List of physicists
Encyclopedia
Following is a list of physicist
s who are notable for their achievements.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s who are notable for their achievements.
A
- AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
— Athens, Greece (384–322 BC) - Aristarchus of SamosAristarchus of SamosAristarchus, or more correctly Aristarchos , was a Greek astronomer and mathematician, born on the island of Samos, in Greece. He presented the first known heliocentric model of the solar system, placing the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the known universe...
— Samos, Greece (310 – ca. 230 BC) - ArchimedesArchimedesArchimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an...
— Syracuse, Greece (ca. 287–212 BC) - AryabhataAryabhataAryabhata was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy...
— Pataliputra, India (476–550) - AvicennaAvicennaAbū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
— Persian (980-1037) - Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī — Persian (973-1048)
- André-Marie AmpèreAndré-Marie AmpèreAndré-Marie Ampère was a French physicist and mathematician who is generally regarded as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. The SI unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere, is named after him....
— France (1775–1836) - Amedeo AvogadroAmedeo AvogadroLorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto was an Italian savant. He is most noted for his contributions to molecular theory, including what is known as Avogadro's law...
— Italy (1776–1856) - François Jean Dominique Arago — France (1786–1853)
- Ernst Karl AbbeErnst Karl Abbe- See also :*Abbe prism*Abbe refractometer*Abbe error*Aberration in optical systems*Calculation of glass properties* German inventors and discoverers-External links:*...
— Germany (1840–1905) - Miguel AlcubierreMiguel AlcubierreMiguel Alcubierre Moya is a Mexican theoretical physicist. Born in Mexico City, he obtained a degree in physics, and a Master of Science in theoretical physics at the School of Science of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ....
— Mexico (1964–) - Derek AbbottDerek AbbottDerek Abbott is a physicist and electronic engineer. He is a Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Australia...
— Australia (1960–) - Marek Artur Abramowicz — Poland (1945–)
- Alexei Alexeyevich AbrikosovAlexei Alexeyevich AbrikosovAlexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov is a Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist whose main contributions are in the field of condensed matter physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003.- Biography :...
— Soviet Union, Russia (1928–) Nobel laureate - Robert AdlerRobert AdlerRobert Adler was an Austrian-born American inventor who held numerous patents.-Achievements:Adler was born in Vienna in 1913. He earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Vienna in 1937.Following Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany in 1939, Dr. Adler, a Jew, left the country...
— United States (1913–2007) - Stephen L. AdlerStephen L. AdlerStephen Louis Adler is an American physicist specializing in elementary particles and field theory.-Biography:Adler was born in New York City. He received an A.B. degree at Harvard University in 1961, where he was a Putnam Fellow, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1964...
— United States (1939–) - Ronald Ernest AitchisonRonald Ernest AitchisonRonald Ernest Aitchison , was born in Hurstville, NSW, Australia on 29 December 1921. From 1942 to 1945 Ron worked as an engineer with the Amalgamated Wireless Valve Company on the design and production of klystrons and radar magnetrons, which were new devices important to the war effort...
— Australia (1921–1996) - David Z Albert, United States
- Zhores Ivanovich AlferovZhores Ivanovich AlferovZhores Ivanovich Alferov is a Soviet and Russian physicist and academic who contributed significantly to the creation of modern heterostructure physics and electronics. He is an inventor of the heterotransistor and the winner of 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is also a Russian politician and has...
— Russia (1930–) Nobel laureate - Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén — Sweden (1908–1995) Nobel laureate
- Jim Al-KhaliliJim Al-KhaliliJim Al-Khalili OBE is an Iraqi-born British theoretical physicist, author and science communicator. He is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey...
— UK (1962–) - William AllisWilliam AllisWilliam Phelps Allis was an American theoretical physicist specializing in electrical discharges in gases. He was the grandson of Edward P. Allis, a co-founder of Allis-Chalmers.-Education:Allis majored in school and received his S.B. in 1923 and S.M...
— United States (1901–1999) - Samuel King AllisonSamuel King AllisonSamuel King Allison was an American physicist, most notable for his role in the Manhattan Project — where among other things he read the countdown for the detonation of the "Trinity" test — and his postwar work in the "scientists' movement".-Biography:Samuel K...
— United States (1900–1965) - Yakov Lvovich AlpertYakov Lvovich AlpertYakov Lvovich Alpert was a Soviet-born American physicist whose principal field of research was space plasma physics.-Biography:He was born at Ivnitsy, a village near Zhitomir, in the Ukraine...
— Russia, United States (1911–2010) - P.M. van Alphen — Netherlands (1906–1967)
- Ralph Asher AlpherRalph Asher AlpherRalph Asher Alpher was an American cosmologist.- Childhood and education :Alpher was the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Samuel Alpher, from Vitebsk, Russia. His mother, Rose, died of stomach cancer in 1938 and his father later remarried...
— United States (1921–2007) - Luis Walter Alvarez — United States (1911–1988) Nobel laureate
- Richard Louis Amoroso — United States (1946–)
- Viktor Ambartsumian — Soviet Union, Armenia (1908-1996)
- Herbert L. AndersonHerbert L. AndersonHerbert Lawrence Anderson was an American nuclear physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project. He was also a member of the team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States, in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University. He participated in the first...
— United States (1914–1988) - Anders Jonas ÅngströmAnders Jonas ÅngströmAnders Jonas Ångström was a Swedish physicist and one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy.-Biography:...
— Sweden (1814–1874) - Hans Henrik AndersenHans Henrik AndersenHans Henrik Andersen is Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen...
— Denmark (1937–) - Carl David AndersonCarl David AndersonCarl David Anderson was an American physicist. He is best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932, an achievement for which he received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics, and of the muon in 1936.-Biography:...
— United States (1905–1991) Nobel laureate - Philip Warren AndersonPhilip Warren AndersonPhilip Warren Anderson is an American physicist and Nobel laureate. Anderson has made contributions to the theories of localization, antiferromagnetism and high-temperature superconductivity.- Biography :...
— United States (1923–) Nobel laureate - Thomas Appelquist — United States
- Edward Victor AppletonEdward Victor AppletonSir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
— UK (1892–1965) Nobel laureate - Manfred von ArdenneManfred von ArdenneManfred von Ardenne was a German research and applied physicist and inventor. He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology...
— Germany (1907–1997) - Nima Arkani-HamedNima Arkani-HamedNima Arkani-Hamed is a leading Canadian American theoretical physicist with interests in high-energy physics, string theory and cosmology....
— United States (1972–) - David AwschalomDavid AwschalomDavid D. Awschalom is an American condensed matter experimental physicist. He is best known for his work in spintronics in semiconductors. Awschalom was awarded the 2005 Oliver E Buckley Prize by the American Physical Society, and the 2005 Agilent Europhysics Prize by the European Physical Society...
-- United States - Gurgen AskaryanGurgen AskaryanGurgen Askaryan was a prominent Soviet physicist, famous for his discovery of the self-focusing of light, pioneering studies of light-matter interactions, and the discovery and investigation of the interaction of high-energy particles with condensed matter...
— Soviet Union (1928-1997)
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- Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
— UK (1847–1922) - Tom Baehr-JonesTom Baehr-JonesTom Baehr-Jones is an American physicist who has made contributions in the field of Nanophotonics. His findings have been published in Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Materials, the IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology, and Optics Express, among many others. Baehr-Jones is a co-founder of...
— United States (1980–) - Aiyalam Parameswaran Balachandran — India (1938–)
- Johann Jakob BalmerJohann Jakob BalmerJohann Jakob Balmer was a Swiss mathematician and mathematical physicist.-Biography :Balmer was born in Lausen, Switzerland, the son of a Chief Justice also named Johann Jakob Balmer. His mother was Elizabeth Rolle Balmer, and he was the oldest son...
— Switzerland (1825–1898) - John BardeenJohn BardeenJohn Bardeen was an American physicist and electrical engineer, the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the transistor; and again in 1972 with Leon Neil Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer for a...
— United States (1908–1991) double Nobel laureate - William A. BardeenWilliam A. BardeenWilliam Allen Bardeen is an American theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is the son of John Bardeen and Jane Maxwell Bardeen....
— United States (1941–) - Charles Glover BarklaCharles Glover BarklaCharles Glover Barkla was a British physicist, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays .-Biography:...
— UK (1877–1944) Nobel laureate - Boyd BartlettBoyd BartlettBoyd Wheeler Bartlett was an American military officer, professor, school administrator, and physicist.-Education:Bartlett graduated from Bowdoin College in 1917. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1919 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army...
— United States (1897–1965) - Heinz BarwichHeinz BarwichHeinz Barwich was a German nuclear physicist. He was deputy director of the Siemens Research Laboratory II in Berlin. At the close of World War II, he went to the Soviet Union for ten years to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project, for which he received a Stalin Prize...
— Germany (1911–1966) - Laura Maria Caterina Bassi — Italy (1711–1778)
- Nikolay BasovNikolay BasovNikolay Gennadiyevich Basov was a Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the development of laser and maser, Basov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes.-Early life:Basov was born in...
— Russia (1922–2001) - Zoltán Lajos BayZoltán Lajos BayZoltán Lajos Bay was a Hungarian physicist, professor, and engineer who developed microwave technology, including tungsten lamps. He was the first person to observe radar echoes from the Moon...
— Hungary (1900–1992) - Karl BechertKarl BechertKarl Richard Bechert was a German theoretical physicist and political leader. As a scientist, his contributions were in atomic physics.-Scientific career:...
— Germany (1901–1981) - Karl Becker — Germany (1887–1955)
- Henri BecquerelHenri BecquerelAntoine Henri Becquerel was a French physicist, Nobel laureate, and the discoverer of radioactivity along with Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, for which all three won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.-Early life:...
— France (1852–1908) Nobel laureate - Johannes Georg BednorzJohannes Georg BednorzJohannes Georg Bednorz is a physicist at the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory. He is best known for his role in the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, for which he shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics.-Life and work:...
— Germany (1950–) Nobel laureate - Isaac BeeckmanIsaac BeeckmanIsaac Beeckman was a Dutch philosopher and scientist, who, through his studies and contact with leading natural philosophers, may have "virtually given birth to modern atomism".-Biography:...
— Netherlands (1588–1637) - Jocelyn Bell BurnellJocelyn Bell BurnellSusan Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS , is a British astrophysicist. As a postgraduate student she discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish. She was president of the Institute of Physics from October 2008 until October 2010, and was interim president...
— Northern Ireland (1943-) - John Stewart BellJohn Stewart BellJohn Stewart Bell FRS was a British physicist from Northern Ireland , and the originator of Bell's theorem, a significant theorem in quantum physics regarding hidden variable theories.- Early life and work :...
— UK (1928–1990) - Carl M. BenderCarl M. BenderCarl M. Bender is Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis.He received his A.B. in 1964 from Cornell University, where he graduated summa cum laude and with Distinction in All Subjects. He earned his M.A...
— United States - Abraham BennetAbraham BennetAbraham Bennet FRS was an English clergyman and physicist, the inventor of the gold-leaf electroscope and developer of an improved magnetometer...
— England(1749–1799) - Daniel BernoulliDaniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
— Switzerland (1700–1782) - Hans BetheHans BetheHans Albrecht Bethe was a German-American nuclear physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. A versatile theoretical physicist, Bethe also made important contributions to quantum electrodynamics, nuclear physics, solid-state physics and...
— Germany, United States (1906–2005) - Homi J. BhabhaHomi J. BhabhaHomi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS was an Indian nuclear physicist and the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy program...
— India (1909–1966) - Ikaros Bigi — Germany, United States
- James BinneyJames BinneyJames Jeffrey Binney, FRS, FInstP is a British astrophysicist. He is currently a Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, where he is head of the Sub-Department of Theoretical Physics as well as a Professorial Fellow at Merton College...
— England (1950-) - Gerd BinnigGerd BinnigGerd Binnig is a German physicist, and a Nobel laureate.He was born in Frankfurt am Main and played in the ruins of the city during his childhood. His family lived partly in Frankfurt and partly in Offenbach am Main, and he attended school in both cities. At the age of 10, he decided to become a...
— Germany (1947–) Nobel laureate - Jean-Baptiste BiotJean-Baptiste BiotJean-Baptiste Biot was a French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician who established the reality of meteorites, made an early balloon flight, and studied the polarization of light.- Biography :...
— France (1774–1862) - Raymond T. Birge — United States (1887–1980)
- Vilhelm Bjerknes — Norway (1862–1951)
- James BjorkenJames BjorkenJames Daniel "BJ" Bjorken is one of the world's foremost theoretical physicists. He was a Putnam Fellow in 1954, received a BS in physics from MIT in 1956, and obtained his PhD from Stanford University in 1959...
— United States (1934–) - Patrick Blackett — UK (1897–1947)
- Felix BlochFelix BlochFelix Bloch was a Swiss physicist, working mainly in the U.S.-Life and work:Bloch was born in Zürich, Switzerland to Jewish parents Gustav and Agnes Bloch. He was educated there and at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, also in Zürich. Initially studying engineering he soon changed to physics...
— Switzerland (1905–1983) - Nicolaas BloembergenNicolaas BloembergenNicolaas Bloembergen is a Dutch-American physicist and Nobel laureate.He received his Ph.D. degree from University of Leiden in 1948; while pursuing his PhD at Harvard, Bloembergen also worked part-time as a graduate research assistant for Edward Mills Purcell at the MIT Radiation Laboratory...
— Netherlands, United States (1920–) - Nikolay BogolyubovNikolay BogolyubovNikolay Nikolaevich Bogolyubov was a Russian and Ukrainian Soviet mathematician and theoretical physicist known for a significant contribution to quantum field theory, classical and quantum statistical mechanics, and to the theory of dynamical systems; a recipient of the Dirac Prize...
— Soviet Union, Russia (1909–1992) - David BohmDavid BohmDavid Joseph Bohm FRS was an American-born British quantum physicist who contributed to theoretical physics, philosophy, neuropsychology, and the Manhattan Project.-Youth and college:...
— United States (1917–1992) - Niels BohrNiels BohrNiels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
— Denmark (1885–1962) Nobel laureate - Aage Bohr — Denmark (1922–2009) Nobel laureate
- Ludwig BoltzmannLudwig BoltzmannLudwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
— Austria (1844–1906) - Eugene T. BoothEugene T. BoothEugene Theodore Booth was an American nuclear physicist. He was a member of the historic Columbia University team which made the first demonstration of nuclear fission in the United States. During the Manhattan Project, he worked on gaseous diffusion for isotope separation...
– United States (1912–2004) - Max BornMax BornMax Born was a German-born physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 30s...
— Germany, UK (1882–1970) Nobel laureate - Rudjer Josip Boscovich — Dubrovnik (1711–1787)
- Jagadish Chandra Bose — India (1858–1937)
- Satyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath Bose FRS was an Indian mathematician and physicist noted for his collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing a theory regarding the gaslike qualities of electromagnetic radiation. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation...
— India (1894–1974) - Johannes BosschaJohannes BosschaJohannes Bosscha Jr. was a Dutch physicist.Bosscha came from a family long known for their academic achievements. His great-grandfather and grandfather were classical scholars. His father, Johannes Bosscha Sr...
— Netherlands (1831–1911) - Walther BotheWalther BotheWalther Wilhelm Georg Bothe was a German nuclear physicist, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 with Max Born....
— Germany (1891–1957) - Robert BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
— Ireland, England (1627–1691) - William Henry BraggWilliam Henry BraggSir William Henry Bragg OM, KBE, PRS was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg - the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics...
— UK (1862–1942) Nobel laureate - William Lawrence BraggWilliam Lawrence BraggSir William Lawrence Bragg CH OBE MC FRS was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, discoverer of the Bragg law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for the determination of crystal structure. He was joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915. He was knighted...
— Australia (1890–1971) Nobel laureate - Walter Houser BrattainWalter Houser BrattainWalter Houser Brattain was an American physicist at Bell Labs who, along with John Bardeen and William Shockley, invented the transistor. They shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention. He devoted much of his life to research on surface states.- Early life and education :He was...
— United States (1902–1987) - Karl Ferdinand BraunKarl Ferdinand BraunKarl Ferdinand Braun was a German inventor, physicist and Nobel laureate in physics. Braun contributed significantly to the development of the radio and television technology: he shared with Guglielmo Marconi the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics.-Biography:Braun was born in Fulda, Germany, and...
— Germany (1850–1918) - David BrewsterDavid BrewsterSir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA FSSA MICE was a Scottish physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, writer and university principal.-Early life:...
— UK (1781–1868) - Percy Williams BridgmanPercy Williams BridgmanPercy Williams Bridgman was an American physicist who won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the physics of high pressures. He also wrote extensively on the scientific method and on other aspects of the philosophy of science.- Biography :Bridgman entered Harvard University in 1900,...
— United States (1882–1961) - Léon Nicolas BrillouinLéon BrillouinLéon Nicolas Brillouin was a French physicist. He made contributions to quantum mechanics, radio wave propagation in the atmosphere, solid state physics, and information theory.-Early life:...
— France (1889–1969) - Marcel BrillouinMarcel BrillouinLouis "Marcel" Brillouin was a French physicist and mathematician.Born in Melle, Deux-Sèvres, France, his father was a painter who moved to Paris when Marcel was a boy. There he attended the Lycée Condorcet. The Brillouin family returned to Melle during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to escape...
— France (1854–1948) - Bertram BrockhouseBertram BrockhouseBertram Neville Brockhouse, was a Canadian physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matter", in particular "for the development of neutron spectroscopy".-Life:Brockhouse was...
— Canada (1918–2003) - Stanley Brodsky — United States
- Louis-Victor de Broglie — France (1892–1987)
- Thomas Townsend BrownThomas Townsend BrownThomas Townsend Brown was an American physicist.-Early and middle years:Brown was born in Zanesville, Ohio; his parents were Lewis K. and Mary Townsend Brown. In 1921, Brown discovered what was later called the Biefeld-Brown effect while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. This is a vacuum...
— United States (1905–1985) - Ernst BrücheErnst BrücheErnst Carl Reinhold Brüche was a German physicist. From 1944 to 1972, he was the editor of the Physikalische Blätter, a publication of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.-Education:...
— Germany (1900–1985) - Hermann BrückHermann BrückHermann Alexander Brück was a German-born astronomer who spent the great portion of his career in the United Kingdom.-Education:...
— Germany (1905–2000) - Johannes Martinus BurgersJohannes Martinus Burgers-External links:* A.J.Q. Alkemade, , in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland. * , biography at the University of Maryland* * at the University of Maryland*...
— Netherlands (1895–1981) - Hans Buchdahl — Germany, Australia (1918–2010)
- Gersh BudkerGersh BudkerGersh Itskovich Budker , also named Alexander Mikhailovich Budker, was a Soviet nuclear physicist....
— Soviet Union (1918–1977) - W.G. Burgers — Netherlands
- Friedrich BurmeisterFriedrich BurmeisterFriedrich Burmeister was a German geophysicist. He was director of the Munich University’s Geomagnetic Observatory.Burmeister studied mathematics and physics at the University of Munich under Hugo von Seeliger and Arnold Sommerfeld, and he received his doctorate in 1919...
— Germany (1890–1969) - Christophorus Buys BallotC.H.D. Buys BallotChristophorus Henricus Diedericus Buys Ballot was a Dutch chemist and meteorologist after whom Buys Ballot's law and the Buys Ballot table are named.-Biography:...
