Oliver Penrose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oliver Penrose
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| Born | 6 June 1929 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University College, London King's College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Bose–Einstein condensation in liquid helium Direction of time Kinetics of phase transitions Foundations of statistical mechanics Penrose criterion |
| Awards | FRS (1987) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Imperial College, London Open University Heriot-Watt University |
| Doctoral advisor | H N V Temperley |
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He is the brother of Roger Penrose, Jonathan Penrose, and Shirley Hodgson, and son of Lionel Penrose, and grandson of J. Doyle Penrose and John Beresford Leathes. He is the nephew of Roland Penrose and cousin of Antony Penrose.
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Oliver Penrose FRS FRSE (born 6 June 1929) is a British theoretical physicist. He studies the rules that govern how matter and energy behave. He is known for his important ideas about how materials change. He also helped us understand strange things like how time moves forward.
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Who is Oliver Penrose?
Oliver Penrose was born in London, England. His birthday is June 6, 1929. He comes from a very smart family. Many of his relatives are also famous scientists or experts in their fields.
His Smart Family
Oliver's father was Lionel Penrose, a well-known scientist. His brother is Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist. Roger even won a Nobel Prize! Another brother, Jonathan Penrose, is a chess Grandmaster. His sister, Shirley Hodgson, is a geneticist. It's a family full of brilliant minds!
His Amazing Career
Oliver Penrose spent many years teaching and doing research. He worked at the Open University for 17 years. This university helps people learn from home. Later, he became a Professor of Mathematics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He retired in 1994 but still works on research there. He is now a Professor Emeritus, which means he keeps his title and connection to the university.
What Does a Theoretical Physicist Do?
A theoretical physicist like Oliver Penrose uses math and logic. They try to explain how the universe works. They don't usually do experiments in a lab. Instead, they use theories and models to understand nature.
Understanding Materials: Phase Transitions
One of Oliver Penrose's main interests is phase transitions. This is when a material changes its state. Think about ice melting into water, or water boiling into steam. These are all phase transitions. He also studied the physical chemistry of surfactants. Surfactants are special chemicals. They help liquids mix, like in soap or detergents.
Super-Stuff: Superfluids and Superconductors
Oliver Penrose's work helped us understand superfluids and superconductors.
- Superfluids are liquids that can flow without any friction. They can even climb walls!
- Superconductors are materials that can carry electricity with zero resistance. This means no energy is lost as heat.
His ideas about "off-diagonal long-range order" are very important for these topics.
The Mystery of Time: Arrow of Time
He also thought about the arrow of time. This is the idea that time only moves in one direction. It always goes forward, never backward. Why does a broken glass never put itself back together? This is a big question in physics. Oliver Penrose worked on understanding the physical reasons for this.
Quantum World: Quantum Mechanics
Another complex topic he studied is quantum mechanics. This is the part of physics that looks at the tiniest particles. It describes how atoms and subatomic particles behave. It's a very strange and exciting area of science!
Awards and Recognition
In 1987, Oliver Penrose became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. It shows that his work is highly respected by other experts.
