John Aitken

John Aitken, född 1839 i Falkirk, Skottland, död 1919, var en fysiker och meteorolog, som arbetade inom molnfysik och aerosolvetenskap. Aitken konstruerade den så kallade aitkenräknaren, för mäta halten av små partiklar i luften. Men en egenutformad apparat utförde han ett experiment som gav det första beviset för att nya partiklar bildas i atmosfären.

Aitken gjorde ett antal banbrytande upptäckter gällande partiklar, dimma och moln. Redan 1874 hade Aitken dragit slutsatsen att när vattenånga kondenseras i luften måste de ske mot en fast partikel. Utan närvaro av aerosoler i luften skulle det inte bildas moln eller dimma. 1884 visade han att närvaro av aftonrodnad beror på ljusets brytning mot små partiklar i den övre atmosfären.

1889 valdes Aitken till Fellow of the Royal Society och 1889 fick han Royal Medal. Aitken har gett namn till de minsta aerosolerna, aitkenkärnorna, de med en radie på mindre än 0,1 mikrometer.

Bibliografi
 Aitken, J. 1872. Melting and regelation of ice. Nature 6:396.
 Aitken, J. 1873. Glacier motion. Nature 7(172):287-288.
 Aitken, J. 1875. On boiling, condensing, freezing, and melting. Transactions of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts (1874-1875) 9:240-287.
 Aitken, J. 1875. Experiments illustrating rigidity produced by centrifugal force. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1875-1876) 9(94):73-78.
 Aitken, J. 1876. Experiments illustrating rigidity produced by centrifugal force. Proceedings of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (1875-1876) 10(1):99-106.
 Aitken, J. 1878. Experiments illustrating rigidity produced by centrifugal force. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Fifth series, 5(29):81-105.
 Aitken, J. 1876-77. On ocean circulation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1876-1877) 9(98):394-400.
 Aitken, J. 1880. On a new variety of ocular spectrum. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1878-1879) 10(104):40-44.
 Aitken, J. 1880. On the distribution of temperature under the ice in frozen lakes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1878-1879) 10(104):409-415.
 Aitken, J. 1880. On dust, fogs, and clouds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1880-1881) 11(108):14-18; 122-126.
 Aitken, J. 1880. On dust, fogs, and clouds. Nature 23(583):195-197.
 Aitken, J. 1881. Dust and fogs. Nature 23(588):311-312.
 Aitken, J. 1881. Dust, fogs, and clouds. Nature 23(591):384-385.
 Aitken, J. 1881. On dust, fogs, and clouds. Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine 24(148):308-310.
 Aitken, J. 1882. On the colour of the Mediterranean and other waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1881-1882) 11:472-483.
 Aitken, J. 1882-1883. On the effect of oil on a stormy sea. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1882-1883) 12:56-75.
 Aitken, J. 1883. On dust, fogs, and clouds. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 30(1):337-368.
 Aitken, J. 1883-84. The remarkable sunsets. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 12:448-450,647-660.
 Aitken, J. 1884. On the formation of small clear spaces in dusty air. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1883-1884) 32:239-272.
 Aitken, J. 1884. Second note on the remarkable sunsets. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1883-1884) 12:123-133.
 Aitken, J. 1885. Chromomictors. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1884-1885) 13:122-130.
 Aitken, J. 1885. On dew. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1885-1886) 13(121):446-450.
 Aitken, J. 1885. On thermometer screens. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1885-1886) 13:632-642.
 Aitken, J. 1886. On dew. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Fifth Series, 22(135):206-212; (137):363-368.
 Aitken, J. 1887. Note on hoar-frost. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 14(2):121-125.
 Aitken, J. 1888. On the number of dust particles in the atmosphere. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 35(1):1-19.
 Aitken, J. 1889. Dust particles in the atmosphere at Ben Nevis Observatory. Nature 40:350-351.
 Aitken, J. 1889. On improvements in the apparatus for counting the dust particles in the atmosphere. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 16(129):134-172.
 Aitken, J. 1890. On the number of dust particles in the atmosphere of certain places in Great Britain and on the continent, with remarks on the relation between the amount of dust and meteorological phenomena. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1889-1890) 17(130):193-254.
 Aitken, J. 1890. On the number of dust particles in the atmosphere of certain places in Great Britain and on the continent, with remarks on the relation between the amount of dust and meteorological phenomena. Nature 41(1061):394-396.
 Aitken, J. 1891. On a simple pocket dust-counter. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1890-1891) 18(February):39-52.
 Aitken, J. 1891. On a method of observing and counting the number of water particles in a fog. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1890-1891) 18:259-262.
 Aitken, J. 1891. On the solid and liquid particles in clouds. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 36:313-319.
 Aitken, J. 1892. On the number of dust particles in the atmosphere of certain places in Great Britain and on the continent, with remarks on the relation between the amount of dust and meteorological phenomena. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 37(3):17-49; (28):621-693.
 Aitken, J. 1892. On some phenomena connected with cloudy condensation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 51(312):408-439.
 Aitken, J. 1892-95. On some observations made without a dust counter on the hazing effect of atmospheric dust. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20:76-93.
 Aitken, J. 1893. Particles in fogs and clouds. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 37(20):413-425.
 Aitken, J. 1893. Breath figures. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20:94-97.
 Aitken, J. 1894. Dust and meteorological phenomena. Nature 49(1275):544-546.
 Aitken, J. 1894. Phenomena connected with cloudy condensation. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, July 1893, pp. 201-230.
 Aitken, J. 1895. On the number of dust particles in the atmosphere of certain places in Great Britain and on the continent, with remarks on the relation between the amount of dust and meteorological phenomena. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 37(3):17-49; (28):621-693.
 Aitken, J. 1896. Observations of atmospheric dust. In: Fassig, O. (ed), United States Department of Agriculture, Weather Bureau Bulletin 11, Part III, pp. 734-754.
 Aitken, J. 1898. On some nuclei of cloudy condensation. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 39(3):15-25.
 Aitken, J. 1902. Report on atmospheric dust. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 42(2):479-489.
 Aitken, J. 1903. On the formation of definitive figures by the deposition of dust. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A 201:551-558.
 Aitken, J. 1905. Evaporation of musk and other odorous substances. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 25(10):894-902.
 Aitken, J. 1912. The sun as a fog producer. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1911-1912) 32:183-215.

Referenser

Noter

Övrigt

Brittiska meteorologer
Brittiska fysiker
Ledamöter av Royal Society
Ledamöter av Royal Society of Edinburgh
Födda 1839
Avlidna 1919
Män
Alumner från University of Glasgow