Harold Lyons was a physicist whose primary interest was in atomic frequency standards and atomic clocks. The collection documents Lyons and his work with atomic clocks. The collection includes his research as manifested in published papers, presentations, reports, correspondence, laboratory notes, photographs and diagrams.
Scope and Contents:
The Harold Lyons Papers, 1935-1991, show his professional interests, especially his research from the 1950s, as manifested in published papers, presentations, reports, correspondence, laboratory results, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of papers and presentations of Lyons and others in the atomic physics field. Most of Lyons's work and the materials he collected address different aspects of microwave frequency.
Formats represented in the collection include published articles, typewritten and handwritten manuscripts, typewritten and handwritten personal correspondence, memorandums, photographs, diagrams, laboratory results, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1955-1965; 1973, contains copies of Lyons's curriculum vitae (circa 1955, 1962, and 1971) and his entries in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in The West. This series also has two folders with materials relating to two honors he received, the Franklin Institute Certificate of Merit, in 1958, and the U.S. Department of Commerce's 25th Commemorative Award in 1973.
Series 2, Papers and Presentations, 1947-1962; 1973-1974, contains the journal articles and papers authored by Lyons and the conference and special presentations he gave during his career, most of which address research for aspects of the atomic clock. Included are papers he authored published in the Journal of Applied Physics, American Scholar, Scientific American, and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and presentations given at the National Bureau of Standards for the anniversary of the atomic clock.
Series 3, Correspondence, 1949-1991, contains general correspondence for the years 1949-1966, 1978, 1987, and 1991, as well as correspondence with the following individuals: Dirk Brouwer, Paul Forman, Polykarp Kusch, Koichi Shimoda, Wilbert F. Snyder, Charles H. Townes, and Jerrold R. Zacharias. The bulk of this series is incoming correspondence addressed to Lyons, although he did retain some copies of outgoing correspondence.
Series 4, Research, 1947-1958; 1970-1991, contains laboratory results for deuterated ammonia (via strip chart recordings) and general cesium atomic beam experiments through calibration of magnetic fields, calculation of c-fields in the magnetic chamber, and atomic beam measurements. It also contains brief information on other research interests, such as the International Scientific Radio Union, and scattered promotional materials for natural health and electrical products. In addition, this series contains a copy of the patent granted to Lyons and Benjamin F. Husten in 1955 for the atomic clock and photographs and diagrams relating to Lyons's work on the atomic clock. Included are black and white photographs of Lyons and his colleagues with views of the clock as well as diagrams and charts included in published and unpublished work and presentations. Most of the photographs and diagrams are undated and unlabeled.
Series 5, Collected Background Research Materials, 1935-1982, contains papers and presentation materials focused on atomic physics, including papers published in journals, memoranda, technical reports, conference programs, and conference proceedings. One folder in this series has materials relating to the promotion of the atomic clock through pamphlets, speeches, papers, and one oversize item of reproduced newspaper clippings. A folder relating to a university course of lectures, most likely authored by Polykarp Kusch of Columbia University, on molecular beams is also included in this series. In addition, this series contains copies of two patents, one granted to Friedrich H. Reder in 1960 for molecular resonance devices, and the other, an Australian patent, applied for in 1958, for an invention dealing with a frequency selective method and system.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into five series.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1955-1965; 1973
Series 2, Papers and Presentations, 1947-1962; 1973-1974
Subseries 2, Other Research Interests, 1947-1957; 1970-1991
Subseries 3, Photographs and Diagrams, 1957; undated
Series 5, Collected Background Research Materials, 1935-1982
Biographical / Historical:
Harold Lyons was born February 16, 1913 in Buffalo, New York, and attended the University of Buffalo, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in Physics in 1933. After obtaining a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the University of Michigan in 1939, he worked at the Naval Research Laboratories for two years and then joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1941. In 1944, he was appointed chief of the Microwave Standards Section of an Interservice Radio Propagation Laboratory (IRPL) established at the NBS during World War II. He continued in that position after the war when the IRPL, in 1946, was reconstituted as the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory (CRPL).
Lyons's work on microwave frequency standards led directly to his interest in atomic frequency standards and atomic clocks. On his initiative a substantial program of research and development was pursued in the Microwave Standards Section from 1948-1951. There under his direction the first operative atomic clock, based on the absorption of microwaves of ammonia, was constructed in 1948 and announced in early 1949.