— Netherlands (1817–1890)
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- Nicola CabibboNicola CabibboNicola Cabibbo was an Italian physicist, best known for his work on the weak interaction. He was also the president of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics from 1983 to 1992, and from 1993 until his death he was the president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences...
— Italy (1935–2010) - Nicolás CabreraNicolás CabreraNicolás Cabrera , was a Spanish physicist who did important work on the theories of crystal growth and the oxidisation of metals. He was the son of another famous Spanish physicist Blas Cabrera and the father of American Physicist Blas Cabrera. He spent many years in exile during the dictatorship...
— Spain (1913–1989) - Curtis CallanCurtis CallanCurtis Callan is a theoretical physicist and a professor at Princeton University. He has conducted research in gauge theory, string theory, instantons, black holes, strong interactions, and many other topics...
— (1942–) - Fritjof CapraFritjof CapraFritjof Capra is an Austrian-born American physicist. He is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, and is on the faculty of Schumacher College....
— Austria, United States (1939–) - Marcela CarenaMarcela CarenaMarcela Carena is a senior theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.- Background and education :...
— Argentina (1962–) - Nicolas Léonard Sadi CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French military engineer who, in his 1824 Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, gave the first successful theoretical account of heat engines, now known as the Carnot cycle, thereby laying the foundations of the second law of thermodynamics...
— France (1796–1832) - David CarrollDavid Carroll (physicist)David Carroll is a U.S. physicist and nanotechnologist, Fellow of the Society of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University...
— United States (1963–) - Brandon CarterBrandon CarterBrandon Carter, FRS is an Australian theoretical physicist, best known for his work on the properties of black holes and for being the first to name and employ the anthropic principle in its contemporary form. He is a researcher at the Meudon campus of the Laboratoire Univers et Théories, part of...
— Australia (1942–) - Hendrik CasimirHendrik CasimirHendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir FRS was a Dutch physicist best known for his research on the two-fluid model of superconductors in 1934 and the Casimir effect Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir FRS (July 15, 1909 in The Hague, Netherlands – May 4, 2000 in Heeze) was a Dutch physicist best known...
— Netherlands (1909–2000) - Henry CavendishHenry CavendishHenry Cavendish FRS was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and...
— UK (1731–1810) - Alejandro CorichiAlejandro CorichiAlejandro Corichi is a theoretical physicist working at the Quantum Gravity group of the National Autonomous University of Mexico . He obtained his bachelor degree at UNAM and his PhD at Pennsylvania State University ....
— Mexico (1967–) - James ChadwickJames ChadwickSir James Chadwick CH FRS was an English Nobel laureate in physics awarded for his discovery of the neutron....
— UK (1891–1974) - Owen ChamberlainOwen ChamberlainOwen Chamberlain was an American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his discovery, with collaborator Emilio Segrè, of antiprotons, a sub-atomic antiparticle.-Biography:...
— United States (1920–2006) - Moses H. W. ChanMoses H. W. ChanMoses Hung-Wai Chan is a physics professor at Penn State University, where he holds the rank of Evan Pugh Professor. He is an alumnus of Bridgewater College and Cornell University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1974. He has been at professor at Penn State's University Park Campus since 1979.Through...
-- Hong Kong - Subrahmanyan ChandrasekharSubrahmanyan ChandrasekharSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, FRS ) was an Indian origin American astrophysicist who, with William A. Fowler, won the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for key discoveries that led to the currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars...
— India, United States (1910–1995) Nobel laureate - Georges CharpakGeorges CharpakGeorges Charpak was a French physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1992.-Life:Georges Charpak was born to Jewish family in the village of Dąbrowica in Poland . Charpak's family moved from Poland to Paris when he was seven years old...
— France (1924–) Nobel laureate - Pavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov was a Soviet physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1958 with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm for the discovery of Cherenkov radiation, made in 1934.-Biography:...
— Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1904–1990) - Maxim ChernodubMaxim ChernodubMaxim Nikolaevich Chernodub is a Russian physicist best known for his postulation of the magnetic-field-induced superconductivity of the vacuum.- Beginnings and degrees :...
— Russia, France (1973–) - Geoffrey ChewGeoffrey ChewGeoffrey F. Chew is an American theoretical physicist.He has worked as a professor of physics at the UC Berkeley since 1957 and has been an emeritus since 1991. Chew holds a PhD in theoretical particle physics from the University of Chicago. Between 1950 and 1956, he was a physics faculty member...
— United States (1924–) - Boris ChirikovBoris ChirikovBoris Valerianovich Chirikov was an outstanding Soviet and Russian physicist....
— Soviet Union, Russia (1928–2008) - Ernst ChladniErnst ChladniErnst Florens Friedrich Chladni was a German physicist and musician. His important works include research on vibrating plates and the calculation of the speed of sound for different gases. For this some call him the "Father of Acoustics"...
— Germany (1756–1827) - Steven ChuSteven ChuSteven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
— United States (1948–) - Giovanni CiccottiGiovanni CiccottiGiovanni Ciccotti is an Italian physicist.Ciccotti holds the position of Professor of the Structure of Matter at the University of Rome La Sapienza. He's the author of more than a hundred articles on molecular dynamics and statistical mechanics. He worked with J.P. Ryckaert on new methods for...
— Italy (1943–) - Benoît ClapeyronBenoit Paul Émile ClapeyronBenoît Paul Émile Clapeyron was a French engineer and physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics.-Life:...
— France (1799–1864) - Rudolf ClausiusRudolf ClausiusRudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius , was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founders of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle known as the Carnot cycle, he put the theory of heat on a truer and sounder basis...
— Germany (1822–1888) - Jacob Clay — Netherlands (1882–1955)
- Gerald B. CleaverGerald B. CleaverGerald B. Cleaver is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Baylor University and is the Head of the Early Universe Cosmology and Strings division of Baylor's Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research . His research specialty is string phenomenology and string...
— United States - John CockcroftJohn CockcroftSir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
— UK (1897–1967) - Claude Cohen-TannoudjiClaude Cohen-TannoudjiClaude Cohen-Tannoudji is a French physicist and Nobel Laureate. He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Chu and William Daniel Phillips for research in methods of laser cooling and trapping atoms...
— France (1933–) - John C. Collins — United States
- Arthur ComptonArthur ComptonArthur Holly Compton was an American physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his discovery of the Compton effect. He served as Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1945 to 1953.-Early years:...
— United States (1892–1962) - Karl Compton — United States (1887–1954)
- Edward CondonEdward CondonEdward Uhler Condon was a distinguished American nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, and a participant in the development of radar and nuclear weapons during World War II.-Early life and career:...
— United States (1902–1974) - Leon CooperLeon CooperLeon N Cooper is an American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, who with John Bardeen and John Robert Schrieffer, developed the BCS theory of superconductivity...
— United States (1930–) Nobel laureate - Gaspard-Gustave CoriolisGaspard-Gustave CoriolisGaspard-Gustave de Coriolis or Gustave Coriolis was a French mathematician, mechanical engineer and scientist. He is best known for his work on the supplementary forces that are detected in a rotating frame of reference. See the Coriolis Effect...
— France (1792–1843) - Allan McLeod CormackAllan McLeod CormackAllan MacLeod Cormack was a South African-born American physicist who won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on X-ray computed tomography ....
— South Africa, United States (1924–1998) - Eric Allin CornellEric Allin CornellEric Allin Cornell is an American physicist who, along with Carl E. Wieman, was able to synthesize the first Bose–Einstein condensate in 1995...
— United States (1961–) Nobel laureate - Marie Alfred CornuMarie Alfred CornuMarie Alfred Cornu was a French physicist. The French generally refer to him as Alfred Cornu.Cornu was born at Orléans and was educated at the École polytechnique and the École des mines...
— France (1841–1902) - Charles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de Coulomb was a French physicist. He is best known for developing Coulomb's law, the definition of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. The [SI unit] of charge, the coulomb, was named after him....
— France (1736–1806) - Ernest CourantErnest CourantErnest Courant has been called the "father of modern particle accelerators". A fundamental contributor to the field, he has also been mentor to several generations of students...
— United States (1920–) - Brian CoxBrian Cox (physicist)Brian Edward Cox, OBE , is a British particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and a professor at the University of Manchester. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group at the University of Manchester, and works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at...
— UK (1968–) - James CroninJames CroninJames Watson Cronin is an American nuclear physicist.Cronin was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Cronin and co-researcher Val Logsdon Fitch were awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physics for a 1964 experiment that proved that certain subatomic...
— United States (1931–) Nobel laureate - Sir William Crookes — UK (1832–1919)
- Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
— Poland, France (1867–1934) Nobel laureate - Pierre CuriePierre CuriePierre Curie was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity, and Nobel laureate. He was the son of Dr. Eugène Curie and Sophie-Claire Depouilly Curie ...
— France (1859–1906) Nobel laureate
D
- Jean le Rond d'AlembertJean le Rond d'AlembertJean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...
— France (1717–1783) - Gustaf DalénGustaf DalénNils Gustaf Dalén was a Swedish Nobel Laureate and industrialist, the founder of the AGA company and inventor of the AGA cooker and the Dalén light...
— Sweden (1869–1937) - Richard DalitzRichard DalitzRichard Henry Dalitz was an Australian physicist known for his work in particle physics.Born Dimboola, Victoria near Melbourne, Dalitz studied physics and mathematics at Melbourne University before moving to the United Kingdom in 1946, starting his PhD research at the University of Cambridge...
— UK, United States (1925–2006) - John DaltonJohn DaltonJohn Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
— UK (1766–1844) - Charles Galton DarwinCharles Galton DarwinSir Charles Galton Darwin, KBE, MC, FRS was an English physicist, the grandson of Charles Darwin. He served as director of the National Physical Laboratory during the Second World War.-Early life:...
— UK (1887–1962) - Ashok DasAshok DasAshok Das is an Indian American theoretical physicist, an author and award winning teacher of Physics. He is professor of physics at University of Rochester and Adjunct professor of Physics at Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, India.He received his BS in 1972 and MS in 1974 in Physics...
- India, USA (1953-) - Paul DaviesPaul DaviesPaul Charles William Davies, AM is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, currently a professor at Arizona State University as well as the Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science...
— Australia (1946–) - Raymond Davis Jr.Raymond Davis Jr.Raymond Davis, Jr. was an American chemist, physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate.-Early life and education:...
— United States (1914–2006) - Clinton DavissonClinton DavissonClinton Joseph Davisson , was an American physicist who won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of electron diffraction. Davisson shared the Nobel Prize with George Paget Thomson, who independently discovered electron diffraction at about the same time as Davisson.-Early...
— United States (1881–1958) - Peter DebijePeter DebyePeter Joseph William Debye FRS was a Dutch physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.-Early life:...
— Netherlands (1884–1966) - Hans Georg DehmeltHans Georg DehmeltHans Georg Dehmelt is a German-born American physicist, who co-developed the ion trap technique with Wolfgang Paul, for which they shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1989...
— Germany, United States (1922–) - Max DelbrückMax DelbrückMax Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Delbrück was born in Berlin, German Empire...
— Germany, United States (1906–1981) - DemocritusDemocritusDemocritus was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera, Thrace, Greece. He was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher and pupil of Leucippus, who formulated an atomic theory for the cosmos....
— Abdera (ca. 460–360 BC) - David M. DennisonDavid M. DennisonDavid Mathias Dennison was an American physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, and the physics of molecular structure.-Education:...
— United States (1900–1976) - David DeutschDavid DeutschDavid Elieser Deutsch, FRS is an Israeli-British physicist at the University of Oxford. He is a non-stipendiary Visiting Professor in the Department of Atomic and Laser Physics at the Centre for Quantum Computation in the Clarendon Laboratory of the University of Oxford...
— Israel, UK (1953–) - James DewarJames DewarSir James Dewar FRS was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is probably best-known today for his invention of the Dewar flask, which he used in conjunction with extensive research into the liquefaction of gases...
— UK (1842–1923) - Robbert DijkgraafRobbert DijkgraafRobertus Henricus "Robbert" Dijkgraaf is a Dutch mathematical physicist and string theorist.Robertus Henricus Dijkgraaf was born on 24 January 1960 in Ridderkerk, Netherlands. He currently lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
— Netherlands (1960–) - Savas DimopoulosSavas DimopoulosSavas Dimopoulos is a Greek particle physicist at Stanford University. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey and later moved to Athens due to ethnic tensions in Turkey during the 1950s and 1960s. Dimopoulos studied as an undergraduate at the University of Houston...
— United States (1952–) - Paul DiracPaul DiracPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics...
— UK (1902–1984) - Revaz DogonadzeRevaz DogonadzeRevaz Dogonadze was a notable Georgian scientist, Corresponding Member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences , Dr.Sc. , Professor, one of the founders of quantum electrochemistry,-Life and works:...
— Soviet Union, Georgia (1931–1985) - Christian DopplerChristian DopplerChristian Andreas Doppler was an Austrian mathematician and physicist.-Life and work:Christian Doppler was raised in Salzburg, Austria, the son of a stonemason. Doppler could not work in his father's business because of his generally weak physical condition...
— Austria (1803–1853) - Henk DorgeloHenk DorgeloHendrik Berend Dorgelo was a Dutch physicist and academic. He was the first rector magnificus the Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven.-Biography:...
— Netherlands (1894–1961) - Robert DöpelRobert DöpelGeorg Robert Döpel was a German experimental nuclear physicist. He was a participant in a group known as the “first Uranverein,” which was spawned by a meeting conducted by the Reichserziehungsministerium, in April 1939, to discuss the potential of a sustained nuclear reaction...
— Germany (1895–1982) - Friedrich Ernst DornFriedrich Ernst DornFriedrich Ernst Dorn was a German physicist who was the first to discover that a radioactive substance, later named radon, is emitted from radium.-Life and work:...
— Germany (1848–1916) - Michael R. DouglasMichael R. DouglasMichael R. Douglas is an American theoretical physicist and professor currently at Stony Brook University.Michael R. Douglas was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Nancy and Ronald G. Douglas, a mathematician specializing in operator algebras. He received his bachelor's degree in physics...
— United States (1961–) - Sidney DrellSidney DrellSidney David Drell is an American theoretical physicist and arms control expert. He is a professor emeritus at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Drell is a noted contributor in the field of quantum electrodynamics and particle...
— United States (1926–) - Paul Drude — Germany (1863–1906)
- F. J. DuarteF. J. DuarteF. J. Duarte is a laser physicist and author/editor of several well-known books on tunable lasers. He introduced the generalized multiple-prism dispersion theory and has discovered various multiple-prism grating oscillator laser configurations...
— United States - Pierre Louis DulongPierre Louis DulongPierre Louis Dulong was a French physicist and chemist, remembered today largely for the law of Dulong and Petit. He worked on the specific heat capacity and the expansion and refractive indices of gases....
— France (1785–1838) - Samuel T. DurranceSamuel T. DurranceSamuel Thornton Durrance is an American scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a payload specialist.-Background:Durrance was born September 17, 1943, in Tallahassee, Florida, but considers Tampa, Florida his hometown...
— United States (1943–) - Freeman DysonFreeman DysonFreeman John Dyson FRS is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum field theory, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists...
— UK, United States (1923–) Wolf laureate
E
- Joseph H. EberlyJoseph H. EberlyJoseph H. Eberly is the Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and Professor of Optics at the University of Rochester.-Education:Eberly earned his bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D...
— United States (1935–) - William EcclesWilliam EcclesWilliam Henry Eccles was a British physicist and a pioneer in the development of radio communication.He was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England. Following graduation from the Royal College of Science, London, in 1898, he became an assistant to Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian radio...
— UK (1875–1966) - Carl EckartCarl EckartCarl Henry Eckart was an American physicist, physical oceanographer, geophysicist, and administrator. He co-developed the Wigner-Eckart theorem and is also known for the Eckart conditions in quantum mechanics.-Education:Eckart began college in 1919 at Washington University in St...
— United States (1902–1973) - Sir Arthur EddingtonArthur Stanley EddingtonSir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS was a British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science...
— UK (1882–1944) - Paul EhrenfestPaul EhrenfestPaul Ehrenfest was an Austrian and Dutch physicist, who made major contributions to the field of statistical mechanics and its relations with quantum mechanics, including the theory of phase transition and the Ehrenfest theorem.- Biography :Paul Ehrenfest was born and grew up in Vienna in a Jewish...
— Austria-Hungary, Netherlands (1880–1933) - Felix EhrenhaftFelix EhrenhaftFelix Ehrenhaft was an Austrian physicist who contributed to atomic physics, to the measurement of electrical charges and to the optical properties of metal colloids. He was known for his maverick and controversial style...
— Austria-Hungary, United States (1879–1952) - Manfred EigenManfred EigenManfred Eigen is a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.-Career:...
— Germany (1927–) - Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
— Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United States (1879–1955) Nobel laureate - Terence James ElkinsTerence James ElkinsTerence James Elkins is an Australian-born American physicist. In 1960, he participated in an expedition from Mawson Station which conducted the first geological surveys of the Napier Mountains in Antarctica. The highest of this group of mountains, Mount Elkins, was subsequently named after him...
— Australia, United States (1936–) - John EllisJohn Ellis (physicist)Jonathan Richard Ellis FRS is a British theoretical physicist who is currently Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at King's College London. After completing his secondary education at Highgate School, he attended Cambridge University, earning his Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics...
— UK (1946–) - R. Keith EllisRichard Keith EllisRichard Keith Ellis is a British theoretical physicist, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and a leading authority on perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics....
— UK, United States (1949–) - Arpad EloÁrpád ÉloArpad Emrick Elo is the creator of the Elo rating system for two-player games such as chess. Born in Egyházaskesző, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he moved to the United States with his parents as a child in 1913.Elo was a professor of physics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was...
— Hungary (1903–1992) - David EnskogDavid EnskogDavid Enskog was a Swedish mathematical physicist. Enskog helped develop the kinetic theory of gases by extending the Maxwell–Boltzmann equations.- Biography :...
— Sweden (1884–1947) - Loránd EötvösLoránd EötvösBaron Loránd Eötvös de Vásárosnamény , more commonly called Baron Roland von Eötvös in English literature, was a Hungarian physicist. He is remembered today largely for his work on gravitation and surface tension.-Life:...
— Austria-Hungary (1848–1919) - Leo EsakiLeo EsakiReona Esaki also known as Leo Esaki is a Japanese physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Ivar Giaever and Brian David Josephson for his discovery of the phenomenon of electron tunneling. He is known for his invention of the Esaki diode, which exploited that phenomenon...
— Japan (1925–) - Ernest EsclangonErnest EsclangonErnest Benjamin Esclangon was a French astronomer and mathematician.Born in Mison, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in 1895 he started to study mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure, graduating in 1898...
— France (1876–1954) - Louis EssenLouis EssenLouis Essen FRS O.B.E. was an English physicist whose most notable achievements were in the precise measurement of time and the determination of the speed of light...
— UK (1908–1997) - Leonhard EulerLeonhard EulerLeonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
— Switzerland (1707–1783) - Denis EvansDenis EvansDenis James Evans, , is a Professor in the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University...
— Australia (1951–) - Paul Peter EwaldPaul Peter EwaldPaul Peter Ewald was a German-born U.S. crystallographer and physicist, a pioneer of X-ray diffraction methods.-Education:...
