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A brief history of the lecture
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The Appleton Lecture was established in 1965 to commemorate the life and work of Sir Edward Appleton, a widely honoured physicist and Nobel Prize winner who is mainly noted for research into the upper atmosphere.
In 1924 Sir Edward was able to demonstrate the existence of the electrified reflecting layer in the upper atmosphere. The existence of this layer had been postulated by A E Kennelly and Oliver Heaviside. The existence of a second layer was also demonstrated, and this is often referred to as the Appleton Layer.
Along with Douglas Hartree he established the magneto-ionic theory of the ionosphere. Appleton also made contributions to the development of radar, and studied the radio properties of sun-spots.
The majority of his papers are held at Edinburgh University Library. Texas University Library holds his letters to Sir O W Richardson, while his correspondence with Viscount Cherwell 1940 - 1955 is held by Nuffield College, Oxford. The Medical Research Council also holds miscellaneous correspondence.
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