Papers relating to the invention and development of the cavity magnetron with J T Randall and others, comprising historical accounts of the development of the magnetron; laboratory notebooks, working note and drawings; progress reports, minutes of meetings and correspondence; and reports on research in other laboratories.
The first cavity magnetron was built by J T (now Sir John) Randall and H A H Boot at Birmingham University during the winter of 1939-1940 and immediately proved capable of producing high power wavelengths of less than 10 cm. Hitherto the only known source of centimetre wavelengths likely to be of sufficient power had been the klystron, on which the remainder of the team at Birmingham were working under the direction of Professor (now Sir) Mark Oliphant. The invention of the cavity magnetron made shortwave radar a practical possibility and it was used extensively by the Allied Forces throughout the latter part of the Second World War.
Randall and Boot were awarded the Thomas Gray Memorial Prize of the Royal Society of Arts in 1943 for 'improving the safety of life at sea' (as shortwave radar enabled convoys to detect the presence of U-boats without revealing their own position). Further recognition followed with an Award bythe Royal Commission of Awards to Inventors (1949), the John Price Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute, Pennsylvania (1958) and the John Scott Award of the City of Philadelphia (1959).
The collection was received from Dr Boot and his name therefore appears at the head of the catalogue, but other members of the team working on magnetrons at Birmingham also feature in the collection. In particular, there is a substantial number of papers in Randall's hand or denoting his authorship.