— Germany, United States (1888–1985) - James Alfred EwingJames Alfred EwingSir James Alfred Ewing KCB FRS FRSE MInstitCE was a Scottish physicist and engineer, best known for his work on the magnetic properties of metals and, in particular, for his discovery of, and coinage of the word, hysteresis.It was said of Ewing that he was 'Careful at all times of his appearance,...
— UK (1855–1935) - Franz S. ExnerFranz S. ExnerFranz Serafin Exner was an Austrian physicist.-Life:Exner comes from one of the most important university families of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. The same Exner family includes Adolf Exner, Karl Exner, Sigmund Exner, and Marie von Frisch. Exner the youngest of five children of parents Franz...
— Austria (1849–1926) - Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
— United States(1847–1931)
F
- Ludvig FaddeevLudvig Faddeev-References:...
— Russia (1934–) - Daniel Gabriel FahrenheitGabriel FahrenheitDaniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was a German physicist, engineer, and glass blower who is best known for inventing the alcohol thermometer and the mercury thermometer , and for developing a temperature scale now named after him.- Biography :Fahrenheit was born in 1686 in Danzig , the Polish-Lithuanian...
— PrussiaRoyal PrussiaRoyal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
(1686–1736) - Kazimierz FajansKazimierz Fajans-External links:*...
— Poland, United States (1887–1975) - Michael FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
— UK (1791–1867) - Eugene FeenbergEugene FeenbergEugene Feenberg was an American physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics and nuclear physics.-Education:...
— United States (1906–1977) - Mitchell FeigenbaumMitchell FeigenbaumMitchell Jay Feigenbaum is a mathematical physicist whose pioneering studies in chaos theory led to the discovery of the Feigenbaum constants.- Biography :...
— United States (1944–) - Gerald FeinbergGerald FeinbergGerald Feinberg was a Columbia University physicist, futurist and populist author. He spent a year as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, and two years at the Brookhaven Laboratories....
— United States (1933–1992) - Enrico FermiEnrico FermiEnrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
— Italy (1901–1954) - Albert FertAlbert FertAlbert Fert is a French physicist and one of the discoverers of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disks...
— France (1938–) - Herman FeshbachHerman FeshbachHerman Feshbach was an American physicist. He was an Institute Professor Emeritus of physics at MIT. Feshbach is best known for Feshbach resonance and for writing, with Philip M...
— United States (1917–2000) - Richard FeynmanRichard FeynmanRichard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
— United States (1918–1988) Nobel laureate - Wolfgang FinkelnburgWolfgang FinkelnburgWolfgang Karl Ernst Finkelnburg was a German physicist who made contributions to spectroscopy, atomic physics, the structure of matter, and high-temperature arc discharges...
— Germany (1905–1967) - David FinkelsteinDavid FinkelsteinDavid Ritz Finkelstein is currently an emeritus professor of physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Finkelstein obtained his Ph.D. in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. From 1964 to 1976, he was professor of physics at Yeshiva University.In 1958 Charles W...
— United States (1929–) - Carlos Fiolhais — Portugal (1956-)
- Johannes FischerJohannes FischerJohannes Fischer was a German physicist.- Education :Fischer studied under Arnold Sommerfeld at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich...
— Germany (1887–) - Val Logsdon FitchVal Logsdon FitchVal Logsdon Fitch is an American nuclear physicist. A native of Merriman, Nebraska, he graduated from Gordon High School and attended Chadron State College for three years before being drafted into the U.S. army in 1943...
— United States (1923–) - George Francis FitzGerald — Ireland (1851–1901)
- Hippolyte FizeauHippolyte FizeauArmand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau was a French physicist.-Biography:Fizeau was born in Paris. His earliest work was concerned with improvements in photographic processes. Following suggestions by François Arago, Léon Foucault and Fizeau collaborated in a series of investigations on the interference of...
— France (1819–1896) - Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock — Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1898–1974)
- Adriaan FokkerAdriaan FokkerAdriaan Daniël Fokker , was a Dutch physicist and musician.Fokker was born in Buitenzorg, Dutch East Indies ; he was a cousin of the aeronautical engineer Anthony Fokker...
— Netherlands (1887–1972) - James David ForbesJames David ForbesJames David Forbes was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at the University and a professor there from 1833 until he became principal of the United College of St...
— UK (1809–1868) - Léon FoucaultLéon FoucaultJean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation...
— France (1819–1868) - Joseph FourierJoseph FourierJean Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French mathematician and physicist best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series and their applications to problems of heat transfer and vibrations. The Fourier transform and Fourier's Law are also named in his honour...
— France (1768–1830) - Ralph H. FowlerRalph H. FowlerSir Ralph Howard Fowler OBE FRS was a British physicist and astronomer.-Education:Fowler was initially educated at home but then attended Evans' preparatory school at Horris Hill and Winchester College...
— UK (1889–1944) - William Alfred FowlerWilliam Alfred FowlerWilliam Alfred "Willy" Fowler was an American astrophysicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983. He should not be confused with the British astronomer Alfred Fowler....
— United States (1911–1995) - James FranckJames FranckJames Franck was a German Jewish physicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Franck was born to Jacob Franck and Rebecca Nachum Drucker. Franck completed his Ph.D...
— Germany, United States (1882–1964) - Ilya FrankIlya FrankIlya Mikhailovich Frank was a Soviet winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1958 jointly with Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov and Igor Y. Tamm, also of the Soviet Union. He received the award for his work in explaining the phenomenon of Cherenkov radiation...
— Soviet Union (1908–1990) - Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
— United States (1706–1790) - Rosalind FranklinRosalind FranklinRosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite...
— UK (1920–1958) - Walter FranzWalter FranzWalter Franz was a theoretical physicist who independently discovered the Franz-Keldysh effect.Franz was a student of Arnold Sommerfeld at the University of Munich. He was granted his Ph.D. in 1934...
— Germany (1911–1992) - Joseph von FraunhoferJoseph von FraunhoferJoseph von Fraunhofer was a German optician. He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives.-Biography:Fraunhofer was born in Straubing, Bavaria...
— Germany (1787–1826) - Steven FrautschiSteven FrautschiSteven Frautschi is an American theoretical physicist, Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology. He is known for his contributions to the bootstrap theory of the strong interactions....
— United States (1933–) - Augustin-Jean FresnelAugustin-Jean FresnelAugustin-Jean Fresnel , was a French engineer who contributed significantly to the establishment of the theory of wave optics. Fresnel studied the behaviour of light both theoretically and experimentally....
— France (1788–1827) - Peter FreundPeter FreundPeter George Oliver Freund is a professor emeritus of theoretical physics at the University of Chicago. He has made important contributions to particle physics and string theory. He is also active as a writer.-Biography:...
— United States (1936–) - Alexander Friedman — Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1888–1925)
- Daniel FriedanDaniel FriedanDaniel Harry Friedan is an American theoretical physicist and is one of two sons of the feminist author and activist Betty Friedan. He earned his Ph.D...
— United States - B. Roy FriedenB. Roy FriedenB. Roy Frieden is an American mathematical physicist.Frieden obtained a Ph.D. in Optics from The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. His doctoral thesis advisor was Robert E. Hopkins...
— United States (1936–) - Jerome Isaac FriedmanJerome Isaac FriedmanJerome Isaac Friedman is an American physicist. He was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents who emigrated to the US from Russia, and excelled particularly in art while growing up...
— United States (1930–) - Otto Frisch — Austria, UK (1904–1979)
- Erwin FuesErwin FuesErwin Richard Fues was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to atomic physics and molecular physics, quantum wave mechanics, and solid-state physics.-Education and career:...
— Germany (1893–1970) - Harald FuchsHarald FuchsHarald Fuchs is a Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Münster, Germany, Scientific Director of the Center of Nanotechnology in Münster, and co-director of the Institute of Nanotechnology in Karlsruhe...
— Germany (1951–)
G
- Dennis GaborDennis GaborDennis Gabor CBE, FRS was a Hungarian-British electrical engineer and inventor, most notable for inventing holography, for which he later received the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physics....
— Hungary (1900–1979) - Mary K. Gaillard — France, United States (1939–)
- Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
— Italy (1564–1642) - Luigi GalvaniLuigi GalvaniLuigi Aloisio Galvani was an Italian physician and physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In 1791, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs legs twitched when struck by a spark...
— Italy (1737–1798) - George GamowGeorge GamowGeorge Gamow , born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov , was a Russian-born theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling and worked on radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave...
— Russia, United States (1904–1968) - Sylvester James GatesSylvester James GatesSylvester James Gates, Jr. is a noted American theoretical physicist. He received BS and PhD degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the latter in 1977. His doctoral thesis was the first thesis at MIT to deal with supersymmetry. Gates is currently the John S...
— United States (1950–) - Carl Friedrich GaussCarl Friedrich GaussJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...
— Germany (1777–1855) - Joseph Louis Gay-LussacJoseph Louis Gay-Lussac- External links :* from the American Chemical Society* from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th Edition * , Paris...
— France (1778–1850) - Pamela L. GayPamela L. GayDr. Pamela L. Gay is an American astronomer, educator, podcaster, and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting. She was one of the cofounders of Slacker Astronomy, and was an "on air" personality for the show from February 2005 until the end of its first iteration in September...
- United States - Murray Gell-MannMurray Gell-MannMurray Gell-Mann is an American physicist and linguist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles...
— United States (1929–) Nobel laureate - Pierre-Gilles de GennesPierre-Gilles de GennesPierre-Gilles de Gennes was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991.-Biography:...
— France (1932–2007) - Howard GeorgiHoward GeorgiHoward Mason Georgi III, born January 6, 1947 in San Bernardino, California, is Harvard College Professor and Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University...
— United States (1947–) - Walter GerlachWalter GerlachWalter Gerlach was a German physicist who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect.-Education:Gerlach was born in Biebrich, Hessen-Nassau....
— Germany (1889–1979) - Christian GerthsenChristian GerthsenChristian Gerthsen was a Danish-German physicist who made contributions to atomic and nuclear physics, as well as writing numerous textbooks.-Education:...
— Denmark, Germany (1894–1956) - Andrea M. Ghez - United States (1955-)
- Riccardo GiacconiRiccardo GiacconiRiccardo Giacconi is an Italian/American Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who laid the foundations of X-ray astronomy. He is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins University.- Biography :...
— Italy, United States (1931–) - Ivar GiaeverIvar GiaeverIvar Giaever is a physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Leo Esaki and Brian Josephson "for their discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in solids". Giaever's share of the prize was specifically for his "experimental discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in ......
— Norway, United States (1929–) - Gary GibbonsGary GibbonsGary William Gibbons , FRS, is a British theoretical physicist. Gibbons studied in Cambridge,where in 1969 he became a research student under the supervision of Dennis Sciama. When Sciama moved to Oxford, he became a student of Stephen Hawking, obtaining his PhD from Cambridge in 1973...
— UK (1946–) - Josiah Willard Gibbs — United States (1839–1903)
- William Gilbert — England (1544–1603)
- Piara Singh GillPiara Singh GillPiara Singh Gill was an Indian nuclear physicist who was a pioneer in cosmic ray nuclear physics and worked on the American Manhattan project. He was the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organisation of India. He was research fellow of Chicago University...
- India (28 October 1911 - 23 March 2002) - Vitaly Lazarevich GinzburgVitaly GinzburgVitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg ForMemRS was a Soviet theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, Nobel laureate, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and one of the fathers of Soviet hydrogen bomb...
— Soviet Union, Russia (1916–) - Donald Arthur GlaserDonald A. GlaserDonald Arthur Glaser , is an American physicist, neurobiologist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his invention of the Bubble chamber used in subatomic particle physics....
— United States (1926–) - Sheldon Lee GlashowSheldon Lee GlashowSheldon Lee Glashow is a Nobel Prize winning American theoretical physicist. He is the Metcalf Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Boston University.-Birth and education:...
— United States (1932–) - G. N. GlasoeG. N. GlasoeG. Norris Glasoe was an American nuclear physicist. He was a member of the Columbia University team which was the first in the United States to verify the European discovery of the nuclear fission of uranium via neutron bombardment. During World War II, he worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory...
– United States (1902–) - Roy Jay GlauberRoy J. GlauberRoy Jay Glauber is an American theoretical physicist. He is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University and Adjunct Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona...
— United States (1925–) - James GlimmJames GlimmJames Gilbert Glimm is an American mathematical physicist, and Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.James Glimm was born in Peoria, Illinois, USA on 24 March 1934.- Career :...
— United States (1934–) - Karl GlitscherKarl GlitscherKarl Glitscher was a German physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics.-Education:Glitscher studied under Arnold Sommerfeld at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich...
— Germany (1886–1945) - Peter Goddard — UK (1945–)
- Maria Goeppert-Mayer — Germany, United States (1906–1972)
- Marvin Leonard GoldbergerMarvin Leonard GoldbergerMarvin Leonard Goldberger is a theoretical physicist and former president of the California Institute of Technology.-Biography:...
— United States (1922–) - Maurice GoldhaberMaurice GoldhaberMaurice Goldhaber was an Austrian-born American physicist, who in 1957 established that neutrinos have negative helicity.-Early Life and Childhood:...
— Austria, United States (1911–) - Jeffrey GoldstoneJeffrey GoldstoneJeffrey Goldstone is a British-born theoretical physicist and an emeritus physics faculty at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics.He worked at the University of Cambridge until 1977....
— UK, United States (1933–) - Ravi GomatamRavi GomatamRavi Veeraraghavan Gomatam is the Director of Bhaktivedanta Institute and the newly formed Institute for Semantic Information Sciences and Technology...
- India (1950-) - Lev Gor'kovLev Gor'kovLev Gor'kov is a Soviet-Russian-American research physicist internationally known for his pioneering work in the field of superconductivity.He is a professor of physics at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, and a program director in Condensed Matter at the National High Magnetic...
— United States (1929–) - Samuel Goudsmit — Netherlands, United States (1902–1978)
- Leo GraetzLeo GraetzLeo Graetz was a German physicist. He was born in Wrocław , Poland as the son of the historian Heinrich Graetz.Graetz was one of the first to investigate the propagation of electromagnetic energy...
— Germany (1856–1941) - Willem 's GravesandeWillem 's GravesandeWillem Jacob 's Gravesande was a Dutch philosopher and mathematician.-Life:Born in 's-Hertogenbosch, he studied law in Leiden and wrote a thesis on suicide. He was praised by John Bernoulli when he published his book Essai de perspective. In 1715, he visited London and King George I. He became a...
— Netherlands (1688–1742) - Brian GreeneBrian GreeneBrian Greene is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1996. Greene has worked on mirror symmetry, relating two different Calabi-Yau manifolds...
— United States (1963–) - John GribbinJohn GribbinJohn R. Gribbin is a British science writer and a visiting Fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex.- Biography :John Gribbin graduated with his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Sussex in 1966. Gribbin then earned his master of science degree in astronomy in 1967, also...
— UK (1946–) - Vladimir GribovVladimir GribovVladimir Naumovich Gribov was a prominent Russian theoretical physicist, who worked on high-energy physics, quantum field theory and the Regge theory of the strong interactions.His best known contributions are the pomeron, the DGLAP equations, and the Gribov copies.-Life:Gribov completed his...
— Russia (1930–1997) - David J. Griffiths – United States (1942–)
- David GrossDavid GrossDavid Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
— United States (1941–) - Frederick GroverFrederick GroverFrederick Warren Grover was an American physicist and electrical engineer.Grover worked as a physicist at the National Bureau of Standards, and he went to study with Arnold Sommerfeld at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in 1907...
— United States (1876–1973) - Peter GrünbergPeter GrünbergPeter Andreas Grünberg is a German physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery with Albert Fert of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disk drives.-Biography:...
— Germany (1939–) - Charles Édouard GuillaumeCharles Edouard GuillaumeCharles Édouard Guillaume was a Swiss physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920 in recognition of the service he had rendered to precision measurements in physics by his discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloys.Guillaume is known for his discovery of nickel-steel alloys he...
— Switzerland (1861–1931) - Feza GürseyFeza GürseyFeza Gürsey was a Turkish mathematician and physicist. His best known contribution to theoretical physics is his work on the Nonlinear Chiral Lagrangian.-Biography:...
— Turkey (1921–1992) - Alan GuthAlan GuthAlan Harvey Guth is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Guth has researched elementary particle theory...
– United States (1947–) - Martin GutzwillerMartin GutzwillerMartin C. Gutzwiller is a physicist. He is known for the invention of the variational wave-function describing electrons with strong localized interactions , for the first investigation of relations between classical and quantum mechanics in chaotic systems , as well as new solutions to...
— Switzerland (1925–)
H
- Rudolf HaagRudolf HaagRudolf Haag is a German physicist. He is best known for his contributions to the algebraic formulation of axiomatic quantum field theory, namely the Haag-Kastler axioms...
— Germany (1922–) - Wander Johannes de HaasWander Johannes de HaasWander Johannes de Haas was a Dutch physicist and mathematician. He is best known for the Shubnikov–de Haas effect, the de Haas–van Alphen effect and the Einstein–de Haas effect.-Personal life:...
— Netherlands (1878–1960) - Alain HachéAlain HachéAlain Haché is an experimental physicist, a professor at the University of Moncton, Canada. Since 2003 he holds the Canada Research Chair in Photonics...
— Canada (1970–) - Carl Richard Hagen - United States (1937-)
- Otto HahnOtto HahnOtto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
— Germany (1879–1968) - Edwin HallEdwin HallEdwin Herbert Hall was an American physicist who discovered the "Hall effect". Hall conducted thermoelectric research at Harvard and also wrote numerous physics textbooks and laboratory manuals.- Biography :...
— United States (1855–1938) - John Lewis HallJohn L. HallJohn Lewis "Jan" Hall is an American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics. He shared one half of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics with Theodor W. Hänsch for his work in precision spectroscopy.-Biography:...
— United States (1934–) - Viktor HambardzumyanViktor HambardzumyanViktor Hambardzumyan was a Soviet Armenian scientist, and one of the founders of theoretical astrophysics. He worked in the field of physics of stars and nebulae, stellar astronomy, dynamics of stellar systems and cosmogony of stars and galaxies, contributed to Mathematical physics...
— Armenia, Russia (1908–1996) - William Rowan HamiltonWilliam Rowan HamiltonSir William Rowan Hamilton was an Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician, who made important contributions to classical mechanics, optics, and algebra. His studies of mechanical and optical systems led him to discover new mathematical concepts and techniques...
— Ireland (1805–1865) - Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch — Germany (1941–)
- Peter Andreas HansenPeter Andreas HansenPeter Andreas Hansen was a Danish astronomer, was born at Tønder, Schleswig.-Biography:The son of a goldsmith, Hansen learned the trade of a watchmaker at Flensburg, and exercised it at Berlin and Tønder, 1818–1820...
— Denmark (1795–1874) - W.W. Hansen — United States (1909–1949)
- Paul HarteckPaul HarteckPaul Karl Maria Harteck was a German physical chemist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:Harteck studied chemistry at the University of Vienna and the Humboldt University of Berlin...
— Germany (1902–1985) - Douglas HartreeDouglas HartreeDouglas Rayner Hartree PhD, FRS was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to the Hartree-Fock equations of atomic physics and the construction of the meccano differential analyser.-Early life:Douglas Hartree was born in...
— UK (1897–1958) - Friedrich HasenöhrlFriedrich HasenöhrlFriedrich Hasenöhrl , was an Austro-Hungarian physicist.-Life:Friedrich Hasenöhrl was born in Vienna, Austria in 1874. His father was a lawyer and his mother belonged to a prominent aristocratic family...
