John Sealy Townsend
John Sealy Townsend | |
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| Born | John Sealy Edward Townsend 7 June 1868 Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 16 February 1957 (aged 88) Oxford, England |
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| Awards |
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| Honours | Knight Bachelor (1941) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Academic advisors | J. J. Thomson |
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| 1st Wykeham Professor of Physics | |
| In office 1900–1941 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Maurice Pryce |
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Sir John Sealy Edward Townsend (/ˈtaʊnzɛnd/; 7 June 1868 – 16 February 1957) was an Irish physicist who conducted various studies concerning the electrical conduction of gases (concerning the kinetics of electrons and ions) and directly measured the electric charge. He was a Wykeham Professor of Physics at Oxford University.
The phenomenon of the electron avalanche was discovered by him, and is known as the Townsend discharge.