Sinclair Smith (astronomer) explained

Sinclair Smith (in Chicago – in Pasadena) was an American astronomer. His observations of the Virgo Cluster were among the first to suggest the existence of dark matter.

Biography

In 1906, his parents took him to Italy for two years, then to Indiana, where they lived until 1913, when they moved to California.

As a child, he showed a great interest in mechanical design and drawing. He was hired as a draughtsman for the design of the Mount Wilson Observatory's 100-inch (2.5-metre) Hooker telescope.

He received his bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1921, and in 1924, he obtained his Ph.D. for his work with John August Anderson on the exploding wire method, to obtain laboratory spectra at high excitation and ionization energies.

He then spent a year at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, and worked at the physics laboratory of the Mount Wilson Observatory for the rest of his life.

He died prematurely of cancer at the age of 39.

Publications

• Sinclair Smith. Note on Electrically Exploded Wires in High Vacuum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 10. 1. January 15, 1924. 4–5. 10.1073/pnas.10.1.4. 84200. 16576775. 1085498. 1924PNAS...10....4S. 0027-8424. free.
• Sinclair Smith. Richard C. Tolman. On the Nature of Light. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 12. 5. May 15, 1926. 343–347. 10.1073/pnas.12.5.343. 84632. 16587092. 1084554. 1926PNAS...12..343T. free.
• Sinclair Smith. Richard C. Tolman. Remarks on Professor Lewis's Note on the Path of Light Quanta in an Interference Field. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 12. 8. August 15, 1926. 508–509. 10.1073/pnas.12.8.508. 84735. 16587118. 1084655. 1926PNAS...12..508T. free.
• Sinclair Smith. The Effect of Low Temperatures on the Sensitivity of Radiometers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 16. 5. May 15, 1930. 373–376. 10.1073/pnas.16.5.373. 85567. 16587584. 526650. 1930PNAS...16..373S. free.
• Sinclair Smith. The Spectral Distribution of Stellar Energy Determined with the Radiometer. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 46. 272. August 1934. 215–216. 10.1086/124465. 40669205. 1934PASP...46..215S. 123240759 . 0004-6280. free.

Appendices

Bibliography

Biography

• [Necrology] John August Anderson. Sinclair Smith. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 50. 296. August 1938. 232–233. 10.1086/124947. 1938PASP...50..232A. 250792095 . 0004-6280. 1538-3873. . free. .
• Book: Virginia Trimble. Smith Sinclair (1899-1938). Bertotti B, Balbinot R, Bergia S. Modern Cosmology in Retrospect. Cambridge University Press. 1990. 411–413. 9780521372138. https://books.google.com/books?id=H8hCay1X1ZQC&pg=PA411. .
• Book: Virginia Trimble. Smith, Sinclair. Thomas Hockey. et al.. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science+Business Media. 2007. 1067–1068. 9780387304007. 10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_1292. https://books.google.com/books?id=t-BF1CHkc50C&pg=PA1068. . .

Other works

• Book: Brian Greene. A Prediction of Darkness. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. Doubleday. 2007. 294–295. 9780307428530. https://books.google.com/books?id=DNd2K6mxLpIC&pg=PA294. .