— Austria,Hungary (1874–1915) - Stephen HawkingStephen HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
— UK (1942–) Wolf laureate - Ibn al-Haytham — Iraq (965–1039)
- Oliver HeavisideOliver HeavisideOliver Heaviside was a self-taught English electrical engineer, mathematician, and physicist who adapted complex numbers to the study of electrical circuits, invented mathematical techniques to the solution of differential equations , reformulated Maxwell's field equations in terms of electric and...
— UK (1850–1925) - Werner Karl HeisenbergWerner HeisenbergWerner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
— Germany (1901–1976) - Walter HeitlerWalter HeitlerWalter Heinrich Heitler was a German physicist who made contributions to quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory...
— Germany, Ireland (1904–1981) - Hermann von HelmholtzHermann von HelmholtzHermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
— Germany (1821–1894) - Charles H. HenryCharles H. HenryCharles H. Henry was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on May 6, 1937. He received an MS. degree in physics in 1959 from the University of Chicago, and a PhD degree in physics in 1965 from the University of Illinois, under the direction of Charlie Slichter...
— United States (1937–) - Joseph HenryJoseph HenryJoseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...
— United States (1797–1878) - John HerapathJohn HerapathJohn Herapath was an English physicist who gave a partial account of the kinetic theory of gases in 1820 though it was neglected by the scientific community at the time....
— UK (1790–1868) - Carl HermannCarl HermannCarl Hermann was a German professor of crystallography. With Charles-Victor Mauguin, he invented an international standard notation for crystallographic groups known as the Hermann–Mauguin notation or International notation.Born in the north German port town of Wesermünde to parents both of...
— Germany (1898–1961) - Heinrich Rudolf HertzHeinrich Rudolf HertzHeinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist who clarified and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by Maxwell...
— Germany (1857–1894) - Karl HerzfeldKarl HerzfeldKarl Ferdinand Herzfeld was an Austrian-American physicist.-Education:...
— Austria, United States (1892–1978) - Victor Francis HessVictor Francis HessVictor Francis Hess was an Austrian-American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics, who discovered cosmic rays.-Early years:...
— Austria, United States (1883–1964) - Mahmoud HessabyMahmoud HessabySayyed Mahmoud Hessaby was a prominent Iranian scientist, researcher and distinguished professor of University of Tehran...
— Iran (1903–1992) - Antony HewishAntony HewishAntony Hewish FRS is a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his work on the development of radio aperture synthesis and its role in the discovery of pulsars...
— UK (1924–) - Peter HiggsPeter HiggsPeter Ware Higgs, FRS, FRSE, FKC , is an English theoretical physicist and an emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh....
— UK (1929–) - George William HillGeorge William HillGeorge William Hill , was an American astronomer and mathematician.Hill was born in New York City, New York to painter and engraver John William Hill. and Catherine Smith Hill. He moved to West Nyack with his family when he was eight years old. After attending high school, Hill graduated from...
— United States (1838–1914) - Gustave-Adolphe HirnGustave-Adolphe HirnGustave-Adolphe Hirn was a French physicist, astronomer. mathematician and engineer who made important measurements of the mechanical equivalent of heat and contributions to the early development of thermodynamics...
— France (1815–1890) - Dorothy Crowfoot HodgkinDorothy Crowfoot HodgkinDorothy Mary Hodgkin OM, FRS , née Crowfoot, was a British chemist, credited with the development of protein crystallography....
— England (1910–1994) - Robert HofstadterRobert HofstadterRobert Hofstadter was an American physicist. He was the joint winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his consequent discoveries concerning the structure of nucleons."-Biography :Born in New York City, he entered City...
— United States (1915–1990) - Gilles Holst — Netherlands (1886–1968)
- Helmut HönlHelmut HönlHelmut Hönl was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics and the understanding of atomic and molecular structure....
— Germany (1903–1981) - Pervez HoodbhoyPervez HoodbhoyDr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
— Pakistan (1950–) - Gerardus 't HooftGerardus 't HooftGerardus 't Hooft is a Dutch theoretical physicist and professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G...
— Netherlands (1946–) - Robert HookeRobert HookeRobert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...
— England (1635–1703) - John HopkinsonJohn HopkinsonJohn Hopkinson, FRS, was a British physicist, electrical engineer, Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the IEE twice in 1890 and 1896. He invented the three-wire system for the distribution of electrical power, for which he was granted a patent in 1882...
— United Kingdom (1849–1898) - Johann Baptiste HorvathJohann Baptiste HorvathJohann Baptiste Horvath was a Hungarian-born Jesuit Professor of Physics and Philosophy at the University of Trnava in modern-day Slovakia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Hungary...
— Slovakia (1732–1799) - William V. Houston — United States (1900–1968)
- Charlotte (née Riefenstahl) HoutermansCharlotte RiefenstahlCharlotte Riefenstahl was a German physicist. She has no relation to Leni Riefenstahl, the notable German filmmaker.-Education:...
— Germany (1899 –) - Fritz HoutermansFritz HoutermansFriedrich Georg "Fritz" Houtermans was a Dutch-Austrian-German atomic and nuclear physicist born in Zoppot near Danzig, West Prussia...
— Netherlands, Germany, Austria (1903–1996) - Sir Fred HoyleFred HoyleSir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
— UK (1915–2001) - John H. HubbellJohn H. HubbellJohn Howard Hubbell was an American radiation physicist born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was on the staff of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 1950 until 1988, when he retired. He remained a contractor to NIST until his death in 2007...
— United States (1925–2007) - Edwin Powell Hubble — United States (1889–1953)
- Russell Alan HulseRussell Alan HulseRussell Alan Hulse is an American physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with his thesis advisor Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., "for the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation"...
— United States (1950–) Nobel laureate - Friedrich HundFriedrich HundFriedrich Hermann Hund was a German physicist from Karlsruhe known for his work on atoms and molecules.Hund worked at the Universities of Rostock, Leipzig, Jena, Frankfurt am Main, and Göttingen....
— Germany (1896–1997) - Tahir HussainTahir Hussain (physicist)Dr. Prof. Tahir Hussain was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and a emeritus professor of nuclear physics at the Government College University whose research was engaged in Long-lived fission product and Electrostatic nuclear accelerators...
- Pakistan (1923-2010) - Andrew D. HuxleyAndrew D. HuxleyAndrew D. Huxley is a chair of the physics department of Edinburgh University. Of no relation to Sir Andrew F. Huxley , Prof. Andrew D. Huxley is of renown in the field of condensed matter physics...
— United Kingdom (1966–) - Christiaan Huygens — Netherlands (1629–1695)
I
- John IliopoulosJohn IliopoulosJohn Iliopoulos is a Greek physicist and the first person to present the Standard Model of particle physics in a single report. He is best known for his prediction of the charm quark with Sheldon Lee Glashow and Luciano Maiani...
— Greece (1940–) - Nathan IsgurNathan IsgurNathan Isgur was a theoretical physicist from the U.S. and Canada.-Education:Isgur was born in South Houston, Texas and finished high school at South Houston High School. He was a scholarship student at Caltech. where his initial interest was in biology, but he moved toward physics and graduated...
— United States, Canada (1947–2001) - Ernst IsingErnst IsingErnst Ising was a German physicist, who is best remembered for the development of the Ising model. He was a professor of physics at Bradley University until his retirement in 1976.-Life:Ernst Ising was born in Cologne in 1900...
— Germany (1900–1998) - Jamal Nazrul IslamJamal Nazrul IslamJamal Nazrul Islam is a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He is a professor at Chittagong University and a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology...
— Bangladesh (1939–) - Werner IsraelWerner IsraelWerner Israel, OC, FRSC, FRS is a Canadian physicist.Born in Berlin, Germany and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, he received his B.Sc. in 1951 and his M.Sc. in 1954 from the University of Cape Town. He received his Ph.D...
— Canada (1931–)
J
- Roman JackiwRoman JackiwRoman W. Jackiw is a theoretical physicist and Dirac Medallist. Born in Poland, Jackiw received his PhD from Cornell University in 1966 under Hans Bethe and Kenneth Wilson...
— Poland, United States (1939–) - Gregory JaczkoGregory JaczkoGregory B. Jaczko is the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission .-Early life and education:Jaczko was raised in Albany, New York. He studied physics and philosophy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and earned a bachelor in the two disciplines, there, in 1993...
— United States (1970–) - Jainendra Jain -- India
- Andreas JaszlinszkyAndreas JaszlinszkyAndreas Jaszlinszky was the Slovakian-born author of the early physics textbooks Institutiones physicae pars prima, seu physica generalis and Institutiones physicae pars altera, seu physica particularis .- Biography :Jaszlinszky...
— Hungary (1715–1783) - Ali JavanAli JavanAli Mortimer Javan , born December 26, 1926 in Tehran, Iran is an Iranian American inventor and physicist at MIT. He co-invented the gas laser in 1960, with William R. Bennett...
— Iran (1928–) - Edwin JaynesEdwin Thompson JaynesEdwin Thompson Jaynes was Wayman Crow Distinguished Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis...
— United States (1922–1998) - Sir James JeansJames Hopwood JeansSir James Hopwood Jeans OM FRS MA DSc ScD LLD was an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician.-Background:...
— UK (1877–1946) - Johannes Hans Daniel JensenJ. Hans D. JensenJohannes Hans Daniel Jensen was a German nuclear physicist. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project, known as the Uranium Club, in which he made contributions to the separation of uranium isotopes. After the war Jensen was a professor at the University of Heidelberg...
— Germany (1907–1973) - Irène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-Curie was a French scientist, the daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies...
— France (1897–1956) - Pascual JordanPascual Jordan-Further reading:...
— Germany (1902–1980) - Brian David JosephsonBrian David JosephsonBrian David Josephson, FRS is a Welsh physicist. He became a Nobel Prize laureate in 1973 for the prediction of the eponymous Josephson effect....
— UK (1940–) - James Prescott JouleJames Prescott JouleJames Prescott Joule FRS was an English physicist and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work . This led to the theory of conservation of energy, which led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The...
— UK (1818–1889) - Adolfas JucysAdolfas JucysAdolfas Jucys was a Lithuanian theoretical physicist and mathematician, member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in 1953. He graduated from Kaunas University in 1931 and later worked with both creators of the self-consistent field method – Douglas Hartree in Manchester and Vladimir Fock in...
— Lithuania (1904–1974)
K
- Michio KakuMichio Kakuis an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, the co-founder of string field theory, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science...
— United States (1947–) - Heike Kamerlingh OnnesHeike Kamerlingh OnnesHeike Kamerlingh Onnes was a Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate. He pioneered refrigeration techniques, and he explored how materials behaved when cooled to nearly absolute zero. He was the first to liquify helium...
— Netherlands (1853–1926) - Theodor KaluzaTheodor KaluzaTheodor Franz Eduard Kaluza was a German mathematician and physicist known for the Kaluza-Klein theory involving field equations in five-dimensional space...
— Germany (1885–1954) - William R. KanneWilliam R. KanneWilliam R. Kanne worked on Chicago Pile One along with Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard. He invented the Kanne Chamber , a way of monitoring gas for radioactivity. The patent was filed on 12 October 1944.-External links:*...
— United States - Pyotr Kapitza — UK, Soviet Union (1894–1984)
- Theodore von KármánTheodore von KarmanTheodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
— Hungary, United States (1881–1963) - Alfred KastlerAlfred KastlerAlfred Kastler was a French physicist, and Nobel Prize laureate.Kastler was born in Guebwiller and later attended the Lycée Bartholdi in Colmar, Alsace, and École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 1921...
— France (1902–1984) - Predhiman K. Kaw — India (1948–)
- Heinrich KayserHeinrich KayserHeinrich Gustav Johannes Kayser was a German physicist.He was born at Bingen am Rhein. Kayser's early work was concerned with the characteristics of acoustic waves. He discovered the occurrence of helium in the Earth's atmosphere. Together with Carl Runge, he examined the spectra of chemical...
— Germany (1853–1940) - Willem Hendrik KeesomWillem Hendrik KeesomWillem Hendrik Keesom was a Dutch physicist who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium.He also developed the first mathematical description of dipole-dipole interactions in 1921...
— Netherlands (1876–1956) - Edwin C. KembleEdwin C. KembleEdwin Crawford Kemble was an American physicist who made contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics and molecular structure and spectroscopy...
— United States (1889–1984) - Henry Way KendallHenry Way KendallHenry Way Kendall was an American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 jointly with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E...
— United States (1926–1999) - Johannes KeplerJohannes KeplerJohannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...
— Germany (1571–1630) - John KerrJohn Kerr (physicist)John Kerr FRS was a Scottish physicist and a pioneer in the field of electro-optics. He is best known for the discovery of what is now called the Kerr effect.-Life and work:...
— UK (1824–1907) - Wolfgang KetterleWolfgang KetterleWolfgang Ketterle is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose-Einstein condensation in these...
— Germany (1957–) - Isaak Markovich KhalatnikovIsaak Markovich KhalatnikovIsaak Markovich Khalatnikov is a leading Soviet physicist, well known for his role in developing the BKL conjecture in general relativity.Khalatnikov was born in Dnipropetrovsk and graduated from Dnipropetrovsk State University with a degree in Physics in 1941. He has been a member of the...
— Soviet Union (1919–) - Abdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
— Pakistan (1936–) - Julii Khariton — Soviet Union (1904–1996)
- Erhard KietzErhard Kietzthumb|Erhard KietzDr. Erhard Karl Kietz was a German-born physicist, who researched frequency constancy of video signals.-Life:...
— Germany and United States (1909–1982) - Jack St. Clair KilbyJack KilbyJack St. Clair Kilby was an American physicist who took part in the invention of the integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2000. He is credited with the invention of the integrated circuit or microchip...
— United States (1923–2005) - Kay Kinoshita - United States (1954-)
- Toichiro Kinoshita — Japan, United States (1925-)
- Gustav Robert KirchhoffGustav KirchhoffGustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects...
— Germany (1824–1887) - Jacob Kistemaker — Netherlands (1917–2010)
- Bruce G. Klappauf — United States (1961–)
- Oskar KleinOskar KleinOskar Benjamin Klein was a Swedish theoretical physicist.Klein was born in Danderyd outside Stockholm, son of the chief rabbi of Stockholm, Dr. Gottlieb Klein from Homonna in Hungary and Antonie Levy...
— Sweden (1894–1977) - Hagen KleinertHagen KleinertHagen Kleinert is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Free University of Berlin, Germany , at theWest University of Timişoara, at thein Bishkek. He is also of the...
— Germany (1941–) - Klaus von KlitzingKlaus von KlitzingKlaus von Klitzing is a German physicist known for discovery of the integer quantum Hall Effect, for which he was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics....
— Germany (1943–) - Jens Martin KnudsenJens Martin KnudsenJens Martin Knudsen was a Danish astrophysicist. During his scientific career Knudsen authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles, and was a long time advisor to NASA.-Early years:...
— Denmark (1930–2005) - Martin KnudsenMartin KnudsenThis article is about the Danish physicist Martin Knudsen. For the Norwegian footballer, see Martin Knudsen .Martin Hans Christian Knudsen was a Danish physicist who taught and conducted research at the Technical University of DenmarkHe is primarily known for his study of molecular gas flow and the...
— Denmark (1871–1949) - Makoto KobayashiMakoto Kobayashi (physicist)is a Japanese physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."- Biography :After completing his PhD at...
— Japan (1944–) - Arthur KornArthur KornArthur Korn was a German-born physicist, mathematician and inventor, who was of Jewish ancestry...
— Germany (1870–1945) - Masatoshi KoshibaMasatoshi Koshibais a Japanese physicist. He jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002.He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1951 and received a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Rochester, New York, in 1955...
— Japan (1926–) - Matthew KossMatthew KossMatthew B. Koss is a widely published solid state physicist.He received his AB degree from Vassar College in 1983 and a Ph.D...
— United States (1961–) - Walther KosselWalther KosselWalther Ludwig Julius Kossel was a German physicist known for his theory of the chemical bond , Sommerfeld–Kossel displacement law of atomic spectra, the Kossel-Stranski model for crystal growth, and the Kossel effect...
— Germany (1888–1956) - Gabriel Kotliar — United States (1950–)
- Lew KowarskiLew KowarskiLew Kowarski was a naturalized French physicist, of Russian-Polish descent. He was a lesser known but important contributor to nuclear science.-Early life:...
— France (1907–1979) - Hendrik Kramers — Netherlands (1894–1952)
- Adolf KratzerAdolf KratzerB. Adolf Kratzer was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to atomic physics and molecular physics, and was an authority on molecular band spectroscopy...
— Germany (1893–) - Lawrence Krauss — United States (1954–)
- Herbert KroemerHerbert KroemerHerbert Kroemer , a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1952 from the University of Göttingen, Germany, with a dissertation on hot electron effects in the then-new transistor, setting the stage...
— Germany (1928–) - August KrönigAugust KrönigAugust Karl Krönig was a German chemist and physicist who published an account of the kinetic theory of gases in 1856, probably after reading a paper by John James Waterston....
— Germany (1822–1879) - Ralph KronigRalph KronigRalph Kronig was a German-American physicist . He is noted for the discovery of particle spin and for his theory of x-ray absorption spectroscopy...
Germany, United States (1904–1995) - Nikolay Sergeevich Krylov — Soviet Union (1917–1947)
- Ryogo KuboRyogo Kubowas a Japanese mathematical physicist, best known for his works in statistical physics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.In the early 1950s, Kubo transformed research into the linear response properties of near-equilibrium condensed-matter systems, in particular the understanding of...
— Japan (1920–1995) - Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov — Soviet Union (1903–1960)
- Behram KurşunoğluBehram KursunogluBehram Kurşunoğlu was a Turkish physicist and one of the founders of the University of Miami's Center for Theoretical Studies. He was best known for his works on unified field theory, energy and global issues. Moreover, he participated in the discovery of two different types of neutrinos in late...
— Turkey (1922–2003) - Polykarp KuschPolykarp KuschPolykarp Kusch was a German-American physicist. In 1955 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics with Willis Eugene Lamb for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron was greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of—and...
Germany (1911–1993)
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- James W. LaBelleJames W. LaBelleJames W. LaBelle is an American physicist. He received his B.S. from Stanford University in 1980, his M.S. from Cornell University in 1982 and his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1985. He is currently a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and...
— United States - Joseph-Louis LagrangeJoseph Louis LagrangeJoseph-Louis Lagrange , born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a mathematician and astronomer, who was born in Turin, Piedmont, lived part of his life in Prussia and part in France, making significant contributions to all fields of analysis, to number theory, and to classical and celestial mechanics...
— France (1736–1813) - Willis LambWillis LambWillis Eugene Lamb, Jr. was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955 together with Polykarp Kusch "for his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum". Lamb and Kusch were able to precisely determine certain electromagnetic properties of the electron...
— United States (1913–) - Lev Davidovich Landau — Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1908–1968)
- Rolf LandauerRolf LandauerRolf William Landauer was an IBM physicist who in 1961 argued that when information is lost in an irreversible circuit, the information becomes entropy and an associated amount of energy is dissipated as heat...
— United States (1927–1999) - Kenneth Lane — United States
- Paul LangevinPaul LangevinPaul Langevin was a prominent French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an antifascist organization created in the wake of the 6 February 1934 far right riots...
