Herbert S. Bridge
Herbert Sage Bridge | |
|---|---|
Bridge in c. 1980 | |
| Born | May 23, 1919 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 1995 (aged 76) Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Alma mater | University of Maryland (BSc 1941), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD 1950) |
| Known for | spacecraft plasma science instruments |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | cosmic rays, space plasma physics |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Production of bursts by penetrating particles (1950) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bruno Rossi |
Herbert Sage Bridge (1919-1995) was an American physicist who developed the first instruments to measure plasma in interplanetary space and made significant contributions to cosmic ray research. He earned his PhD in physics from MIT in 1950 under Bruno Rossi's supervision after working on wartime projects at Princeton and Los Alamos Laboratory. His early research focused on cosmic rays. Beginning in 1958, Bridge developed the modulated-grid Faraday cup with Rossi, creating the first instrument capable of detecting dilute space plasma. The instrument flew aboard Explorer 10 in 1961 and was adapted for plasma science experiments on multiple spacecraft, including the Voyager program and Parker Solar Probe.