Lewi Tonks (December 13, 1897 – July 30, 1971) was an American physicist who worked for General Electric on microwaves, plasma physics and nuclear reactors. Under Irving Langmuir, his work pioneered the study of plasma oscillations. He is also noted for the noted for his discovery (with Marvin D. Girardeau) of the Tonks–Girardeau gas.
Nuclear physicist Arthur Edward Ruark once said that "any international conference on plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear research without Lewi Tonks present would be something like Hamlet without the ghost, and without Hamlet".
Life
thumb|left|Portrait of Tonks and his sisters Nina and Emily by Scherer 1909
Lewi I. Tonks was born in New York City on December 13, 1897.
In 1921, he attended the lectures of Albert Einstein who was visiting Columbia University.
His studies were interrupted during World War I, where he conducted research at the New London Connecticut Naval Station on sonar for submarine detection systems. He was also member of the American Nuclear Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science and secretary of the Federation of American Scientists.