Dr. Ralph A. Alpher: Cosmologist, Theoretical and Applied Physicist
Welcome all to this website dedicated to the work, life, and career of Ralph A. Alpher, Recipient of the 2005 National Medal of Science "For his unprecedented work in the areas of nucleosynthesis, for the prediction that universe expansion leaves behind background radiation, and for providing the model for the Big Bang theory." [actual National Medal of Science citation]
Three articles on Dr. Ralph A. Alpher's life and career have recently been published by the American Institute of Physics journal "Radiations." Follow these links to read these articles and see never-before published photographs from Dr. Alpher's career.
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2008/alpher_part1.pdf
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2008/alpher_part2.pdf
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2009/alpher_part3.pdf
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2008/alpher_part1.pdf
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2008/alpher_part2.pdf
http://www.sigmapisigma.org/radiations/2009/alpher_part3.pdf
Due to the Classified, Restricted, and Secret nature of his work during WWII, Dr. Ralph A. Alpher never spoke publicly about the work he did while a night student at The George Washington University from 1939-1948. His son, Dr. Victor S. Alpher, has obtained declassification of much of this material and assembled it into several publications, the first four of which have now appeared in a journal that is well-circulated in the military, defense, and appropriations communities, among others.
Four articles have been published in the journal The Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League):
Beginning August 1, 1944, Dr. Alpher worked with Dr. Wilbur Goss and Dr. Freeman K. Hill on a Secrect project to revitalize inertia-contact -- magnetic influence Torpedo Exploder Mechanisms during the final year of the War at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University (the Laboratory. These advances have as yet received no attention in the Military History community. These included the Mark 9 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism, which was fitted into the same space as the then-defunct Mark 6 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism in the Mark 14 Torpedo, which had met with such dismal success at during the 1941-43 period. They are authored by Victor S. Alpher, Ph.D. Here are the citations:
Four articles have been published in the journal The Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League):
Beginning August 1, 1944, Dr. Alpher worked with Dr. Wilbur Goss and Dr. Freeman K. Hill on a Secrect project to revitalize inertia-contact -- magnetic influence Torpedo Exploder Mechanisms during the final year of the War at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University (the Laboratory. These advances have as yet received no attention in the Military History community. These included the Mark 9 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism, which was fitted into the same space as the then-defunct Mark 6 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism in the Mark 14 Torpedo, which had met with such dismal success at during the 1941-43 period. They are authored by Victor S. Alpher, Ph.D. Here are the citations:
Alpher, Victor S. (October, 2009). The Mark 9 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism: A Contact-Influence Successor to the Mark 14 Mod 6 During WWII. The
Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League), 117-133. The article discusses the principles involved in developing magnetic influence explosive devices, and how the Applied Physics Laboratory group at Johns Hopkins University revitalized the concept by redesigning a new magnetic-influence exploder that would explode underneath a warship's keel.
Alpher, Victor S. (April, 2010). Torpedo Exploder Mechanisms of World War II: A New Perspective. The Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League), 83-105. An extension of the first paper, this article goes into greater depth about the reasons for the abysmal performance of the Mark 6 Torpedo Exploder Mechanism, employed 1941-43.
Two new papers (two part series) have been published--a two part series concerning degaussing of all U.S. seagoing vessels throughout World War II.. This project, which began in earnest in 1940 and continues to this day utilized Dr. R. Alpher's extensive understanding of the Earth's magnetic field, and electromagnetic possibilities employed to attempt to counteract or cancel-out magnetism acquired from numerous natural and man-made sources--degaussing to this day is an important part of naval countermeasures. Beginning in 2009, the first use of ceramic superconductor instead of copper cable was tested successfully. The citations are:
Alpher, V.S. (2010, October). Degaussing Policy During WWII: Key to Submarine Action and Victory in the Atlantic and the Pacific (Part 1 of 2). The
Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League), 83-105.
Alpher, V.S. (2011, January). Degaussing Policy During WWII: Key to Submarine Action and Victory in the Atlantic and the Pacific (Part 2 of 2). The Submarine Review (Journal of the Naval Submarine League),
The following has appeared in a Russian online journal--Modern Physics Problems Forum: Physics-Online.ru. This article was written by Victor S. Alpher, and is entitled "Ralph A. Alpher, George Antonovich Gamow, and the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation" (2009, October). It can be retrieved and commented on, at www.physics-online.ru/php/paper.phtml?jrnid=null&paperid=8647&option_lang=eng
Interestingly, this paper has been downloaded over 20,000 times in PDF format (source: www.10bomb.com); one index of the continuing interest in the early prediction of the CMBR--the observation of which has led to 4 Nobel Prizes as of 2011.
Top: Dr. Ralph A. and Dr. Victor S. Alpher in Tampa, Florida (c) 2008 Bottom: Dr. Marcelo Gleiser of Dartmouth University and Dr. Ralph A. Alpher following interview for a Cosmology Documentary "O Big Bang" for TVGLOBO of Brazil in, Tampa, Florida, December 3, 2005 (c) 2008. Dr. Gleiser is holding a replica of the YLEM bottle, the original of which is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. (Exploring the Universe Exhibit; Gallery 111, on the Mall). On the table is acopy of "Genesis of the Big Bang" by Dr. R.A. Alpher and Dr. R. Herman, Oxford Press, 2001. It is available again at www.amazon.com after several years out-of-print, minus the original dustjacket as an "on demand" book.