— France (1872–1946) - Irving LangmuirIrving LangmuirIrving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...
— United States (1881–1957) - Cesar LattesCésar LattesCesare Mansueto Giulio Lattes , also known as Cesar Lattes, was a Brazilian experimental physicist, one of the discoverers of the pion, a composite subatomic particle made of a quark and an antiquark.-Life:Lattes was born to a family of Italian Jewish immigrants in Curitiba, Southern Brazil...
— Brazil (1924–2005) - Max von LaueMax von LaueMax Theodor Felix von Laue was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals...
— Germany (1879–1960) - Robert Betts LaughlinRobert B. LaughlinRobert Betts Laughlin is a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Along with Horst L. Störmer of Columbia University and Daniel C. Tsui of Princeton University, he was awarded a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics for their explanation of the fractional quantum Hall...
— United States (1950–) - Ernest LawrenceErnest LawrenceErnest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron atom-smasher beginning in 1929, based on his studies of the works of Rolf Widerøe, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project...
— United States (1901–1958) - Bob LazarBob LazarRobert Scott Lazar or Bob Lazar , has said to have worked from 1988 until 1989 as a physicist at an area called S-4 , allegedly located near Groom Lake, Nevada, at the location also known as Area 51...
— United States (1959–) - Pyotr Nikolaevich LebedevPyotr Nikolaevich LebedevPyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev was a Russian physicist.He made his doctoral degree in Strasbourg under the supervision of August Kundt in 1887–1891. In 1891 he started working in Moscow State University in the group of Alexander Stoletov. There he made his famous experimental studies of...
— Imperial Russia (1866–1912) - Leon Max LedermanLeon M. LedermanLeon Max Lederman is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work with neutrinos. He is Director Emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, USA...
— United States (1922–) - Benjamin Lee — Korea, United States (1935–1977)
- David LeeDavid Lee (physicist)David Morris Lee is an American physicist who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics with Robert C. Richardson and Douglas Osheroff "for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3"-Personal life:...
— United States (1931–) - Tsung-Dao LeeTsung-Dao LeeTsung-Dao Lee is a Chinese born-American physicist, well known for his work on parity violation, the Lee Model, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion physics, nontopological solitons and soliton stars....
— China, United States (1926–) - Anthony James LeggettAnthony James LeggettSir Anthony James Leggett, KBE, FRS , aka Tony Leggett, has been a Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1983....
— UK, United States (1938–) - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz — Germany (1646–1716)
- Robert B. Leighton — United States (1919–1997)
- Georges LemaîtreGeorges LemaîtreMonsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître was a Belgian priest, astronomer and professor of physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. He was the first person to propose the theory of the expansion of the Universe, widely misattributed to Edwin Hubble...
— Belgium (1894–1966) - Philipp LenardPhilipp LenardPhilipp Eduard Anton von Lenard , known in Hungarian as Lénárd Fülöp Eduárd Antal, was a Hungarian - German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties...
— Hungary, Germany (1862–1947) - John Lennard-JonesJohn Lennard-JonesSir John Edward Lennard-Jones KBE, FRS was a mathematician who was a professor of theoretical physics at Bristol University, and then of theoretical science at Cambridge University...
— UK (1894–1954) - John LeslieJohn Leslie (physicist)Sir John Leslie was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat.Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production of ice.In 1804, he experimented with radiant heat using...
— UK (1766–1832) - Walter LewinWalter LewinWalter H. G. Lewin is a professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .-Education and career:...
— Netherlands, United States - Martin Lewis PerlMartin Lewis PerlMartin Lewis Perl is an American physicist, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995 for his discovery of the tau lepton.His parents were Jewish emigrants to the US from the Polish area of Russia....
— United States (1927–) - Robert von LiebenRobert von LiebenRobert von Lieben was a notable Austrian physicist.Robert von Lieben was born to Leopold von Lieben and Anna von Lieben.-Education:...
— Austria-Hungary (1878–1913) - Alfred-Marie LiénardAlfred-Marie LiénardAlfred-Marie Liénard , was a French physicist and engineer. He is most well known for his invention of the Liénard–Wiechert potentials....
— France (1869–1958) - Evgeny LifshitzEvgeny LifshitzEvgeny Mikhailovich Lifshitz was a leading Soviet physicist of Jewish origin and the brother of physicist Ilya Mikhailovich Lifshitz. Lifshitz is well known in general relativity for coauthoring the BKL conjecture concerning the nature of a generic curvature...
— Soviet Union (1915–1985) - David LindleyDavid Lindley (physicist)David Lindley is a theoretical physicist and author. He has worked at Cambridge University and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and been an editor at Nature, Science, and Science News....
— United States (1956–) - Chris LintottChris LintottChristopher John Lintott is an English astrophysicist currently serving as the Director of Citizen Science at the Adler Planetarium. He is a post-doctoral researcher who is involved in a number of popular science projects aimed at bringing astronomical science to a wider audience...
- UK (1980-) - Gabriel Jonas Lippmann — France, Luxemburg (1845–1921)
- Antony Garrett LisiAntony Garrett LisiAntony Garrett Lisi , who uses the name Garrett by preference, is an American theoretical physicist and adventure sports enthusiast. Lisi works as an independent researcher without an academic position...
— United States (1968-) - Karl L. LittrowKarl L. LittrowKarl Ludwig Edler von Littrow was an Austrian astronomer.Born in Kazan, Russian Empire, son of Joseph Johann Littrow. He succeeded his father as director of the Vienna Observatory...
— Austria (1811–1877) - Oliver Lodge — UK (1851–1940)
- Maurice LoewyMaurice LoewyMaurice Loewy was a French astronomer.Born in Mariánské Lázne, in what is now the Czech Republic, Loewy's Jewish parents moved to Vienna in 1841 to escape the antisemitism of their home town. Loewy became an assistant at the Vienna Observatory, working on celestial mechanics...
— Austria, France (1833–1907) - Robert K. LoganRobert K. Logan__notoc__Robert K. Logan , originally trained as a physicist, is a media ecologist. He received a BS and PhD from MIT in 1961 and 1965, respectively...
— United States (1939–) - Alfred Lee LoomisAlfred Lee LoomisAlfred Lee Loomis was an American attorney, investment banker, philanthropist, scientist/physicist, pioneer in military radar usages, inventor of the LORAN or Long Range Navigation System, and lifelong patron of scientific research...
— United States (1887–1975) - Ramón E. López — United States (1959–)
- Hendrik LorentzHendrik LorentzHendrik Antoon Lorentz was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect...
— Netherlands (1853–1928) - Johann Loschmidt — Germany (1821–1895)
- Archibald LowArchibald LowArchibald Montgomery Low was an English consulting engineer, research physicist and inventor, and author of more than 40 books....
— UK (1888–1956) - Per-Olov LöwdinPer-Olov LöwdinPer-Olov Löwdin was a Swedish physicist, professor at the University of Uppsala from 1960 to 1983, and in parallel at the University of Florida until 1993....
— Sweden (1916–2000) - LucretiusLucretiusTitus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
— Rome (98?–55 BC) - Joseph LykkenJoseph LykkenJoseph David Lykken is a theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.-Background and education:...
— United States (1957–) - Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov — Imperial Russia (1857–1918)
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- Carolina Henriette Mac GillavryCarolina Henriette Mac GillavryCarolina Henriette Mac Gillavry was a Dutch chemist and crystallographer. She is known for her discoveries on the use of diffraction in crystallography.-Biography:...
— Netherlands (1904–1993) - Ernst MachErnst MachErnst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as the Mach number and the study of shock waves...
— Austria-Hungary (1838–1916) - Luciano MaianiLuciano MaianiLuciano Maiani is a San Marino citizen physicist best known for his prediction of the charm quark with Sheldon Lee Glashow and John Iliopoulos .-Academic history:...
— Italy, San Marino (1941–) - Theodore Maiman — United States (1927–2007)
- Ettore MajoranaEttore MajoranaEttore Majorana was an Italian theoretical physicist who began work on neutrino masses. He disappeared suddenly in mysterious circumstances. He is noted for the eponymous Majorana equation and for Majorana fermions.-Gifted in mathematics:Majorana was born in Catania, Sicily...
— Italy (1906-1938 presumed dead) - Sudhansu Datta MajumdarSudhansu Datta MajumdarSudhansu Datta Majumdar was an Indian physicist, and faculty member of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.-Biography:...
— India (1915-1997) - Richard MakinsonRichard MakinsonRichard Elliss Bodenham Makinson was an Australian physicist who contributed to the understanding of thermal conductivity in crystals. His work is cited in the classical book Introduction to Solid State Physics by Charles Kittel. He also contributed to the physics of amorphous semiconductors...
— Australia (1913–1979) - Juan Martín MaldacenaJuan Martín MaldacenaJuan Martín Maldacena is a theoretical physicist born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Among his many discoveries, the most famous one is the most reliable realization of the holographic principle - namely the AdS/CFT correspondence, the conjecture about the equivalence of string theory on Anti de...
— Argentina (1968–) - Etienne-Louis MalusÉtienne-Louis Malus- External links :...
— France (1775–1812) - Leonid Isaakovich Mandelshtam — Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1879–1944)
- Peter MansfieldPeter MansfieldSir Peter Mansfield, FRS, , is a British physicist who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging . The Nobel Prize was shared with Paul Lauterbur, who also contributed to the development of MRI...
— UK (1933–) - Carlo MarangoniCarlo MarangoniCarlo Giuseppe Matteo Marangoni was an Italian physicist.Marangoni graduated in 1865 from the University of Pavia, under the supervision of Giovanni Cantoni, with a dissertation entitled ""....
— Italy (1840–1925) - William J. Marciano — United States
- Guglielmo MarconiGuglielmo MarconiGuglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
— Italy (1874–1937) - Henry MargenauHenry MargenauHenry Margenau was a German-U.S. physicist, and philosopher of science.-Early life:Born Bielefeld, Germany, Margenau obtained his bachelor's degree from Midland Lutheran College, Nebraska before his M.Sc...
— Germany, United States (1901–1977) - William MarkowitzWilliam MarkowitzWilliam Markowitz was an American astronomer, principally known for his work on the standardization of time....
— United States (1907–1998) - Robert MarshakRobert MarshakRobert Eugene Marshak was an American physicist dedicated to learning, research, and education.-History:...
— United States (1916–1992) - Walter Marshall — UK (1932–1996)
- Toshihide MaskawaToshihide Maskawais a Japanese theoretical physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."-Biography:A native of Aichi...
— Japan (1940–) - Harrie MasseyHarrie MasseySir Harrie Stewart Wilson Massey FRS was an influential Australian mathematical physicist. He worked primarily in the fields of atomic and atmospheric physics.- Life and career :...
— Australia (1908–1983) - John Cromwell MatherJohn C. MatherJohn Cromwell Mather is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite with George Smoot. COBE was the first experiment to measure ".....
— United States (1946–) - James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
— UK (1831–1879) - Brian MayBrian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
— UK (1947–) - Maria Goeppert Mayer — Germany, United States (1906–1972)
- Ronald E. McNair — United States (1950–1986)
- Simon van der MeerSimon van der MeerSimon van der Meer was a Dutch particle accelerator physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Carlo Rubbia for contributions to the CERN project which led to the discovery of the W and Z particles, two of the most fundamental constituents of matter.-Biography:One of four...
— Netherlands (1925–) - Fulvio MeliaFulvio MeliaFulvio Melia is an Italian-American astrophysicist and author. He is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Arizona and Associate Editor of the Astrophysical Journal Letters...
— United States (1956–) - Macedonio MelloniMacedonio MelloniMacedonio Melloni was an Italian physicist, notable for demonstrating that radiant heat has similar physical properties to those of light.-Life:...
— Italy (1798–1854) - Lise MeitnerLise MeitnerLise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
— Austria (1878–1968) - Thomas Corwin MendenhallThomas Corwin MendenhallThomas Corwin Mendenhall was an autodidact US physicist and meteorologist.-Biography:Mendenhall was born in Hanoverton, Ohio to Stephen Mendenhall, a farmer and carriage-maker,...
— United States (1841–1924) - M. G. K. Menon — India (1928–)
- David MerrittDavid MerrittDavid Merritt is an American astrophysicist and professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University and held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley and the Canadian Institute...
— United States - Albert Abraham MichelsonAlbert Abraham MichelsonAlbert Abraham Michelson was an American physicist known for his work on the measurement of the speed of light and especially for the Michelson-Morley experiment. In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics...
— United States (1852–1931) - Stanislav MikheyevStanislav MikheyevStanislav Pavlovich Mikheyev was a Russian physicist known for a co-discovering of the MSW effect.-Education and research:Stanislav Mikheyev graduated from Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University in 1965. Then he became a researcher at Lebedev Physical Institute...
— Russia - Robert Andrews MillikanRobert MillikanRobert A. Millikan was an American experimental physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. He served as president of Caltech from 1921 to 1945...
— United States (1868–1953) - Arthur MilneArthur MilneEdward Arthur Milne FRS was a British astrophysicist and mathematician.- Biography :Milne was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England...
— UK (1896–1950) - Shiraz MinwallaShiraz MinwallaShiraz Minwalla is an Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist. He is currently a faculty member in the Department of Theoretical Physics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai...
— India - John J. MontgomeryJohn J. MontgomeryJohn Joseph Montgomery was an aviation pioneer, inventor, professor at Santa Clara College.On August 28, 1883 he made the first manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flights of the United States, in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California...
— United States (1858–1911) - Jagadeesh MooderaJagadeesh MooderaJagadeesh Subbaiah Moodera is an American physicist of Indian origin and is senior research scientist at MIT's Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory. In 1994 he led an MIT research team in the discovery of a practical way to implement room temperature magnetic tunnel junction using a magnetic stack...
— India, United States (1950–) - Rudolf Mössbauer — Germany (1929–)
- Henry MoseleyHenry MoseleyHenry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley was an English physicist. Moseley's outstanding contribution to the science of physics was the justification from physical laws of the previous empirical and chemical concept of the atomic number. This stemmed from his development of Moseley's law in X-ray spectra...
— UK (1887–1915) - Nevill Mott — UK (1905–1996)
- Ben Roy MottelsonBen Roy MottelsonBenjamin Roy Mottelson is an American-born Danish nuclear physicist. He won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the non-spherical geometry of atomic nuclei....
— Denmark, United States (1926–) - Amédée MouchezAmédée MouchezAmédée Ernest Barthélemy Mouchez was a French naval officer who became director of the Paris Observatory and launched the ill-fated Carte du Ciel project in 1887.-Life:...
— Spain, France (1821–1892) - Ali MoustafaMoustafa MosharafaDr. Ali Moustafa Mosharafa Pasha was an Egyptian theoretical physicist. He was professor of applied mathematics in the Faculty of Science at Cairo University, and also served as its first dean...
— Egypt (1898–1950) - José Enrique MoyalJosé Enrique MoyalJosé Enrique Moyal was a mathematical physicist who contributed to aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering and statistics, among other fields...
— Palestine, France, UK, United States, Australia (1910–1998) - MoziMoziMozi |Lat.]] as Micius, ca. 470 BC – ca. 391 BC), original name Mo Di , was a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought period . Born in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, China, he founded the school of Mohism, and argued strongly against Confucianism and Daoism...
— China (ca. 450 BC) - Karl Alexander MüllerKarl Alexander MüllerKarl Alexander Müller is a Swiss physicist and Nobel laureate. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1987 with Johannes Georg Bednorz for their work in superconductivity in ceramic materials.-Biography:...
— Switzerland (1927–) - Alfred Mueller — United States
- Richard A. MullerRichard A. MullerRichard A. Muller is a noted American professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.-Career:...
— United States (1944–) - Robert S. MullikenRobert S. MullikenRobert Sanderson Mulliken was an American physicist and chemist, primarily responsible for the early development of molecular orbital theory, i.e. the elaboration of the molecular orbital method of computing the structure of molecules. Dr. Mulliken received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1966...
— United States (1896–1986) - Pieter van MusschenbroekPieter van MusschenbroekPieter van Musschenbroek was a Dutch scientist. He was a professor in Duisburg, Utrecht, and Leiden, where he held positions in mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and astrology. He is credited with the invention of the first capacitor in 1746: the Leyden jar. He performed pioneering work on the...
— Netherlands (1692–1762)
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- Nouman Mahsud - Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan (1993-)
- Yoichiro NambuYoichiro Nambuis a Japanese-born American physicist, currently a professor at the University of Chicago. Known for his contributions to the field of theoretical physics, he was awarded a one-half share of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008 for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in...
— Japan, United States (1921–) - Jayant Narlikar — India (1938–)
- Seth NeddermeyerSeth NeddermeyerSeth Henry Neddermeyer was an American physicist who co-discovered the muon, and later championed the implosion design of the plutonium atomic bomb, at the Manhattan Project....
— United States (1907–1988) - Louis Néel — France (1904–2000)
- Yuval Ne'emanYuval Ne'emanYuval Ne'eman , was a renowned Israeli theoretical physicist, military scientist, and politician. He was a minister in the Israeli government in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Biography:...
— Israel (1925–2006) - Ann NelsonAnn NelsonThis article is for Ann Elizabeth Nelson the physicist, not actress Ann Nelson who played Mrs. Berg on Fame . Ann Elizabeth Nelson is a particle physicist at the University of Washington. She was a student of Howard Georgi and has been a member of the university's Particle Theory Group since 1994...
— United States (1958–) - John von NeumannJohn von NeumannJohn von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
— Austria-Hungary, United States (1903–1957) - Simon NewcombSimon NewcombSimon Newcomb was a Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician. Though he had little conventional schooling, he made important contributions to timekeeping as well as writing on economics and statistics and authoring a science fiction novel.-Early life:Simon Newcomb was born in the town of...
— United States (1835–1909) - Sir Isaac Newton — England (1642–1727)
- Holger Bech NielsenHolger Bech NielsenHolger Bech Nielsen is a Danish theoretical physicist, professor at the Niels Bohr Institute, at the University of Copenhagen, where he started studying physics in 1961....
— Denmark (1941–) - Leopoldo NobiliLeopoldo NobiliLeopoldo Nobili, born in 1784 in Trassilico and died 5 August 1835 in Florence, was an Italian physicist who invented a number of instruments critical to investigating thermodynamics and electrochemistry....
— Italy (1784–1835) - Emmy NoetherEmmy NoetherAmalie Emmy Noether was an influential German mathematician known for her groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Described by David Hilbert, Albert Einstein and others as the most important woman in the history of mathematics, she revolutionized the theories of...
— Germany (1882–1935) - Lothar Nordheim — Germany (1899–1985)
- Gunnar NordströmGunnar NordströmGunnar Nordström was a Finnish theoretical physicist best remembered for his theory of gravitation, which was an early competitor of general relativity...
— Finland (1881–1923) - Johann Gottlieb NörrembergJohann Gottlieb NörrembergJohann Gottlieb Nörremberg was a German physicist who worked on the polarization of light.In 1833, he became professor of mathematics, physics and astronomy at the University of Tübingen where he worked on surveying and the development of optical instruments.-External links:...
— Germany (1787–1862) - H. Pierre NoyesH. Pierre NoyesH. Pierre Noyes is an American nuclear physicist. He has been a member of the faculty at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University since 1962...
