Edward Hutchinson Synge (1 June 1890 – 26 May 1957) was an Irish physicist who published a complete theoretical description of the near-field scanning optical microscope, an instrument used in nanotechnology, several decades before it was experimentally developed.
[1] Starting in 1928, with encouragement from Albert Einstein,[9] Hutchie launched on a period of intense productivity during which he laid the foundation for new kinds of microscopes and telescopes.
[12] On 22 April 1928, Synge wrote to Albert Einstein[9] about an idea he had for a new microscopic imaging method in which an optical field scattered from a tiny gold particle could be used as a radically new light source.
[13] Einstein replied that although Synge's method appeared essentially unworkable,[14] the basic ideas seemed correct and he should publish his research.
[19] In 1956 a similar theory was developed by John A. O'Keefe[20] and in 1972, Ash and Nicholls gave the first experimental demonstration of the technique using electromagnetic radiation.
[22] Synge proposed a design for very large astronomical telescopes, based on multiple mirrors, an idea realised much later in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere.