G. M. B. Dobson facts for kids

George Miller Bourne Dobson (born February 25, 1889, died March 10, 1976) was a British scientist. He was a physicist and a meteorologist, which means he studied weather and the atmosphere. Dobson is famous for his important discoveries about ozone in Earth's atmosphere.

Dobson's Early Life and School

George Dobson was born in Knott End, Windermere, England. He went to Sedbergh School when he was younger. Later, he studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, a part of the University of Cambridge. He finished his studies in 1909 with top honors in Natural Sciences. He also earned a special science degree (DSc) from the University of Oxford.

Dobson's Work and Discoveries

In 1913, Dobson started teaching about weather at the Central Flying School. He also worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment from 1916 to 1918. In 1921, he became a lecturer at the University of Oxford, teaching about meteorology. He continued his work there until 1950.

Dobson made a very important discovery about Earth's atmosphere. Scientists used to think that the temperature in a part of the atmosphere called the tropopause was always the same. But Dobson studied meteorites and found that this was not true. He showed that there was a place where the temperature went up very quickly.

He suggested that this temperature rise happened because ultraviolet radiation from the Sun was heating up ozone in that area. This special area is now known as the ozone layer. The ozone layer is super important because it protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Dobson also noticed a connection between sunspots and weather patterns. He measured how much ultraviolet light came from the Sun. To do this, he invented a special tool called the Dobson ozone spectrophotometer. He used this tool to study ozone levels for many years.

Today, we still use a special unit of measurement named after him. It's called the Dobson unit. This unit helps scientists measure how much ozone is in the atmosphere above a certain spot. There's also a model of how air moves in the atmosphere, called the Brewer–Dobson circulation, which helps explain how ozone is spread around the world.

Awards and Special Honors

George Dobson received many awards for his scientific work:

• In 1927, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
• He received the Rumford Medal in 1942.
• He gave a special talk called the Bakerian lecture in 1945.
• In 1949, he won the Chree medal and prize.
• He was the president of the Royal Meteorological Society from 1947 to 1949.
• He was given the Symons Gold Medal in 1938, another important award from the Royal Meteorological Society.
• In 1951, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

See also

• Umkehr effect