William Duane (physicist)

William Duane
Born	(1872-02-17)February 17, 1872 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 7, 1935(1935-03-07) (aged 63) Devon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania Harvard University University of Berlin
Known for	Duane-Hunt law Duane's hypothesis
Awards	John Scott Medal (1922) Comstock Prize in Physics (1922) Leonard Prize of the American Roentgen Ray Society (1923)
Scientific career
Fields	Physics Biophysics
Institutions	University of Colorado Boulder University of Paris Harvard University
Doctoral advisor	Walther Nernst

William Duane (February 17, 1872 – March 7, 1935) was an American physicist who conducted research on radioactivity and X-rays and their usage in the treatment of cancer. He developed the Duane-Hunt Law and Duane's hypothesis. He worked with Pierre and Marie Curie in their University of Paris laboratory for six years and developed a method for generating quantities of radon-222 "seeds" from radium for usage in early forms of brachytherapy.

He was a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, professor-emeritus and chair of biophysics at Harvard University and research fellow of physics at the Harvard Cancer Commission. He received the John Scott Medal and the Comstock Prize in Physics in 1922 and the Leonard Prize of the American Roentgen Ray Society in 1923.