Lyons remained with the CRPL after it was moved to Boulder, Colorado, in 1954, but left a year later to work in Hughes Aircraft Company's Culver City, California, research labs. Here he continued his atomic physics research, particularly applications for the atomic clock, including satellite technology, and expanding to development work in lasers. He continued his work on lasers at Electro-Optical Systems Quantum Physics Division from 1960-1962. In the late 1960s and during the 1970s, he was an independent physics consultant and conducted research through an association with the University of California, Los Angeles.
Harold Lyons died March 23, 1998 in Los Angeles, California.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
National Company (NATCO) Atomic Clocks Records, 1955-1968 (AC0547), contains related archival materials, principally on the development of the first commercial atomic clock, the Atomichron.
Materials in the National Museum of American History
The Division of Work and Industry, formerly the Division of Information, Technology and Communication, holds the first operative atomic clock, constructed under Lyons's direction at the National Bureau of Standards in 1948.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Harold Lyons's daughter, Sherrie L. Lyons, in January, 2000.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History. Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
2.09 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (1 16x20 box) (3 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Exhibition catalogs
Pamphlets
Clippings
Compact discs
Electronic records
Floor plans
Drawings
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Date:
1950, 1959-1988, 1996, 2004, 2006
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that document planning, development and production activities for the exhibitions A Material World, Loose the Mighty Power:
Impressions of the Steam Engine in America, Abandoned Mine Scenes, On Time, Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There, as
well as the halls of Nuclear Energy, Mining, Agriculture, Petroleum, Iron and Steel, Farming Machinery, and Forest Products at the National Museum of American History (NMAH),
which, prior to 1980, was known as the National Museum of History and Technology and the Museum of History and Technology, respectively. A few records also predate the creation
of NMAH, when the museum was part of the United States National Museum. The original working title for the exhibition Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from
Here to There, which opened at the National Air and Space Museum and was produced in partnership with NMAH, was Finding Time and Place: From Chronometers to GPS.
Earlier records date back to when the Division of Work and Industry was known as the Division of the History of Technology, the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
the Division of Extractive Industries, the Division of Manufacturing, the Division of Agriculture and Mining, the Division of Agriculture and Forest Products, the Division
of Industrial Cooperation, and there are some records from the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and the Division of Transportation.
Staff represented in these records include curators Robert C. Post, William L. Withuhn, Philip W. Bishop, John T. Schlebecker, Robert M. Vogel, and John H. White; associate
curator John Nathan Hoffman; and exhibit coordinator Claudine Klose.
Materials include correspondence, memoranda, and notes; proposals; budget summaries; design information; production schedules; scripts; press releases; floor plans; drawings;
object lists; loan information; catalogs, pamphlets, brochures, and clippings; photographs and negatives; and reports. Some materials are in electronic format.
Oversize:
This collection contains oversize material.
Rights:
Restricted for 15 years. until Jan-01-2022; Transferring office; 2/1/2011 memorandum, Johnstone to Jones; Contact reference staff for details.
National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology Search this
Extent:
5.5 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Clippings
Maps
Drawings
Floor plans
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white transparencies
Color negatives
Color photographs
Color transparencies
Date:
1921-1922, 1947, 1956-1986
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that document the research, planning, and execution of exhibits by the Department of the History of Science and Technology. Exhibits
include the Hall of Petroleum, the Hall of Iron and Steel, and Inventing Standard Time. Some of the materials date to when the department was known as the Division
of Industrial Cooperation, Division of Manufactures and Heavy Industries, Division of Mineral Technology, Department of Arts and Manufactures, Division of Extractive Industries;
and when the museum was known as the Museum of History and Technology, the National Museum of History and Technology and when it was part of the United States National Museum.
Staff documented include Philip W. Bishop, Head Curator; Edward C. Kendall, Curator; Charles O. Houston, Associate Curator; and Carlene E. Stephens, Assistant Curator. Materials
include correspondence, memoranda, reports, label text, scripts, images, diagrams, floor plans, maps, drawings, and clippings.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 17-299, National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology, Exhibition Records
SCDIRB copy is unbound, with a contemporary red, white, and blue twisted cord knotted through a single hole in the upper left corner of each folded leaf; housed in an archival envelope for preservation Search this