— United States (1923–)
O
- Georg OhmGeorg OhmGeorg Simon Ohm was a German physicist. As a high school teacher, Ohm began his research with the recently-invented electrochemical cell, invented by Italian Count Alessandro Volta. Using equipment of his own creation, Ohm determined that there is a direct proportionality between the potential...
— Germany (1789–1854) - Susumu OkuboSusumu Okubois a Japanese theoretical physicist at the University of Rochester.Ōkubo began study at the University of Tokyo in 1949 and received his bachelor's degree there in 1952. He became a graduate student at the University of Rochester in 1954, where he earned his PhD in 1958 with Robert Marshak as...
— Japan, United States - Sir Mark OliphantMark OliphantSir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant, AC, KBE, FRS was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played a fundamental role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and also the development of the atomic bomb.During his retirement, Oliphant was appointed as the Governor of...
— Australia (1901–2000) - David OliveDavid OliveDavid Olive CBE FLSW FRS, is a British theoretical physicist. Olive made fundamental contributions to the string theory and duality theory. He was Professor of physics at Imperial College, London...
— UK (1937–) - Gerard K. O'Neill — United States (1927–1992)
- Lars OnsagerLars OnsagerLars Onsager was a Norwegian-born American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.He held the Gibbs Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry at Yale University....
— Norway (1903–1976) - Robert OppenheimerRobert OppenheimerJulius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
— United States (1904–1967) - Lochlainn O'RaifeartaighLochlainn O'RaifeartaighLochlainn O’Raifeartaigh was an Irish physicist of worldwide repute in the field of theoretical particle physics...
— Ireland (1933–2000) - Nicole Oresme — France (1325–1382)
- Leonard Salomon Ornstein — Netherlands (1880–1941)
- Egon OrowanEgon OrowanEgon Orowan was a Hungarian/British/U.S. physicist and metallurgist.-Life:Orowan was born in the Óbuda district of Budapest. His father, Berthold, was a mechanical engineer and factory manager, and his mother, Josze Spitzer Ságvári was the daughter of an impoverished land owner...
— Austria-Hungary, United States (1901–1989) - Yuri Orlov — Soviet Union, United States (1924–)
- Douglas Dean OsheroffDouglas D. OsheroffDouglas Dean Osheroff is an American physicist known for his work in experimental condensed matter physics, in particular for his co-discovery of superfluidity in Helium-3. For his contributions he shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics along with David Lee and Robert C...
— United States (1945–) - Mikhail Vasilievich OstrogradskyMikhail Vasilievich OstrogradskyMikhail Vasilyevich Ostrogradsky was an Russian / Ukrainian mathematician, mechanician and physicist...
— Russia (1801–1862) - Hans Christian ØrstedHans Christian ØrstedHans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism...
— Denmark (1777–1851)
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- Thanu PadmanabhanThanu PadmanabhanThanu Padmanabhan is an Indian theoretical physicist. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, at Pune, India. His principal fields of research are Cosmology and the interface between Gravity and Quantum theory...
— India (1957–) - Heinz PagelsHeinz PagelsHeinz Rudolf Pagels was an American physicist, an adjunct professor of physics at Rockefeller University, the executive director and chief executive officer of the New York Academy of Sciences, and president of the International League for Human Rights...
— United States (1939–1988) - Abraham PaisAbraham PaisAbraham Pais was a Dutch-born American physicist and science historian. Pais earned his Ph.D. from University of Utrecht just prior to a Nazi ban on Jewish participation in Dutch universities during World War II...
— Netherlands, United States (1918–2000) - Wolfgang K. H. PanofskyWolfgang K. H. PanofskyWolfgang Kurt Hermann "Pief" Panofsky , was a German-American physicist.-Early life:Panofsky was born the son of renowned art historian Erwin Panofsky in Berlin, Germany. He received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1938 and obtained his PhD from Caltech in 1942. Around this time...
— Germany, United States (1919–) - Blaise PascalBlaise PascalBlaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
— France (1623–1662) - John PastaJohn PastaJohn R. Pasta was a computer scientist who is remembered today for the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam experiment, a result much discussed among physicists and researchers in dynamical systems and chaos theory, and as the head of the department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at...
— United States (1918–1984) - Jogesh PatiJogesh PatiJogesh C. Pati is an Indian American theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland, College Park.-Biography:...
— United States (1937–) - Wolfgang PaulWolfgang PaulWolfgang Paul was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what we now call an ion trap...
— Germany (1913–1993) - Wolfgang Ernst Pauli — Austria-Hungary (1900–1958)
- G. B. PegramG. B. PegramGeorge Braxton Pegram was an American physicist who played a key role in the technical administration of the Manhattan Project.-Life:...
— United States (1876–1958) - Rudolf PeierlsRudolf PeierlsSir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, CBE was a German-born British physicist. Rudolf Peierls had a major role in Britain's nuclear program, but he also had a role in many modern sciences...
— Germany, UK (1907–1995) - Jean PeltierJean Charles Athanase PeltierJean Charles Athanase Peltier ]] – October 27, 1845, in Paris) was a French physicist.He discovered the calorific effect of electric current passing through the junction of two different metals...
— France (1785–1845) - Roger PenroseRoger PenroseSir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
— UK (1931–) Wolf laureate - Arno Allan PenziasArno Allan PenziasArno Allan Penzias is an American physicist and Nobel laureate in physics.-Early life and education:Penzias was born in Munich, Germany. At age six he was among the Jewish children evacuated to Britain as part of the Kindertransport rescue operation...
— United States (1933–) - Saul PerlmutterSaul PerlmutterSaul Perlmutter is an American astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of...
— United States (1959–) - Jean Baptiste PerrinJean Baptiste PerrinJean Baptiste Perrin was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:Born in Lille, France, Perrin attended the École Normale Supérieure, the elite grande école in Paris. He became an assistant at the school during the period of 1894-97 when he began the study of cathode rays and X-rays...
— France (1870–1942) - Bernhard PhilberthBernhard PhilberthBernhard Josef Philberth was an independent physicist, engineer, philosopher and theologian....
— Germany (1927–) - William Daniel PhillipsWilliam Daniel PhillipsWilliam Daniel Phillips is an American physicist and shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1997 with Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji. He is of Italian and Welsh descent.-Biography:...
— United States (1948–) - Algis Petras Piskarskas — Lithuania (1942–)
- Max PlanckMax PlanckMax Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
— Germany (1858–1947) - Joseph Plateau — Belgium (1801–1883)
- Milton S. PlessetMilton S. PlessetMilton Spinoza Plesset was an American applied physicist who worked in the field of fluid mechanics and nuclear energy. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979 for his fundamental contributions to multiphase flows, bubble dynamics, and safety of nuclear reactors...
— United States (1908–1991) - Ward PlummerWard PlummerE. Ward Plummer is an American physicist. His main contributions are in surface physics of metals. Plummer is a Professor of Physics at Louisiana State University.-Biography:...
— United States (1940–) - Henri PoincaréHenri PoincaréJules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science...
— France (1854–1912) - Eric PoissonEric PoissonEric Poisson is a Canadian physicist specializing in the theory of black holes. Poisson is currently a professor at the University of Guelph. Poisson was awarded the 2005 Herzberg Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Canadian Association of Physicists....
— Canada (–) - Siméon Denis PoissonSiméon Denis PoissonSiméon Denis Poisson , was a French mathematician, geometer, and physicist. He however, was the final leading opponent of the wave theory of light as a member of the elite l'Académie française, but was proven wrong by Augustin-Jean Fresnel.-Biography:...
— France (1781–1840) - Balthasar van der PolBalthasar van der PolBalthasar van der Pol was a Dutch physicist.Van der Pol studied physics in Utrecht, and in 1920 he was awarded his doctorate . He studied experimental physics with John Ambrose Fleming and Sir J. J. Thomson in England...
— Netherlands (1889–1959) - Joseph PolchinskiJoseph PolchinskiJoseph Polchinski is a physicist working on string theory. He graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1971, obtained his B.S. degree from Caltech in 1975, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 under the supervision of Stanley Mandelstam...
— UK (1954–) - Hugh David Politzer — United States (1949–)
- John PolkinghorneJohn PolkinghorneJohn Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest...
— UK (1930–) - Alexander M. Polyakov — Russia-United States (1945–)
- Heraclides PonticusHeraclides PonticusHeraclides Ponticus , also known as Herakleides and Heraklides of Pontus, was a Greek philosopher and astronomer who lived and died at Heraclea Pontica, now Karadeniz Ereğli, Turkey. He is best remembered for proposing that the earth rotates on its axis, from west to east, once every 24 hours...
— Greece (387–312 BC) - Heinz PoseHeinz PoseRudolf Heinz Pose was a German nuclear physicist.He did pioneering work which contributed to the understanding nuclear energy levels. He worked on the German nuclear energy project Uranverein. After World War II, the Soviet Union sent him to establish and head Laboratory V in Obninsk...
— Germany (1905–1975) - Cecil Frank PowellCecil Frank PowellCecil Frank Powell, FRS was a British physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and for the resulting discovery of the pion , a heavy subatomic particle.Powell was born in Tonbridge, Kent, England, the son of a local...
— UK (1903–1969) - John Henry PoyntingJohn Henry PoyntingJohn Henry Poynting was an English physicist. He was a professor of physics at Mason Science College from 1880 until his death....
— UK (1852–1914) - Juras Požela — Lithuania (1925–)
- Ludwig Prandtl — Germany (1875–1953)
- Ilya PrigogineIlya PrigogineIlya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
— Belgium (1917–2003) - Aleksandr ProkhorovAleksandr Mikhailovich ProkhorovAlexander Mikhaylovich Prokhorov was a Russian physicist known for his pioneering research on lasers and masers for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 with Charles Hard Townes and Nikolay Basov....
— Soviet, Russian (1916–2002) - William ProutWilliam ProutWilliam Prout FRS was an English chemist, physician, and natural theologian. He is remembered today mainly for what is called Prout's hypothesis.-Biography:...
— UK (1785–1850) - Luigi PucciantiLuigi PucciantiLuigi Puccianti is notable for having constructed a highly sensitive spectrograph, with which he studied the infrared absorption of many compounds and attempted to correlate the spectra with molecular structure...
— Italy (1875–1952) - Ivan Pulyuy — Ukraine (1845–1918)
- Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin — Serbia, United States (1858–1935)
- Edward Mills PurcellEdward Mills PurcellEdward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
— United States (1912–1997)
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- Isidor Isaac RabiIsidor Isaac RabiIsidor Isaac Rabi was a Galician-born American physicist and Nobel laureate recognized in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance.-Early years:...
— Austria, United States (1898–1988) - Mario RabinowitzMario RabinowitzMario Rabinowitz is an American physicist who has published 170 scientific papers on a wide variety of subjects such as Meissner effect, ball lightning, black holes, superconductivity, classical tunneling, nuclear electromagnetic pulse, equivalence principle, physical electronics, electrical...
— United States (1936–) - Mark G. RaizenMark G. RaizenMark George Raizen is a physicist who conducts experiments on quantum optics and atom optics.-Birth and Education:Raizen was born in New York City where generations of his family resided since the 1840s. While he comes from a long line of medical doctors, dating back to the Civil War, Raizen's life...
— New York City United States (1955–) - James RainwaterJames RainwaterLeo James Rainwater was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei.-Biography:...
- United States (1917–1986) - Alladi RamakrishnanAlladi RamakrishnanAlladi Ramakrishnan was an Indian physicist and the founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. He made seminal contributions to Stochastic Process, Particle Physics, Matrix Algebra, Special Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.- Early life :Ramakrishnan was born on 9...
— India (1923–2008) - Chandrasekhara Venkata RamanChandrasekhara Venkata RamanSir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS was an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in the world. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected...
— India (1888–1970) - Edward RambergEdward RambergEdward G. Ramberg was an American physicist who contributed to the early development of electron microscopy and color television. He was the uncle of Mario Capecchi, a 2007 Nobel laureate. His mother was an American painter, Lucy Dodd Ramberg , and his father a German archaeologist, Walter Ramberg...
— United States (1907–1995) - Carl RamsauerCarl RamsauerCarl Wilhelm Ramsauer was an internationally notable professor of physics and research physicist, famous for the discovery of the Ramsauer-Townsend effect...
— Germany (1879–1955) - Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr.Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr.Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr. was an American physicist. A physics professor at Harvard University since 1947, Ramsey also held several posts with such government and international agencies as NATO and the United States Atomic Energy Commission...
— United States (1915–) - Lisa RandallLisa RandallLisa Randall is an American theoretical physicist and a leading expert on particle physics and cosmology. She works on several of the competing models of string theory in the quest to explain the fabric of the universe. Her most well known contribution to the field is the Randall-Sundrum model,...
— United States (1962–) - Lord Rayleigh — UK (1842–1919)
- René Antoine Ferchault de RéaumurRené Antoine Ferchault de RéaumurRené Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur was a French scientist who contributed to many different fields, especially the study of insects.-Life:Réaumur was born in a prominent La Rochelle family and educated in Paris...
— France (1683–1757) - Sidney RednerSidney RednerSidney Redner is a Canadian-born physicist and professor of physics at Boston University. Redner has published over 200 journal articles, authored a book titled A Guide to First-Passage Processes , and coauthored a book titled A Kinetic View of Statistical Physics with Pavel L. Krapivsky and Eli...
— Canada, United States (1951–) - Martin John ReesMartin Rees, Baron Rees of LudlowMartin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...
— UK (1942–) - Hubert ReevesHubert Reeves-External links: *...
— Canada (1932–) - Tullio ReggeTullio ReggeTullio Regge is an Italian theoretical physicist. He obtained a degree in physics from the University of Turin in 1952, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester in 1957 under the direction of Robert Marshak. From 1958 to 1959 Regge held a post at the Max Planck Institute for...
— Italy (1931–) - Frederick ReinesFrederick ReinesFrederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment, and may be the only scientist in history "so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the...
— United States (1918–1998) - Louis RenduLouis RenduLouis Rendu was French Roman Catholic bishop of Annecy and a scientist. He was the author of Theorie des glaciers de la Savoie, an important book on the mechanisms of glacial motion....
— France (1789–1859) - Osborne ReynoldsOsborne ReynoldsOsborne Reynolds FRS was a prominent innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics. Separately, his studies of heat transfer between solids and fluids brought improvements in boiler and condenser design.-Life:...
— UK (1842–1912) - Owen Willans RichardsonOwen Willans RichardsonSir Owen Willans Richardson, FRS was a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1928 for his work on thermionic emission, which led to Richardson's Law.-Biography:...
— UK (1879–1959) - Robert Coleman RichardsonRobert Coleman RichardsonRobert Coleman Richardson is an American experimental physicist whose area of research includes sub-millikelvin temperature studies of helium-3...
— United States (1937–) - Burton RichterBurton RichterBurton Richter is a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist. He led the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center team which co-discovered the J/ψ meson in 1974, alongside the Brookhaven National Laboratory team led by Samuel Ting. This discovery was part of the so-called November Revolution of particle...
— United States (1931–) - Floyd K. RichtmyerFloyd K. RichtmyerFloyd Karker Richtmyer was a physicist and educator in the United States.-Biography:Richtmyer was born October 12, 1881, in the rural community of Cobleskill, New York....
— United States (1881–1939) - Robert D. RichtmyerRobert D. RichtmyerRobert Davis Richtmyer was an American physicist, mathematician, educator, author, and musician.-Biography:Richtmyer was born on October 10, 1910 in Ithaca, New York.His father was physicist Floyd K...
(1910–2003) - Charlotte RiefenstahlCharlotte RiefenstahlCharlotte Riefenstahl was a German physicist. She has no relation to Leni Riefenstahl, the notable German filmmaker.-Education:...
— Germany (1899–) - Nikolaus RiehlNikolaus RiehlNikolaus Riehl was a German industrial nuclear chemist. He was head of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft. When the Russians entered Berlin near the end of World War II, he was invited to the Soviet Union, where he stayed for 10 years...
— Germany (1901–1990) - Karl-Heinrich RieweKarl-Heinrich RieweKarl-Heinrich Riewe was a German physicist. After World War II, he was sent to Russia to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project. After going on strike at a defense related facility in 1948, he was accused of sabotage...
— Germany - Walter RitzWalter RitzWalther Ritz was a Swiss theoretical physicist.His father, Raphael Ritz, a native of Valais, was a well-known landscape and interior scenes artist. His mother was the daughter of the engineer Noerdlinger of Tübingen. Ritz studied in Zurich and Göttingen...
— Switzerland (1878–1909) - Étienne-Gaspard RobertÉtienne-Gaspard RobertÉtienne-Gaspard Robert , often known by the stage name of "Robertson", was a prominent Belgian stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria. He was described by Charles Dickens as "an honourable and well-educated showman"...
— Belgium (1763–1837) - Heinrich RohrerHeinrich RohrerHeinrich Rohrer is a Swiss physicist who shared half of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics with Gerd Binnig for the design of the scanning tunneling microscope .-Biography:...
— Switzerland (1933–) - Joseph Romm — United States (1960–)
- Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen — Germany (1845–1923)
- Clemens C. J. RoothaanClemens C. J. RoothaanClemens C.J. Roothaan was born in 1918 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He enrolled TU Delft in 1935 to study electrical engineering. During World War II he was first detained as a prisoner of war camp, later he was sent for a year to a concentration camp in Vught...
— Netherlands (1918–) - Marshall RosenbluthMarshall RosenbluthMarshall Nicholas Rosenbluth was an American plasma physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1997 he was awarded the National Medal of Science for discoveries in controlled thermonuclear fusion, contributions to plasma physics and work in computational statistical mechanics. ...
— United States (1927–2003) - Carl-Gustav Arvid Rossby — Sweden, United States (1898–1957)
- Joseph RotblatJoseph RotblatSir Joseph Rotblat, KCMG, CBE, FRS , was a Polish-born, British-naturalised physicist.His work on nuclear fallout was a major contribution to the agreement of the Partial Test Ban Treaty...
— Poland, UK (1908–2005) - Carlo RubbiaCarlo RubbiaCarlo Rubbia Knight Grand Cross is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.-Biography:...
— Italy (1934–) - Serge RudazSerge RudazSerge Rudaz is a Canadian theoretical physicist and Professor of Physics at the University of Minnesota. He previously served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the University of Minnesota's Physics Department, and is now the Director of Undergraduate Honors at the University of...
— Canada, United States (1954–) - David RuelleDavid RuelleDavid Pierre Ruelle is a Belgian-French mathematical physicist. He has worked on statistical physics and dynamical systems. With Floris Takens he coined the term strange attractor, and founded a new theory of turbulence...
— Belgium, France (1935–) - Ernst August Friedrich RuskaErnst RuskaErnst August Friedrich Ruska was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work in electron optics, including the design of the first electron microscope.Ruska was born in Heidelberg...
— Germany (1906–1988) - Ernest RutherfordErnest RutherfordErnest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
— New Zealand, UK (1871–1937) - Janne RydbergJohannes RydbergJohannes Robert Rydberg, , , was a Swedish physicist mainly known for devising the Rydberg formula, in 1888, which is used to predict the wavelengths of photons emitted by changes in the energy level of an electron in a hydrogen atom.The physical constant known as the...
— Sweden (1854–1919) - Martin RyleMartin RyleSir Martin Ryle was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources...
— UK (1918–1984)
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- Mendel SachsMendel SachsMendel Sachs is a US theoretical physicist who was Professor of Physics at the State University of New York Buffalo .- Education and career :...
