Llewellyn Thomas

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Llewellyn Thomas

Thomas Precession , a correction to the Spin-orbit Interaction in Quantum Mechanics , which takes into account the Relativistic Time Dilation between the Electron and the Nucleus of an Atom .

The Thomas-Fermi Model ; a statistical model of the atom subsequently developed by Dirac and Weizsäcker ; and which formed the basis of Density Functional Theory ).

Born in London , he studied at Cambridge University , receiving his BA PhD , and MA degrees in 1924 , 1927 and 1928 respectively. He proposed Thomas Precession in 1926 , to explain the difference between predictions made by Spin-orbit Coupling theory and experimental observations.

In 1929 he obtained a job as a Professor of Physics at the University Of Ohio , where he stayed until 1943 . He married Naomi Estelle Frech in 1933 . From 1943 until 1945 he worked on Ballistics at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland . In 1946 he became a member of the staff of the Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory at Columbia University , remaining there until 1968 . In 1958 he was elected as a member of the National Academy Of Sciences . He was appointed visiting professor at North Carolina State University in 1968 , retiring from this position in 1976 . He died in Raleigh, North Carolina .

REFERENCES

Guide to the Llewellyn Hilleth Thomas Papers at the North Carolina State University