Karl Alexander Müller
Encyclopedia
Karl 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
.
, Switzerland, on 20 April 1927. His family immediately moved to Salzburg
, Austria
, where his father was studying music.
He and his mother then moved to Dornach
, near Basel
, to the home of his grandparents. Then they moved to Lugano
, in the Italian
-speaking part of Switzerland
, where he learned to speak Italian fluently. His mother died when he was 11.
In the spring of 1956 he married Ingeborg Marie Louise Winkler. They had a son, Eric, in the summer of 1957, and a daughter, Silvia, in 1959.
, in the eastern part of Switzerland. Here he studied for seven years from 1938 to 1945, obtaining his baccalaureate (Mature). Thus he was a student in a neutral country
during World War II
. He attended classes which studied the world situation, and participated in discussion groups. This had a profound effect on his career, and life.
Müller then enrolled in the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
(ETH) in Zürich
, where he seriously considered studying electrical engineering. He took courses from Wolfgang Pauli
, who made a deep impression on him. After receiving his diploma
, he worked for one year, then returned to his studies, submitting his thesis at the end of 1957.
in Geneva
, soon becoming the manager of a magnetic resonance group. During this time he became a Lecturer
at the University of Zürich
, which led to his accepting a position at the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory
, in Rüschlikon
, in 1963, where he remained until his retirement. In 1982 he became an IBM Fellow
. From 1972 to 1985 Müller was manager of the Physics Groups. He is the Honorary Doctor of Technical University of Munich
and University of Geneva
. In 1987 (before the winning of Nobel Prize) he got the honorary degree
(laurea honoris causa) in Physics by the University of Pavia
.
in gray tin
, a semimetal.
Between his undergraduate degree
and beginning his graduate studies
, he worked for one year in the Department of Industrial Research at the ETH
on the Eidophor
large-scale display system.
At IBM
his research for almost 15 years centered on SrTiO3 (strontium titanate
) and related perovskite
compounds. He studied their photochromic properties when doped with various transition-metal
ion
s; their chemical binding
, ferroelectric
and soft-mode properties; and the critical and multicritical phenomena of their structural phase transition
s.
(Tc) attainable at that time was about 23 K
. In 1983 Müller recruited J. Georg Bednorz to IBM
, to help systematically test various oxides. A few recent studies had indicated these materials might superconduct. In 1986 the two succeeded in achieving superconductivity in lanthanum barium copper oxide
(LBCO) at a temperature of 35 K
. Over the previous 75 years the critical temperature had risen from 11 K in 1911 to 23 K
in 1973 where it had remained for 13 years. Thus 35 K was incredibly high by the prevailing standards of superconductivity research. This discovery stimulated a great deal of additional research in high-temperature superconductivity
, leading to the discovery of compounds such as BSCCO (Tc = 107 K) and YBCO (Tc = 92 K).
They reported their discovery in the April 1986 issue of ‘’Zeitschrift für Physik’’. Before the end of the year, Shoji Tanaka at the University of Tokyo
and then Paul Chu at the University of Houston
had each independently confirmed their result. A couple of months later Chu achieved superconductivity at 93 K.
In 1987 Müller and Bednorz were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize
in physics—the shortest time between the discovery and the prize award for any Nobel.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
physicist
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...
and Nobel laureate. He received the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in Physics in 1987 with Johannes Georg Bednorz
Johannes Georg Bednorz
Johannes 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:...
for their work in superconductivity in ceramic materials
High-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductors are materials that have a superconducting transition temperature above . From 1960 to 1980, 30 K was thought to be the highest theoretically possible Tc...
.
Biography
Karl Müller was born in BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland, on 20 April 1927. His family immediately moved to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where his father was studying music.
He and his mother then moved to Dornach
Dornach
Dornach is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-History:Dornach is first mentioned in 1223 as de Tornacho. In 1307 it was mentioned as zu Dornach...
, near Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, to the home of his grandparents. Then they moved to Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, in the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
-speaking part of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he learned to speak Italian fluently. His mother died when he was 11.
In the spring of 1956 he married Ingeborg Marie Louise Winkler. They had a son, Eric, in the summer of 1957, and a daughter, Silvia, in 1959.
Education
After his mother’s death, Müller was sent to school at the Evangelical College in SchiersSchiers
-Heritage sites of national significance:The Salginatobel Bridge is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.The Salginatobel Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge designed by renowned Swiss civil engineer Robert Maillart. It was constructed across an alpine valley in Schiers...
, in the eastern part of Switzerland. Here he studied for seven years from 1938 to 1945, obtaining his baccalaureate (Mature). Thus he was a student in a neutral country
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He attended classes which studied the world situation, and participated in discussion groups. This had a profound effect on his career, and life.