— United States (1927–) - Robert G. Sachs — United States (1916–1999)
- Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
— United States (1934-1996) - Georges-Louis le SageGeorges-Louis Le SageGeorges-Louis Le Sage was a physicist and is most known for his theory of gravitation, for his invention of an electric telegraph and his anticipation of the kinetic theory of gases....
— Switzerland (1724–1803) - Georges SagnacGeorges SagnacGeorges Sagnac was a French physicist who lent his name to the Sagnac effect, a phenomenon which is at the basis of interferometers and ring laser gyroscopes developed since the 1970s. Sagnac died at Meudon-Bellevue....
— France (1869–1926) - Megh Nad Saha — Bengali India (1893–1956)
- Gilles Saint-Hilaire — Canada (1948–)
- Andrei Dmitrievich SakharovAndrei SakharovAndrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
— Soviet Union (1929–1989) - Oscar SalaOscar SalaOscar Sala , Italian-Brazilian nuclear physicist and important scientific leader, Emeritus Professor of the Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo....
— Brazil (1922–) - Abdus SalamAbdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
— Pakistan, UK (1926–1996) Nobel laureate - Edwin Ernest SalpeterEdwin Ernest SalpeterEdwin Ernest Salpeter FRS was an Austrian-Australian-American astrophysicist. Born to a Jewish family, he emigrated from Austria to Australia while in his teens to escape the Nazis. He attended Sydney University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1944 and his master's degree in 1945...
— Austria, Australia, United States (1924–) - Nitin Samarth — India, United States (1957-)
- Anthony Ichiro Sanda — Japan, United States (1944–)
- Vikram SarabhaiVikram SarabhaiVikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
— India (1919–1971) - Isidor SauersIsidor SauersIsidor Sauers is an Austrian-born American who is a physicist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He is a specialist on the properties of Sulfur hexafluoride , with an important patent and over 60 peer-reviewed academic papers....
— Austria (1948–) - Félix SavartFélix SavartFélix Savart became a professor at Collège de France in 1836 and was the co-originator of the Biot-Savart Law, along with Jean-Baptiste Biot. Together, they worked on the theory of magnetism and electrical currents. Their law was developed about 1820. The Biot-Savart Law relates magnetic fields to...
— France (1791–1841) - Martin SchadtMartin Schadt-Biography:In 1970 the physicists Martin Schadt and Wolfgang Helfrich invented the twisted nematic field effect in the Central Research Laboratories of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, in Basel, Switzerland...
— Switzerland (1938–) - Arthur Leonard SchawlowArthur Leonard SchawlowArthur Leonard Schawlow was an American physicist. He is best remembered for his work on lasers, for which he shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn.-Biography:...
— United States (1921–1999) - Craige SchenstedCraige SchenstedCraige Eugene Schensted is a physicist who first formulated the insertion algorithm that defines the Robinson–Schensted correspondence; under a different form, that correspondence had earlier been described by Gilbert de Beauregard Robinson in 1938, but it is due to the Schensted insertion...
— United States - Joël ScherkJoël ScherkJoël Scherk was a French theoretical physicist who studied string theory and supergravity. Together with John H. Schwarz, he figured out that string theory was a theory of quantum gravity in 1974...
— United States (1946–1979) - Otto ScherzerOtto ScherzerOtto Scherzer was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to electron microscopy.-Education:...
— Germany (1909–1982) - Walter H. SchottkyWalter H. SchottkyWalter Hermann Schottky was a German physicist who played a major early role in developing the theory of electron and ion emission phenomena, invented the screen-grid vacuum tube in 1915 and the pentode in 1919 while working at Siemens, and later made many significant contributions in the areas of...
— Germany (1886–1976) - Kees A. Schouhamer ImminkKees A. Schouhamer ImminkKornelis Antonie Schouhamer Immink is a Dutch scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, who pioneered and advanced the era of digital audio, video, and data recording including popular digital media such as Compact Disc, DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. He has been a prolific and influential engineer, who...
— Netherlands (1946–) - John Robert SchriefferJohn Robert SchriefferJohn Robert Schrieffer is an American physicist and, with John Bardeen and Leon N Cooper, recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the BCS theory, the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity.-Biography:...
— United States (1931–) - Erwin SchrödingerErwin SchrödingerErwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
— Austria-Hungary (1887–1961) - Melvin SchwartzMelvin SchwartzMelvin Schwartz was an American physicist. He shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics with Leon M. Lederman and Jack Steinberger for their development of the neutrino beam method and their demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino.He grew up in...
— United States (1932–2006) - John Henry Schwarz — United States (1941–)
- Karl SchwarzschildKarl SchwarzschildKarl Schwarzschild was a German physicist. He is also the father of astrophysicist Martin Schwarzschild.He is best known for providing the first exact solution to the Einstein field equations of general relativity, for the limited case of a single spherical non-rotating mass, which he accomplished...
— Germany (1876–1916) - Julian SchwingerJulian SchwingerJulian Seymour Schwinger was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on the theory of quantum electrodynamics, in particular for developing a relativistically invariant perturbation theory, and for renormalizing QED to one loop order.Schwinger is recognized as one of the...
— United States (1918–1994) - Dennis William SciamaDennis William SciamaDennis William Siahou Sciama FRS was a British physicist who, through his own work and that of his students, played a major role in developing British physics after the Second World War. He is considered as one of the fathers of modern cosmology.-Life:Sciama was born in Manchester, England...
— UK (1926–1999) - Thomas Johann SeebeckThomas Johann SeebeckThomas Johann Seebeck was a physicist who in 1821 discovered the thermoelectric effect.Seebeck was born in Reval to a wealthy Baltic German merchant family. He received a medical degree in 1802 from the University of Göttingen, but preferred to study physics...
— Estonia (1770–1831) - Emilio G. SegrèEmilio G. SegrèEmilio Gino Segrè was an Italian-born, naturalized American, physicist and Nobel laureate in physics, who with Owen Chamberlain, discovered antiprotons, a sub-atomic antiparticle.-Biography:...
— United States, Italy (1905–1989) - Nathan SeibergNathan SeibergNathan "Nati" Seiberg is an Israeli American theoretical physicist who works on string theory. He was recipient of a 1996 MacArthur Fellowship and the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics in 1998. He is currently a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA...
— United States (1956–) - Frederick SeitzFrederick SeitzFrederick Seitz was an American physicist and a pioneer of solid state physics. Seitz was president of Rockefeller University, and president of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1962–1969. He was the recipient of the National Medal of Science, NASA's Distinguished Public Service...
— United States (1911–) - Nikolay SemyonovNikolay SemyonovNikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov was a Russian/Soviet physicist and chemist. Semyonov was awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the mechanism of chemical transformation.-Life:...
— Russia (1896–1986) - Ashoke SenAshoke SenAshoke Sen , FRS, is an Indian theoretical physicist. He has made a number of major original contributions to the subject of string theory, including his landmark paper on strong-weak coupling duality or S-duality, which was influential in changing the course of research in the field...
— India (1956–) - Robert SerberRobert SerberRobert Serber was an American physicist who participated in the Manhattan Project. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he was the eldest son of David Serber and Rose Frankel. He married Charlotte Leof in 1933. Rose Serber died in 1922; David married Charlotte's cousin Frances Leof in...
— United States (1909–1997) - Roman U. Sexl — Austria (1939–1986)
- Mikhail ShifmanMikhail Shifman-External links:*****...
— Russia, United States (1949– ) - Dmitry ShirkovDmitry ShirkovDmitry Vasil'evich Shirkov is a Russian theoretical physicist known for his contribution to quantum field theory and to the development of the renormalization group method.-Biography:...
— Russia (1928–) - William Bradford ShockleyWilliam ShockleyWilliam Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. Along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, Shockley co-invented the transistor, for which all three were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.Shockley's attempts to commercialize a new transistor design in the 1950s...
— United States (1910–1989) - Lev ShubnikovLev ShubnikovLev Vasilyevich Shubnikov was a Soviet experimental physicist who worked in the Netherlands and USSR....
— Russia, Netherlands, Ukraine (1901–1937) - Clifford ShullClifford ShullClifford Glenwood Shull was a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist.-Biography:...
— United States (1915–2001) - Manne SiegbahnManne SiegbahnKarl Manne Georg Siegbahn FRS was a Swedish physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 "for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy"....
— Sweden (1886–1978) - Kai SiegbahnKai SiegbahnKai Manne Börje Siegbahn was a Swedish physicist.He was born in Lund, Sweden, and his father Manne Siegbahn also won the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1924. Siegbahn earned his doctorate at the University of Stockholm in 1944...
— Sweden (1918–2007) - Ludwik SilbersteinLudwik SilbersteinLudwik Silberstein was a Polish-American physicist who helped make special relativity and general relativity staples of university coursework...
— Poland, Germany, Italy, United States, Canada (1872–1948) - Alberto Sirlin — Argentina, United States
- Willem de SitterWillem de SitterWillem de Sitter was a Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer.-Life and work:Born in Sneek, De Sitter studied mathematics at the University of Groningen and then joined the Groningen astronomical laboratory. He worked at the Cape Observatory in South Africa...
— Netherlands (1872–1934) - Francis G. SlackFrancis G. SlackFrancis Goddard Slack was an American physicist. He was a physics teacher, researcher, and administrator in academia who was renowned for placing equal emphasis on teaching and on research.-Education:...
— United States (1897–1985) - John C. SlaterJohn C. SlaterJohn Clarke Slater was a noted American physicist who made major contributions to the theory of the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids. This work is of ongoing importance in chemistry, as well as in many areas of physics. He also made major contributions to microwave electronics....
— United States (1900–1976) - Louis SlotinLouis SlotinLouis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project, the secret US program during World War II that developed the atomic bomb....
— United States (1910–1946) - Alexei Smirnov — Russia, Italy (1951–)
- Lee SmolinLee SmolinLee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo. He is married to Dina Graser, a communications lawyer in Toronto. His brother is David M...
— United States (1955–) - Marian SmoluchowskiMarian SmoluchowskiMarian Smoluchowski was an ethnic Polish scientist in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was a pioneer of statistical physics and an avid mountaineer.-Life:...
— Poland (1872–1917) - George SmootGeorge SmootGeorge Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C...
— United States (1945–) - Willebrord Snel van Royen (Snellius) — Netherlands (1580–1626)
- Arsenij SokolovArsenij SokolovArseny Alexandrovich Sokolov was a Russian theoretical physicist known for the development of synchrotron radiation theory.-Biography:Arseny Sokolov graduated from Tomsk State University in 1931. He obtained the degree of Kandidat nauk from TSU under supervision of Piotr Tartakovsky...
— Russia (1910–1986) - Arnold SommerfeldArnold SommerfeldArnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and groomed a large number of students for the new era of theoretical physics...
— Germany (1868–1951) - Davison E. Soper — United States
- Rafael SorkinRafael SorkinRafael Dolnick Sorkin is an American physicist. He is professor emeritus of physics at Syracuse University and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society...
— United States (1945–) - Maria SpiropuluMaria SpiropuluMaria Spiropulu , born in 1970 in Kastoria, a mountain town in West Macedonia, is an experimental physicist at Caltech and CERN, the European high-energy physics laboratory outside Geneva, and is working on experiments for the Large Hadron Collider...
— West Macedonia, Greece (1970–) - Johannes StarkJohannes StarkJohannes Stark was a German physicist, and Physics Nobel Prize laureate who was closely involved with the Deutsche Physik movement under the Nazi regime.-Early years:...
— Germany (1874–1957) - Max SteenbeckMax SteenbeckMax Christian Theodor Steenbeck was a German physicist who worked at the Siemens-Schuckertwerke in his early career, during which time he invented the betatron in 1934. He was taken to the Soviet Union after World War II , and he contributed to the Soviet atomic bomb project...
— (1901–1981) - Jožef StefanJoseph StefanJoseph Stefan was a physicist, mathematician, and poet of Slovene mother tongue and Austrian citizenship.- Life and work :...
— Austria-Hungary, Slovenia (1835–1893) - Jack SteinbergerJack SteinbergerJack Steinberger is a German-American physicist currently residing near Geneva, Switzerland. He co-discovered the muon neutrino, along with Leon Lederman and Melvin Schwartz, for which they were given the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics.-Life:...
— Germany, United States (1921–) - Karl August von Steinheil — Germany (1801–1870)
- George StermanGeorge StermanGeorge Franklin Sterman is an American theoretical physicist and the Director of the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University where he holds the rank Distinguished Professor.-Background:...
— United States (1946-) - Otto SternOtto SternOtto Stern was a German physicist and Nobel laureate in physics.-Biography:Stern was born in Sohrau, now Żory in the German Empire's Kingdom of Prussia and studied at Breslau, now Wrocław in Lower Silesia....
— Germany (1888–1969) - Simon StevinSimon StevinSimon Stevin was a Flemish mathematician and military engineer. He was active in a great many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical...
— Belgium, Netherlands (1548–1620) - George Gabriel StokesGeorge Gabriel StokesSir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet FRS , was an Irish mathematician and physicist, who at Cambridge made important contributions to fluid dynamics , optics, and mathematical physics...
— Ireland , UK (1819–1903) - Aleksandr StoletovAleksandr StoletovAleksandr Grigorievich Stoletov was a Russian physicist, founder of electrical engineering, and professor in Moscow University. He was the brother of general Nikolai Stoletov.-Biography:...
— Russia (1839–1896) - Horst Ludwig StörmerHorst Ludwig StörmerHorst Ludwig Störmer is a German physicist who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics with Daniel Tsui and Robert Laughlin. The three shared the prize "for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations"...
— Germany (1949–) - Andrew StromingerAndrew StromingerAndrew Eben Strominger is an American theoretical physicist who works on string theory and son of Jack L. Strominger. He is currently a professor at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Society of Fellows...
— United States (1955–) - Ernst StueckelbergErnst StueckelbergErnst Carl Gerlach Stueckelberg was a Swiss mathematician and physicist.- Career :In 1927 Stueckelberg got his Ph. D. at the University of Basel under August Hagenbach...
— Switzerland (1905–1984) - George SudarshanGeorge SudarshanEnnackal Chandy George Sudarshan , also E.C.G. Sudarshan, is a prominent Indian American physicist, author, and professor at The University of Texas at Austin.-Early life:...
— India, United States (1931–) - Rashid SunyaevRashid SunyaevRashid Alievich Sunyaev was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, on March 1, 1943 to a Tatar family, and educated at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and Moscow State University . He became a professor at MIPT in 1974...
- Uzbek SSR (1943-) - Oleg SushkovOleg SushkovOleg Sushkov is a Professor at the University of New South Wales and a leader in the field of high temperature super-conductors. Educated in Russia in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, he now teaches in Australia.- Selected Publications :...
— Australia-Russia (1950–) - Leonard SusskindLeonard SusskindLeonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology...
— United States (1940–) - Joseph Wilson SwanJoseph SwanSir Joseph Wilson Swan was a British physicist and chemist, most famous for the invention of the incandescent light bulb for which he received the first patent in 1878...
— UK (1828–1914) - Jean Henri van Swinden — Netherlands (1746–1823)
- Bertha SwirlesBertha SwirlesBertha Swirles, Lady Jeffreys , carried out research on quantum theory, particularly in its early days. She was associated with Girton College, University of Cambridge, as student and Fellow, for over 70 years....
— UK (1903–1999) - Leó SzilárdLeó SzilárdLeó Szilárd was an Austro-Hungarian physicist and inventor who conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb...
— Austria-Hungary, United States (1898–1964) - Shen KuoShen KuoShen Kuo or Shen Gua , style name Cunzhong and pseudonym Mengqi Weng , was a polymathic Chinese scientist and statesman of the Song Dynasty...
— China (1031–1095)
T
- Louis Anthony Tamburino - United States (1936-)
- Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm — Imperial Russia, Soviet Union (1895–1971)
- Abraham Haskel TaubAbraham Haskel TaubAbraham Haskel Taub was a distinguished American mathematician and physicist, well known for his important contributions to the early development of general relativity, as well as differential geometry and differential equations...
— United States (1911–1999) - Geoffrey Ingram TaylorGeoffrey Ingram TaylorSir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor OM was a British physicist, mathematician and expert on fluid dynamics and wave theory. His biographer and one-time student, George Batchelor, described him as "one of the most notable scientists of this century".-Biography:Taylor was born in St. John's Wood, London...
— UK (1886–1975) - Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr.Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr.Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. is an American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery with Russell Alan Hulse of a "new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation."...
— United States (1941–) - Richard Edward TaylorRichard E. TaylorRichard Edward Taylor, is a Canadian-American professor at Stanford University. In 1990, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Jerome Friedman and Henry Kendall "for their pioneering investigations concerning deep inelastic scattering of electrons on protons and bound neutrons, which have...
— United States (1929–) - Max TegmarkMax TegmarkMax Tegmark is a Swedish-American cosmologist. Tegmark is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and belongs to the scientific directorate of the Foundational Questions Institute.-Early life:...
— Sweden, United States (1967–) - Valentine TelegdiValentine TelegdiValentine Louis Telegdi FRS was a Hungarian-born U.S. physicist.He was the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago before he moved to ETH Zürich...
— Hungary, United States (1922–2006) Wolf laureate - Edward TellerEdward TellerEdward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he did not care for the title. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy , and surface physics...
— Austria-Hungary, United States (1908–2003) - Igor TernovIgor TernovIgor Mikhailovich Ternov was a Russian theoretical physicist, known for discovery of new quantum effects in microscopic particle motion such as Dynamic Character of the Electron Anomalous Magnetic Moment, the Effect of Radiative Polarization of Electrons and Positrons in a Magnetic Field, and...
— Russia (1921–1996) - Nikola TeslaNikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
— Serbia, United States (1856–1943) - George Paget ThomsonGeorge Paget ThomsonSir George Paget Thomson, FRS was an English physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognised for his discovery with Clinton Davisson of the wave properties of the electron by electron diffraction.-Biography:...
— UK (1892–1975) - J. J. ThomsonJ. J. ThomsonSir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer...
— UK (1856–1940) - William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)William Thomson, 1st Baron KelvinWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...
— UK (1824–1907) - Charles ThornCharles ThornCharles Thorn is a Professor of Physics at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He played an important role in the development of Dual Models and string theory. Among his contributions is the proof of the non-existence of ghosts in string theory. The Goddard–Thorn theorem is a...
— United States - Kip Stephen Thorne — United States (1940–)
- Peter Adolf ThiessenPeter Adolf ThiessenPeter Adolf Thiessen was a German physical chemist. He voluntarily went to the Soviet Union at the close of World War II, and he received high Soviet decorations and the Stalin Prize for contributions to the Soviet atomic bomb project.-Education:Thiessen was born in Schweidnitz .From 1919 to...
— Germany (1899–1990) - Samuel Chao Chung TingSamuel C. C. TingSamuel Chao Chung Ting is an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in 1976, with Burton Richter, for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle...
— United States (1936–) - Frank J. TiplerFrank J. TiplerFrank Jennings Tipler is a mathematical physicist and cosmologist, holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Mathematics and Physics at Tulane University. Tipler has authored books and papers on the Omega Point, which he claims is a mechanism for the resurrection of the dead. It has been...
— United States (1947–) - Ernest William TittertonErnest William TittertonSir Ernest William Titterton Ph. D. was a nuclear physicist and professor.-Early years:...
