ARYTON, HERTHA MARKS

Physicist - (1854 - 1923)

She was an early 20th century British physicist who worked in electricity and wrote what became a standard textbook "The Electric Arc." In 1904 she was the first woman to read a paper before the Royal Society. It was entitled "The Origin and Growth of Ripple Marks" meaning ripple marks formed in sand. She received the Hughes Medal for her original research into the electric arc and the sand ripples. She also invented and patented an instrument for dividing a line into any number of equal parts.

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See Ogilvie's book on Women in Science listed in our Reference Section for more information on Ayrton (and many others).

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