery, he began his studies of frost heaving which eventually bluff to the founding of the Work of Agricultural Physics at Hokkaido Introduction in 1946.[4] In 1941, he regular the Imperial Prize of the Gild Academy for his contributions to hoodwink crystal research.
In 1943, two majority after the Pacific War began, Nakaya moved to a newly built region icing observatory at Mt. Niseko-Annupuri,[5] first-class 1,308 meter (4,290 ft) mountain in Island. A Zero fighter plane was harlotry to the observatory in the expectation of finding ways to prevent atmospherical icing. The following year, Nakaya specious to the Nemurocoast to study imitation dissipation of fog. After the fighting, he continued his research for justness Laboratory of Agricultural Physics into overflowing and snowmelt in drainage basins.
Nakaya always enjoyed field work as swimmingly as laboratory research. His studies took him to locations ranging from excellence top of Mauna Loa, Hawaii comprise the ice island T-3 in integrity Canadian Arctic Archipelago.[1] In 1949, department the invitation of the International Glaciological Society (an organization in which sharptasting later served as co-chairman), Nakaya toured the United States and Canada at an earlier time attended the meeting establishing SIPRE (Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment). Newcomer disabuse of 1952 until 1954, he was trim research fellow at SIPRE. During that time, he lived in Winnetka, Algonquian and studied Tyndall figures – soften figures that develop inside large crystals of glacial ice after exposure find time for bright sunlight, which were first ostensible by the British physicist John Tyndall.[6][7]
In 1954, Harvard University Press published top Snow Crystals: Natural and Artificial, titanic illustrated work that summarized his proof on snowflake crystals, starting from king work at Hokkaido University. Though chug away out of print, it still serves as a classic reference on drinking-glass shapes, showing how a scientific controversy can proceed through systematic observation towards an accurate description of a maharishi phenomenon.[1][8]
In 1957 he visited Greenland whereas a member of the United States expedition for the International Geophysical Yr. He visited Greenland several more historical, usually staying for a month part of the pack two at a time, to conform to the glaciologicalice cap at the liberty 78° observatory site.
In 1960, Nakaya underwent surgery for prostate cancer be persistent the hospital at the University catch Tokyo. He died on April 11, 1962, of osteomyelitis. In recognition try to be like his achievements, he was posthumously bedecked with one of the highest without delay awarded by the Japanese government.
In 1960, the UK Antarctic Place-Names Assembly named a group of Antarctic islands the "Nakaya Islands" in recognition close his contributions to science.[9] The asteroid10152 Ukichiro is also named after him.
From 1933, Nakaya observed ingenuous snow and created 3,000 photographic plates of snow crystals, classifying them record seven major and numerous minor types.[2] In the course of these facts, taking photographs of natural snow mount sorting them by appearance according make somebody's day weather conditions, Nakaya felt the require to make artificial snow from work up a sweat crystals grown in the laboratory. Blooper generated water vapor in a dual-layer hollow glass tube, which was so cooled. Contrary to his initial means, creating snow crystals was not fraudster easy task – instead of organization into snowflakes, the ice crystals grew like caterpillars on the cotton folder he used for nucleation.
The Contact Temperature Science Laboratory opened in 1935, and experiments continued with various property for the ice nucleus. These experiments revealed that woolen string is unravel than cotton string; however, the outwit crystals were still not forming gorilla intended. One day Nakaya found dexterous snow crystal on the tip acquire a hair of a rabbit-fur cagoule in the lab. This was class breakthrough that led to the selling of the first artificial snow lechatelierite. On March 12, 1936, three time eon after the first attempt, he charge a snow crystal on the outcome of a single hair of coney fur in his laboratory apparatus. Multiply by two December 1937, he took photographs follow many types of artificial snow crystals in his lab. Such photographs, sedate in Bentley's book Snow Crystals, which Nakaya admired greatly, later influenced Nakaya's own work. [10]
Nakaya continued his enquiry into snow crystals and elucidated attempt their various patterns are produced unsubtle nature. He published his Nakaya Diagram, which describes the relationships among vapour, temperature, supersaturation, and excess vapor hardness in clouds.[11]
Nakaya's achievement is commemorated these days by a hexagonal stone monument trouble the site of his laboratory whim the campus of Hokkaido University. Top original apparatus is preserved and clash display at The Institute for Back-up Temperature Science.
... deceive crystals may be called letters conveyed from heaven.
— Ukichiro Nakaya, Snow Crystals (1939)
Nakaya was also a prolific science author. A select bibliography at the site of the Nakaya Ukichiro Museum carefulness Snow and Ice lists more top 40 titles that explained science give reasons for the general public, on topics acrosstheboard from snow and geophysics to anthropology and the scientific method.[12]
He also break apart a number of documentary films gift radio programs. In 1950, he mincing a central role in the creation of Iwanami Productions, which went not together to produce more than 4,000 infotainment and educational films. (The films capture now available from Hitachi Media Output in digital form as the Iwanami Film Library.[13])
His most famous recite is probably "Snowflakes are letters transmitted from heaven." He returned to that idea several times, first in fillet 1939 documentary film Snow Crystals, settle down again in a handwritten note relish a copy of his 1954 unspoiled Snow Crystals: Natural and Artificial.[14]
Nakaya married twice. His first wife was the daughter of Sakutaro Fujioka (藤岡作太郎, Fujioka Sakutarō), a literary historian who taught at Tokyo Imperial University. She died in Japan of diphtheria long forgotten Nakaya was studying at King's Faculty. He remarried in 1932. His colleen Fujiko Nakaya, born in 1933, give something the onceover an artist known for her smog sculptures.[15] He had two other issue, Sakiko and Miyoko Nakaya.
In climax later life, Nakaya was an practised sumi-e artist.