Nico Bloembergen : Master of Light /

Nico Bloembergen : Master of Light /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Herber, R. F. M.
Imprint:	Cham : Springer, 2019.
Description:	1 online resource (XX, 381 pages)
Language:	English
Series:	Springer Biographies Springer biographies.
Subject:	Bloembergen, N. Bloembergen, N. Physicists -- United States -- Biography. Physicists -- Netherlands -- Biography. Physicists. Netherlands. United States. Biographies.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11997888

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9783030257378 3030257371 9783030257361
Summary:	This biography is a personal portrait of one of the best-known Dutch physicists, Nicolaas Bloembergen. Born in 1920 in Dordrecht, Bloembergen studied physics in Utrecht, leaving after World War II for the United States, where he became an American citizen in 1958. At Harvard University, he pioneered nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, used in chemistry and biology for structure identification; moreover leading to MRI), laser theory and nonlinear optics. In 1978 he was awarded the Lorentz Medal for his contribution to the theory of nonlinear optics (used in fiber optics), and in 1981 he received the Nobel Prize for physics, along with Arthur Schawlow and Kai Siegbahn. The book is based on numerous conversations with Nicolaas Bloembergen himself, his wife Deli Brink, his family, and colleagues in science. It describes his childhood and study in Bilthoven and Utrecht, the first postwar years at Harvard, the discoveries of masers and lasers, and the award of the Nobel Prize. It also delves into Bloembergen's involvement in American politics, particularly his role in Ronald Reagan's controversial "Star Wars" program.
Standard no.:	10.1007/978-3-030-25

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Part One. FAMILY AND UPBRINGING
the BLOEMBERGEN Dynasty: high peaks and deep valleys
Bilthoven: Playground for the elite (1925-1938). Primary school and High school
Part Two. STUDIES
IN THE footsteps OF LORENTZ, KRAMERS, AND ORNSTEIN
BSc and MSc exams in wartime
INFECTED by science
Quantum mechanics and oil lampS: Bilthoven in the war
Part Three. From atoms to humans: nuclear magnetic resonance and MRI
A leap into the deep
To Harvard: Tintin in America (1946-1947)
Doctorate in Leiden: in the lab of Kamerlingh Onnes (1947-1948)
A permanent position in Harvard. Marriage
From atoms to humans: Chemical shift and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Part Four. Masers and lasers
The birth of the maser
Oil and the Milky Way: applications of the maser
The Wild West and Soviets
laser applications From eyes to cars
Part Five. Non-linear optics, the icing on the cake
From lasers to nonlinear optics
Crowning glory: the Nobel Prize
Part Six. Star wars
STrategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Part Seven. TAKING THINGS EASY
Emeritus, but not retired.