Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X, list of scientific terms with Scottish connections).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
WILSON. 1. Astron. The name of a large crater in the north portion of the moon, called after Alexander Wilson (1714–86), of St Andrews, Professor of Astronomy at Glasgow.
2. Zool. In derivs. Wilsonia, a genus of American warblers (1838 C. L. Bonaparte List Birds Europe & America 23); wilsonius, wilsonianus, wilsoni(i), as a specif. name for various genera of American birds, all after Alexander Wilson (1766–1813), of Paisley, poet, weaver, and ornithologist in N. America.
3. Physics. In comb, Wilson cloud chamber, a device containing a chamber of moist air in which ionic particles are formed so as to indicate the tracks made by α-particles and electrons, invented at Cambridge University in 1912 by Charles T. R. Wilson (1869–1959), of Glencorse, nuclear physicist.
