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John Hasbrouck van Vleck

 

 
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John Hasbrouck van Vleck
 
 
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John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 physicist
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, co-awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Prize in literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine....
, for his contributions to the understanding of electron
Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has elementary particle and is believed to be a point particle....
s in magnetic solids.

in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut

Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the south-central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford, Connecticut....
 the son of mathematician Edward Burr Van Vleck
Edward Burr Van Vleck

Edward Burr Van Vleck was an United Statesn Mathematics, born in Middletown, Connecticut, Connecticut.He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1884, attended Johns Hopkins University in 1885-87, and studied at Georg-August University of G?ttingen ....
 and grandson of astronomer John Monroe Van Vleck
John Monroe Van Vleck

John Monroe Van Vleck was an United States mathematician and astronomer.He taught astronomy and mathematics at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut for more than 50 years , and served as acting university president twice....
, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, and went to Harvard
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
 for undergraduate and graduate studies. He joined the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public university research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States....
 as an assistant professor
Professor

The meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the Academic department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual....
 in 1923, then moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison before settling at Harvard.






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John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 physicist
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, co-awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Prize in literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine....
, for his contributions to the understanding of electron
Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has elementary particle and is believed to be a point particle....
s in magnetic solids.

Life and work

Born in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut

Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the south-central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford, Connecticut....
 the son of mathematician Edward Burr Van Vleck
Edward Burr Van Vleck

Edward Burr Van Vleck was an United Statesn Mathematics, born in Middletown, Connecticut, Connecticut.He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1884, attended Johns Hopkins University in 1885-87, and studied at Georg-August University of G?ttingen ....
 and grandson of astronomer John Monroe Van Vleck
John Monroe Van Vleck

John Monroe Van Vleck was an United States mathematician and astronomer.He taught astronomy and mathematics at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut for more than 50 years , and served as acting university president twice....
, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, and went to Harvard
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
 for undergraduate and graduate studies. He joined the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public university research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States....
 as an assistant professor
Professor

The meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the Academic department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual....
 in 1923, then moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison before settling at Harvard. Van Vleck developed fundamental theories of the quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
 of magnetism
Magnetism

In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert attractive or repulsive forces on other materials. Some well-known materials that exhibit easily detectable magnetic properties are nickel, iron, cobalt, and their alloys; however, all materials are influenced to greater or lesser degree by the presence of a magnetic fiel...
 and the bonding in metal complexes
Complex (chemistry)

In chemistry, a complex, also called a "coordination compound" or "metal complex", is a structure consisting of a central atom or molecule connected to surrounding atoms or molecules....
 (crystal field theory
Crystal field theory

Crystal field theory is a model that describes the electronic structure of transition metal compounds, all of which can be considered complex ....
).

Van Vleck participated in the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was the project to develop the first atomic weapon during World War II; involving the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada....
 by serving on the Los Alamos
Los Alamos, New Mexico

Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, New Mexico, United States. The population of the CDP was 11,909 at the United States Census, 2000....
 Review committee in 1943. The committee, established by General Leslie Groves, also consisted of W.K. Lewis of MIT, Chairman; E.L. Rose, of Jones & Lamson; E.B. Wilson of Harvard; and Richard C. Tolman, Vice Chairman of NDRC. The committee's important contribution (originating with Rose) was a reduction in the size of the firing gun for the Little Boy bomb. This concept eliminated additional design-weight and sped up production of the bomb for its eventual release over Hiroshima.

In the year 1961-62 he was George Eastman Visiting Professor at University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College
Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England.Balliol is Oxford's most popular college, measured in terms of the number of applications for entry from prospective students....
. He was awarded the Lorentz Medal
Lorentz Medal

Lorentz Medal is an award given every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was established in 1925 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Hendrik Lorentz....
 in 1974. For his contributions to the understanding of electron
Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has elementary particle and is believed to be a point particle....
s in magnetic solids, van Vleck was awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Prize in literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine....
, along with Philip W. Anderson
Philip Warren Anderson

Philip Warren Anderson is an United States physicist and Nobel laureate. Anderson has made contributions to the theories of Anderson localization, antiferromagnetism and high-temperature superconductivity....
 and Sir Nevill Mott. Van Vleck transformations are also named after him.

Japanese art collector

Van Vleck and his wife Abigail were also important art collectors, particularly in the medium of Japanese woodblock prints (principally ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e

, "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japanese woodblock printing and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre and pleasure quarters....
). He began collecting early, around 1909, but became a serious collector in the late 1920s, when he acquired approximately 4,000 prints that had been owned by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an United States architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 projects, which resulted in more than 500 completed works....
. His collection, one of the largest in the world outside the Library of Congress
Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books....
, features more than 2,000 prints by Utagawa Hiroshige as well as many prints by Hokusai
Hokusai

was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e Painting and printmaker of the Edo period. In his time, he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting. Born in Edo , Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock printing in Japan series 36 Views of Mount Fuji which includes the iconic and internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa...
, and fine examples of shin hanga
Shin hanga

The shin hanga art movement in early 20th century Japan, during the Taisho period and Showa periods, revitalized traditional ukiyo-e art which had its roots in the Edo period and Meiji periods ....
 (new prints) made well into the 20th century. His collection now resides at the Chazen Museum of Art
Chazen Museum of Art

The Chazen Museum of Art is an art gallery located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin. It was known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art until 2005....
 in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.

External links

  • Duncan, Anthony and Janssen, Michel. "On the verge of Undeutung in Minnesota: Van Vleck and the correspondence principle. Part one," Archive for History of Exact Sciences 2007, 61:6, pages 553-624.