Edward Hutchinson Synge

<p>Edward Hutchinson Synge (1 June 1890 – 26 May 1957) was an Irish physicist who published a complete theoretical description of the <a href="/facts/Near-field_scanning_optical_microscope/D844weAD">near-field scanning optical microscope</a>, an instrument used in <a href="/facts/Nanotechnology/Co4FFNfY">nanotechnology</a>, several decades before it was experimentally developed. He never completed university yet did significant original research in both <a href="/facts/Microscopy/GpHlElDS">microscopy</a> and <a href="/facts/Telescopy/BDwYahhR">telescopy</a>. He was the first to apply the principle of scanning in imaging, which later became important in a wide range of technologies including television, <a href="/facts/Radar/jk9BTbFA">radar</a>, and <a href="/facts/Scanning_electron_microscopy/yzK0hsSx">scanning electron microscopy</a>. He was the older brother of distinguished mathematician and theoretical physicist <a href="/facts/John_Lighton_Synge/p2Qtx5um">John Lighton Synge</a>.
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Edward Hutchinson Synge open-in-new

Edward Hutchinson Synge