— UK, Australia (1916–1990) - Samuel TolanskySamuel TolanskySamuel Tolansky born Turlausky BSc DThPT PhD PhD DSc FRAS FRSA FInstP FRS. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize, has a crater on the moon named after him near the Apollo 14 landing site and he was a principal investigator to the NASA lunar project known as the Apollo program.-Personal life:His...
— UK (1907–1973) - Sin-Itiro TomonagaSin-Itiro Tomonagawas a Japanese physicist, influential in the development of quantum electrodynamics, work for which he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 along with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger.-Biography:...
— Japan (1906–1979) - Evangelista TorricelliEvangelista TorricelliEvangelista Torricelli was an Italian physicist and mathematician, best known for his invention of the barometer.-Biography:Evangelista Torricelli was born in Faenza, part of the Papal States...
— Italy (1608–1647) - Bruno TouschekBruno TouschekBruno Touschek was an Austrian physicist, a survivor of the Holocaust, and initiator of research on electron-positron colliders.-Biography:...
— Italy (1921–1978) - Charles Townes — United States (1915–) Nobel laureate
- John TownsendJohn Sealy TownsendJohn Sealy Edward Townsend, FRS was a mathematical physicist who conducted various studies concerning the electrical conduction of gases and directly measured the electrical charge...
— UK (1868–1957) - Johann Georg TrallesJohann Georg TrallesJohann George Tralles was a German mathematician and physicist.He was born in Hamburg, Germany, and was educated at the University of Göttingen beginning in 1783. He became a professor at the University of Bern in 1785...
— Germany (1763–1822) - Sam TreimanSam TreimanSam Bard Treiman was an American theoretical physicist who produced important research in the fields of cosmic rays, quantum physics, plasma physics and gravity physics. He made major contributions to the understanding of the weak interaction and he and his students are credited with developing...
— United States (1925–1999) - Paolo Tripodi — Italy (1963–)
- Daniel Chee TsuiDaniel C. TsuiDaniel Chee Tsui is a Chinese-born American physicist whose areas of research included electrical properties of thin films and microstructures of semiconductors and solid-state physics...
— China, United States (1939–) - John J. TurinJohn J. TurinJohn J. Turin was an American mathematician and physicist, especially active in the field of astronomy. He was director of the Ritter Astrophysical Research Center of the University of Toledo, Ohio. A number of patents, many with respect to heat convection, are on his name.After his death, several...
— United States (1913–1973) - Sergei TyablikovSergei TyablikovSergei Vladimirovich Tyablikov was a Russian theoretical physicist known for his significant contributions to statistical mechanics, solid-state physics, and for the development of the double-time Green function's formalism.-Biography:...
— Russia (1921–1968) - John TyndallJohn TyndallJohn Tyndall FRS was a prominent Irish 19th century physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he studied thermal radiation, and produced a number of discoveries about processes in the atmosphere...
— UK (1820–1893) - Neil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, a science communicator, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History...
— United States (1958–)
U
- George Eugene UhlenbeckGeorge Eugene UhlenbeckGeorge Eugene Uhlenbeck was a Dutch-American theoretical physicist.-Background and education:George Uhlenbeck was the son of Eugenius and Anne Beeger Uhlenbeck...
— Netherlands, United States (1900–1988) - Stanislaw Ulam — Poland (1909–1984)
- Nikolay UmovNikolay UmovNikolay Alekseevich Umov was a Russian physicist and mathematician known for discovering the concept of Umov-Poynting vector and Umov effect.-Biography:...
— Russia (1846–1915) - Juris Upatnieks — Latvia, United States (1936–)
V
- Arkady Vainshtein — Russia, United States
- Cumrun VafaCumrun VafaCumrun Vafa is an Iranian-American leading string theorist from Harvard University where he started as a Harvard Junior Fellow. He is a recipient of the 2008 Dirac Medal.-Birth and education:...
- Iran, United States - Léon Van HoveLéon Van HoveLéon Van Hove was a Belgian physicist and a former Director General of CERN. He developed a scientific career spanning mathematics, solid state physics, elementary particle and nuclear physics to cosmology.-Biography:...
— Belgium (1924–1990) - Sergei Vavilov — Soviet Union (1891–1951)
- Evgeny VelikhovEvgeny VelikhovEvgeny Pavlovich Velikhov is a physicist and scientific leader in the Russian Federation. His scientific interests include plasma physics, lasers, controlled nuclear fusion, power engineering and magnetohydrodynamics...
— Russia (1935–) - Martinus J. G. VeltmanMartinus J. G. VeltmanMartinus Justinus Godefriedus Veltman is a Dutch theoretical physicist. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics with his former student Gerardus 't Hooft for their work on particle theory.-Biography:...
— Netherlands, United States (1931–) - Gabriele VenezianoGabriele VenezianoGabriele Veneziano, born in Florence, Italy), is an Italian theoretical physicist and the founder of string theory. . Has spent most of his scientific activities at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland...
— Italy (1942–) - Giovanni Battista VenturiGiovanni Battista VenturiGiovanni Battista Venturi was an Italian physicist. He was the discoverer and eponym of Venturi effect. He was also the eponym of the Venturi pump and Venturi tube....
— Italy (1746–1822) - Émile VerdetÉmile VerdetÉmile Verdet was a French physicist. He worked in magnetism and optics, editing the works of Augustin-Jean Fresnel. Verdet did much to champion the early theory of the conservation of energy in France through his editorial supervision of the Annales de chimie et de physique.The Verdet constant is...
— France (1824–1866) - Jean-Pierre VigierJean-Pierre VigierJean-Pierre Vigier earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from University of Geneva in 1946 and in 1948 was appointed assistant to Louis de Broglie, a position he held until the latter's retirement in 1962. Vigier was professor emeritus at in the Department of Gravitational Physics at Pierre et Marie...
France (1920–2004) - Jenny Darja Vinko — Slovenija (1963–)
- Anatoly VlasovAnatoly VlasovAnatoly Alexandrovich Vlasov was a Russian theoretical physicist prominent in the fields of statistical mechanics, kinetics, and especially in plasma physics.-Biography:...
— Russia (1908–1975) - John Hasbrouck van VleckJohn Hasbrouck van VleckJohn Hasbrouck Van Vleck was an American physicist and mathematician, co-awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electrons in magnetic solids....
— United States (1899–1980) - Woldemar VoigtWoldemar VoigtWoldemar Voigt was a German physicist, who taught at the Georg August University of Göttingen. Voigt eventually went on to head the Mathematical Physics Department at Göttingen and was succeeded in 1914 by Peter Debye, who took charge of the theoretical department of the Physical Institute...
— Germany (1850–1919) - Burchard de VolderBurchard de VolderBurchard de Volder was a Dutch natural philosopher.Born in a Mennonite family in Amsterdam, he first studied in Utrecht and from 1670 he studied philosophy at the University of Leiden under Franz de le Boë...
— Netherlands (1643–1709) - Max VolmerMax VolmerMax Volmer was a German physical chemist, who made important contributions in electrochemistry, in particular on electrode kinetics. He co-developed the Butler–Volmer equation. Volmer held the chair and directorship of the Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry Institute of the Technische...
— Germany (1885–1965) - Mikhail Voloshin — Russia, United States
- Alessandro VoltaAlessandro VoltaCount Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Gerolamo Umberto Volta was a Lombard physicist known especially for the invention of the battery in 1800.-Early life and works:...
— Italy (1745–1827) - Wernher Von BraunWernher von BraunWernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
— Germany (1912–1977)
W
- Johannes Diderik van der WaalsJohannes Diderik van der WaalsJohannes Diderik van der Waals was a Dutch theoretical physicist and thermodynamicist famous for his work on an equation of state for gases and liquids....
— Netherlands (1837–1923) - Ludwig WaldmannLudwig WaldmannLudwig Waldmann was a German physicist who specialized in transport phenomena in gases. He derived the Waldmann-Snider equation.-Career:...
— Germany (1913–1980) - Ernest WaltonErnest WaltonErnest Thomas Sinton Walton was an Irish physicist and Nobel laureate for his work with John Cockcroft with "atom-smashing" experiments done at Cambridge University in the early 1930s, and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom, thus ushering the nuclear age...
— Ireland (1903–1995) - Kan-Chang WangKan-Chang WangWang Ganchang was a nuclear physicist from China. He was one of the initiators of research in China in nuclear physics, cosmic rays and particle physics. Wang figured among the top leaders, pioneers and scientists of the Chinese nuclear deterrent program...
— China (1907–1998) - Aaldert WapstraAaldert WapstraAaldert Hendrik Wapstra was a Dutch physicist.Wapstra became a full professor in 1955 at the department of experimental physics at the Technische Hogeschool, now the Technical University in Delft, Netherlands. On the 18th of March 1963 Wapstra entered the board of the IKO, now known as NIKHEF, as...
— Netherlands (1923–2006) - John Clive WardJohn Clive WardJohn Clive Ward , was a British-Australian physicist. His most famous creation was the Ward-Takahashi identity, originally known as "Ward Identity" . This celebrated result, in quantum electrodynamics, was inspired by a conjecture of Dyson and was disclosed in a one-half page letter typical of...
— England, Australia (1924–2000) - Gleb WataghinGleb WataghinGleb Vassielievich Wataghin ; was a Ukrainian-Italian experimental physicist and a great scientific leader who gave a great impulse to the teaching and research on physics in two continents: in the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and in the University of Turin, Turin, Italy.Wataghin was...
— Ukraine, Italy, Brazil (1896–1986) - John James WaterstonJohn James WaterstonJohn James Waterston was a Scottish physicist, a neglected pioneer of the kinetic theory of gases.-Early life:Waterston's father, George, was an Edinburgh sealing wax manufacturer and stationer, a relative of the Sandeman family Robert and his brother, George...
— UK (1811–1883) - James WattJames WattJames Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
— UK (1736–1819) - Denis WeaireDenis WeaireDenis Lawrence Weaire is an Irish physicist, who is an emeritus professor of Trinity College Dublin.Educated at the Belfast Royal Academy and Clare College, Cambridge, he has since held positions at the universities of California, Chicago, Harvard and Yale, ultimately holding professorships at...
— Ireland (194?–) - Colin WebbColin WebbColin Edward Webb MBE FRS is a British physicist and former professor at the University of Oxford, specialising in lasers.-Life:Webb was born in 1937 and educated at the University of Nottingham and Oriel College, Oxford...
— UK (1937–) - Wilhelm WeberWilhelm Eduard WeberWilhelm Eduard Weber was a German physicist and, together with Carl Friedrich Gauss, inventor of the first electromagnetic telegraph.-Early years:...
— Germany (1804–1891) - Alvin Weinberg — United States (1915–2006)
- Steven WeinbergSteven WeinbergSteven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
— United States (1933–) - Victor Frederick WeisskopfVictor Frederick WeisskopfVictor Frederick Weisskopf was an Austrian-born Jewish American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Niels Bohr...
— Austria, United States (1908–2002) - Carl Friedrich von WeizsäckerCarl Friedrich von WeizsäckerCarl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
— Germany (1912–2007) - Heinrich WelkerHeinrich WelkerHeinrich Johann Welker was a German theoretical and applied physicist who invented the "transistron", a form of transistor made at Westinghouse independently of the first successful transistor made at Bell Laboratories...
— Germany (1912–1981) - Peter WesterveltPeter WesterveltPeter Westervelt is an American physicist and Professor Emeritus of Physics at Brown University. Westervelt is known for his work in nonlinear acoustics...
— United States (1919–) - Gregor WentzelGregor WentzelGregor Wentzel was a German physicist known for development of quantum mechanics. Wentzel, Hendrik Kramers, and Léon Brillouin developed the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation in 1926...
— Germany (1898–1978) - John Archibald WheelerJohn Archibald WheelerJohn Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission...
— United States (1911–2008) - Gian-Carlo WickGian-Carlo WickGian Carlo Wick was an Italian theoretical physicist who made important contributions to quantum field theory...
— Italy (1909–1992) - Emil WiechertEmil WiechertEmil Johann Wiechert was a German geophysicist who presented the first verifiable model of a layered structure of the Earth.-Life:...
— Prussia (1861–1928) - Carl WiemanCarl WiemanCarl Edwin Wieman is an American physicist at the University of British Columbia and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for the production, in 1995 with Eric Allin Cornell, of the first true Bose–Einstein condensate.-Biography:...
— United States (1951–) - Wilhelm WienWilhelm WienWilhelm Carl Werner Otto Fritz Franz Wien was a German physicist who, in 1893, used theories about heat and electromagnetism to deduce Wien's displacement law, which calculates the emission of a blackbody at any temperature from the emission at any one reference temperature.He also formulated an...
— Germany (1864–1928) - Arthur WightmanArthur WightmanArthur Strong Wightman is an American mathematical physicist. He is one of the founders of the axiomatic approach to quantum field theory, and originated the set of Wightman axioms....
— United States (1922–) - Eugene Wigner — Austria-Hungary, United States (1902–1993)
- Frank WilczekFrank WilczekFrank Anthony Wilczek is a theoretical physicist from the United States and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....
— United States (1951–) - Charles Thomson Rees WilsonCharles Thomson Rees WilsonCharles Thomson Rees Wilson, CH, FRS was a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who received the Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cloud chamber.- Biography:...
— UK (1869–1959) - Kenneth Geddes WilsonKenneth G. WilsonKenneth Geddes Wilson is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner.As an undergraduate at Harvard, he was a Putnam Fellow. He earned his PhD from Caltech in 1961, studying under Murray Gell-Mann....
— United States (1936–) - Robert R. WilsonRobert R. WilsonRobert Rathbun Wilson was an American physicist who was a group leader of the Manhattan Project, a sculptor, and an architect of Fermi National Laboratory , where he was also the director from 1967–1978....
— United States (1914–2000) - Karl WirtzKarl WirtzKarl Eugen Julius Wirtz was a German nuclear physicist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:...
— Germany (1910–1994) - Robert Woodrow WilsonRobert Woodrow WilsonFor the American President, see Woodrow Wilson.Robert Woodrow Wilson is an American astronomer, 1978 Nobel laureate in physics, who with Arno Allan Penzias discovered in 1964 the cosmic microwave background radiation...
— United States (1936–) - Michael WoolfsonMichael WoolfsonMichael Mark Woolfson is a British physicist.Education: Jesus College, Oxford ; UMIST .-Career:* Research Assistant: UMIST, 1950-52; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 1952-54...
- UK (1927-) - Mark B. WiseMark B. WiseMark Brian Wise is a Canadian-American theoretical physicist. He has conducted research in elementary particle physics and cosmology...
— Canada, United States (1953–) - Edward WittenEdward WittenEdward Witten is an American theoretical physicist with a focus on mathematical physics who is currently a professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study....
— United States (1951–) - Emil WolfEmil WolfEmil Wolf is a Czech born American physicist who made advancements in physical optics, including diffraction, coherence properties of optical fields, spectroscopy of partially coherent radiation, and the theory of direct scattering and inverse scattering. He is also the author of several works on...
— Czechoslovakia, United States (1922–) - Fred Alan WolfFred Alan WolfFred Alan Wolf is an American theoretical physicist specializing in quantum physics and the relationship between physics and consciousness. He is a former physics professor at San Diego State University, and more recently has helped to popularize science on the Discovery Channel...
— United States (1934–) - Lincoln WolfensteinLincoln WolfensteinLincoln Wolfenstein is an American particle physicist who studies the weak interaction. Wolfenstein was born in 1923 and obtained his PhD in 1949 from the University of Chicago. He retired from Carnegie Mellon University in 2000 after being a faculty member for 52 years, but still lectures there...
— United States (1923–) - Stephen WolframStephen WolframStephen Wolfram is a British scientist and the chief designer of the Mathematica software application and the Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine.- Biography :...
— UK (1959–) - Robert W. WoodRobert W. WoodRobert Williams Wood was an American physicist and inventor. He is often cited as being a pivotal contributor to the field of optics and is best known for giving birth to the so-called "black-light effect"...
— United States (1868–1955) - Chien-Shiung WuChien-Shiung WuChien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American physicist with expertise in the techniques of experimental physics and radioactivity. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project...
— United States (1912–1997)
Y
- Rosalyn Yalow — United States (1921–2011)
- Chen Ning Yang — China (1922–)
- Thomas YoungThomas Young (scientist)Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...
— UK (1773–1829) - Francisco Jose Yndurain — Spain (1940–2008)
- Hideki YukawaHideki Yukawané , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
— Japan (1907–1981)
Z
- Jan ZaanenJan ZaanenJan Zaanen is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He is best known for his contributions to the understanding of the quantum physics of the electrons in strongly correlated material, and in particular High temperature superconductivity...
— Netherlands (1957–) - Valentin Zakharov — Russia, Germany
- Anthony ZeeAnthony ZeeAnthony Zee is a Chinese American physicist, writer, and currently a professor at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and the physics department of the University of California, Santa Barbara.Zee obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1970, supervised by Sidney Coleman...
— United States - Pieter ZeemanPieter ZeemanPieter Zeeman was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for his discovery of the Zeeman effect.-Childhood and youth:...
— Netherlands (1865–1943) - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovichYakov Borisovich Zel'dovichYakov Borisovich Zel'dovich was a prolific Soviet physicist born in Belarus. He played an important role in the development of Soviet nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, and made important contributions to the fields of adsorption and catalysis, shock waves, nuclear physics, particle physics,...
— Russia (1914–1987) - John ZelenyJohn ZelenyJohn Zeleny was a Czech-American physicist at the University of Minnesota, who in 1911 invented the Zeleny electroscope. He also studied the effect of an electric field on a liquid meniscus....
— United States (1872–1951) - Frits ZernikeFrits ZernikeFrits Zernike was a Dutch physicist and winner of the Nobel prize for physics in 1953 for his invention of the phase contrast microscope, an instrument that permits the study of internal cell structure without the need to stain and thus kill the cells....
— Netherlands (1888–1960) - Antonino ZichichiAntonino ZichichiAntonino Zichichi is an Italian physicist who has worked in the field of nuclear physics.-Biography:Zichichi was born in Trapani, Sicily, in 1929. He has collaborated to several important discoveries in the field of subnuclear physics and has worked in some of the most important research...
— Italy (1929–) - Karl ZimmerKarl ZimmerKarl Günter Zimmer was a German physicist and radiation biologist, known for his work on the effects of ionizing radiation on DNA. In 1935, he published the major work, Über die Natur der Genmutation und der Genstruktur, with N. V...
— Germany (1911–1988) - Dmitry ZubarevDmitry ZubarevDmitry Nikolaevich Zubarev was a Russian theoretical physicist known for his contributions to statistical mechanics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, plasma physics, theory of turbulence, and to the development of the double-time Green function's formalism....
— Russia (1917–1992) - Barton ZwiebachBarton ZwiebachBarton Zwiebach is a string theorist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, born in Lima, Perú. His undergraduate work was in Electrical Engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Peru, from which he graduated in 1977.His graduate work was in physics at the...
— United States (1954–)
See also
- List of theoretical physicists
- Genealogy of theoretical physicistsGenealogy of theoretical physicistsThe following is an academic genealogy of theoretical physicists and is constructed by following the pedigree of thesis advisors. If an advisor did not exist, or if the field of physics is unrelated, an academic genealogical link can be constructed by using the university from which the theoretical...
- Physics in medieval Islam
- List of plasma physicists
- List of mathematicians
- List of women scientists
External links
- Pictures of some physicists (mostly 20th century American) are collected in the Emilio Segre Visual Archives
- 20th century women in physics in the Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics archive