Samuel Collins (physicist)

Samuel Cornette Collins (September 28, 1898 in Kentucky – June 19, 1984 in Washington, DC.[2]) was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer.

Samuel Cornette Collins
BornSeptember 28, 1898
Democrat, Kentucky, U.S.[1]
DiedJune 19, 1984(1984-06-19) (aged 85)
George Washington University Hospital
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeLynnhurst Cemetery
36.0247002°N 83.9321976°W / 36.0247002; -83.9321976
Alma mater
  • University of Tennessee
  • University of North Carolina
Known for
  • Airborne Oxygen Generator
  • Collins Helium Cryostat
  • Helium Liquefiers
  • MIT Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory
SpouseLena Arbragine Masterson
Awards
  • Wethrill Medal of the Franklin Institute
  • Kamerlingh Onnes Gold Medal of Dutch Science
  • Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Gold Medal of American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Collins graduated from Sumner County High School in 1916.[3] He obtained his PhD in chemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1927. He taught at Carson-Newman College, the University of Tennessee, Tennessee State Teachers College, and the University of North Carolina, and joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a research associate in the chemistry department in 1930. After World War II, he returned to MIT, joining the department of mechanical engineering. He was appointed professor in 1949 and retired in 1964. He was named professor emeritus, serving in this post until 1983.[2]

Collins developed the first mass-produced helium liquefier, Collins Helium Cryostat, acquiring the title "Father of Practical Helium Liquefiers."[4] Collin's refrigerators, powered by a two-piston expansion engine, provided the first reliable supplies of liquid helium in quantities of several hundred to several thousand liters.[5][6]

Among other uses, these refrigerators were used to liquefy and transport helium and deuterium for the first hydrogen bomb explosion, Ivy Mike in 1952.[7]

He was awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1951 and the Rumford Prize in 1965.

References
  1. "Samuel Collins". American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. "MIT website". Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  3. Tong, Holly (October 12, 2012). "Paying tribute to influential Portland native Dr. Samuel C. Collins". Lebanon Democrat. Paxton Media Group. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  4. United States US2716333A, Samuel C. Collins, "Method and Means for Treating Gases", published August 30, 1955, issued August 30, 1955
  5. United States US2458894A, Samuel C. Collins, "Low-Temperature Refrigeration System", published January 11, 1949, issued January 11, 1949
  6. United States US2607322A, Samuel C. Collins, "Expansion Engine", published August 19, 1952, issued August 19, 1952
  7. Rhodes, Richard L. (1995). Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb. Simon and Schuster. pp. 488–489. ISBN 978-0684804002. OCLC 32509950.


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