Samuel Collins (physicist)

Samuel Cornette Collins (September 28, 1898 in Kentucky – June 19, 1984 in Washington, DC.[2]) was an American physicist. He developed the first mass-produced helium liquefier, Collins Helium Cryostat, acquiring the title "Father of Practical Helium Liquefiers."[3]

Samuel Cornette Collins
BornSeptember 28, 1898
Democrat, Kentucky[1]
DiedJune 19, 1984(1984-06-19) (aged 85)
  • George Washington University Hospital
  • Washington, D.C.
Resting placeLynnhurst Cemetery
36.0247002°N 83.9321976°W / 36.0247002; -83.9321976
Alma mater
  • University of Tennessee
  • University of North Carolina
Known for
  • Airborne Oxygen Generator
  • Collins Helium Cryostat
  • Helium Liquefiers
  • MIT Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory
Spouse(s)Lena Arbragine Masterson
Awards
  • Wethrill Medal of the Franklin Institute
  • Kamerlingh Onnes Gold Medal of Dutch Science
  • Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Gold Medal of American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Collin's refrigerators, powered by a two-piston expansion engine, provided the first reliable supplies of liquid helium in quantities of several hundred to several thousand liters.[4][5] Among other uses, these refrigerators were used to liquefy and transport helium and deuterium for the first hydrogen bomb explosion, Ivy Mike in 1952.[6]

He was awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1951 and the Rumford Prize in 1965.

References
  1. "Samuel Collins". American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. "MIT website". Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  3. United States US2716333A, Samuel C. Collins, "Method and Means for Treating Gases", published August 30, 1955, issued August 30, 1955
  4. United States US2458894A, Samuel C. Collins, "Low-Temperature Refrigeration System", published January 11, 1949, issued January 11, 1949
  5. United States US2607322A, Samuel C. Collins, "Expansion Engine", published August 19, 1952, issued August 19, 1952
  6. Rhodes, Richard L. (1995). Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb. Simon and Schuster. pp. 488–489. ISBN 978-0684804002. OCLC 32509950.


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