Müller then enrolled in the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
(ETH) in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, where he seriously considered studying electrical engineering. He took courses from Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Ernst Pauli was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after being nominated by Albert Einstein, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature, the exclusion principle or...
, who made a deep impression on him. After receiving his diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
, he worked for one year, then returned to his studies, submitting his thesis at the end of 1957.
Career
Müller joined the Battelle Memorial InstituteBattelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, soon becoming the manager of a magnetic resonance group. During this time he became a Lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
at the University of Zürich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
, which led to his accepting a position at the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory
IBM Research
IBM Research, a division of IBM, is a research and advanced development organization and currently consists of eight locations throughout the world and hundreds of projects....
, in Rüschlikon
Rüschlikon
Rüschlikon is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located on the west shore of Lake Zurich.- Coat of arms :Its coat of arms features a white shield with a seerose, a red flower with a yellow center....
, in 1963, where he remained until his retirement. In 1982 he became an IBM Fellow
IBM Fellow
An IBM Fellow is an appointed position at IBM made by IBM’s CEO. Typically only 4 to 9 IBM Fellows are appointed each year, at the annual Corporate Technical Recognition Event in May or June. It is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve.The IBM Fellows program...
. From 1972 to 1985 Müller was manager of the Physics Groups. He is the Honorary Doctor of Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
and University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
. In 1987 (before the winning of Nobel Prize) he got the honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
(laurea honoris causa) in Physics by the University of Pavia
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. It was founded in 1361 and is organized in 9 Faculties.-History:...
.
Research
For his undergraduate diploma work, Müller studied under Prof. G. Busch. He worked on the Hall EffectHall effect
The Hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across an electrical conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and a magnetic field perpendicular to the current...
in gray tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, a semimetal.
Between his undergraduate degree
Undergraduate degree
An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree taken by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. It is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a university...
and beginning his graduate studies
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
, he worked for one year in the Department of Industrial Research at the ETH
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
on the Eidophor
Eidophor
An Eidophor was a television projector used to create theater-sized images. The name Eidophor is derived from the Greek word-roots ‘eido’ and ‘phor’ meaning 'image' and 'bearer'...
large-scale display system.
At IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
his research for almost 15 years centered on SrTiO3 (strontium titanate
Strontium titanate
Strontium titanate is an oxide of strontium and titanium with the chemical formula SrTiO3. At room temperature, it is a centrosymmetric paraelectric material with a perovskite structure...
) and related perovskite
Perovskite
A perovskite structure is any material with the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium oxide , known as the perovskite structure, or XIIA2+VIB4+X2−3 with the oxygen in the face centers. Perovskites take their name from this compound, which was first discovered in the Ural mountains of...
compounds. He studied their photochromic properties when doped with various transition-metal
Transition metal
The term transition metal has two possible meanings:*The IUPAC definition states that a transition metal is "an element whose atom has an incomplete d sub-shell, or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell." Group 12 elements are not transition metals in this definition.*Some...
ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
s; their chemical binding
Chemical bond
A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction...
, ferroelectric
Ferroelectricity
Ferroelectricity is a property of certain materials which possess a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by the application of an external electric field. The term is used in analogy to ferromagnetism, in which a material exhibits a permanent magnetic moment. Ferromagnetism was...
and soft-mode properties; and the critical and multicritical phenomena of their structural phase transition
Phase transition
A phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
s.
Nobel Prize winning work
In the early 1980s, Müller began searching for substances that would become superconductive at higher temperatures. The highest critical temperatureSuperconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
(Tc) attainable at that time was about 23 K
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
. In 1983 Müller recruited J. Georg Bednorz to IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, to help systematically test various oxides. A few recent studies had indicated these materials might superconduct. In 1986 the two succeeded in achieving superconductivity in lanthanum barium copper oxide
Lanthanum barium copper oxide
Lanthanum barium copper oxide, or LBCO, was discovered in 1986 and was the first high temperature superconductor. Johannes Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in physics for its discovery....
(LBCO) at a temperature of 35 K
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
. Over the previous 75 years the critical temperature had risen from 11 K in 1911 to 23 K
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
in 1973 where it had remained for 13 years. Thus 35 K was incredibly high by the prevailing standards of superconductivity research. This discovery stimulated a great deal of additional research in high-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductors are materials that have a superconducting transition temperature above . From 1960 to 1980, 30 K was thought to be the highest theoretically possible Tc...
, leading to the discovery of compounds such as BSCCO (Tc = 107 K) and YBCO (Tc = 92 K).
They reported their discovery in the April 1986 issue of ‘’Zeitschrift für Physik’’. Before the end of the year, Shoji Tanaka at the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
and then Paul Chu at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
had each independently confirmed their result. A couple of months later Chu achieved superconductivity at 93 K.
In 1987 Müller and Bednorz were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in physics—the shortest time between the discovery and the prize award for any Nobel.