13 Facts About Edgar Buckingham

Edgar Buckingham graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1887.

Edgar Buckingham did graduate work at Strasbourg and then studied under the chemist Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig, from which he was granted a PhD in 1893.

Edgar Buckingham worked as a soil physicist at the USDA Bureau of Soils from 1902 to 1906.

Edgar Buckingham is the originator of the Buckingham theorem in the field of dimensional analysis.

In 1923, Buckingham published a report which voiced skepticism that jet propulsion would be economically competitive with prop driven aircraft at low altitudes and at the speeds of that period.

Edgar Buckingham then worked on soil water, research for which he is renowned.

Edgar Buckingham found that soils of various textures could strongly inhibit evaporation, particularly where capillary flow through the uppermost layers was prevented.

Edgar Buckingham found evaporative losses were initially higher from the arid soil, then after three days the evaporation under arid conditions became less than under humid conditions, with the total loss ending up greater from the humid soil.

Edgar Buckingham believed this occurred due to the self-mulching behaviour exhibited by the soil under arid conditions.

Edgar Buckingham firstly recognized the importance of the potential of the forces arising from interactions between soil and water.

Edgar Buckingham called this the capillary potential, this is known as the moisture or water potential.

Edgar Buckingham combined capillary theory and an energy potential in soil physics theory, and was the first to expound the dependence of soil hydraulic conductivity on capillary potential.

Edgar Buckingham applied a formula equivalent to Darcy's law to unsaturated flow.