Nationality Australian Name A. Pryor | Fields Crystallography | |
Institutions Australian Atomic Energy Commission
Macquarie University Known for Crystalography
Neutron diffraction
Molecular laser isotope separation Died September 6, 2014, Sydney, Australia Alma mater University of Queensland, Durham University Institution Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Macquarie University | ||
Arthur William Pryor (1928 – 6 September 2014) was an Australian physicist known for his contributions to neutron diffraction and infrared laser isotope separation. Pryor authored and co-authored a number of papers in the field of crystallography and he also co-authored, with B. T. M. Willis, the book Thermal Vibrations in Crystallography.
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Laser isotope separation
Pryor conducted research on laser isotope separation using infrared lasers. Also, earlier work in this area brought him in contact with J. C. Ward who advocated a phase transition transformation of UF6 known as the Ward process. Pryor provides a unique historical account on laser isotope separation efforts in Australia (during the early 1980s) that included both visible and infrared laser sources (relevant to AVLIS and MLIS, respectively). In this regard, he refers to the reluctance of the Australian authorities, to adopt laser isotope separation, with the sentence... "but the cautious hand refrained". Pryor's account was independently corroborated, albeit with a time lag, by other researchers in the field.
Philosophy
Later in his career, Pryor was interested on historical and philosophical aspects of science and physics. He authored various recordings on this subject, which were broadcast on 2SER-FM in 1980-1983.
Career
Pryor was educated at the University of Queensland and completed his doctoral studies at Durham University. Pryor spent most of his career at Lucas Heights (as a scientist in the former Australian Atomic Energy Commission) and was a faculty visiting fellow at Macquarie University where he lectured on atomic physics. He was a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics.
He died at the age of 86, on 6 September 2014.