Otto Stern (17 February 1888 – 17 August 1969) was a German
physicistA 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 in physicsThe 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...
.
Stern was born in
Sohrau, now ŻoryŻory is a town in southern Poland with 62,625 inhabitants .Since 1999 it has been part of Silesian Voivodeship; it was previously in Katowice Voivodeship .- History :...
in the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
's
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
(now in Poland) and studied at Breslau, now Wrocław in
Lower SilesiaLower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast. Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of medieval Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany. After 1945 the main part of the former...
.
Stern completed his studies at the University of Breslau in 1912 with a doctor's degree in physical chemistry. He then followed
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
to
Charles University in PragueCharles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1347, it was the first university in the Holy Roman Empire and in Central Europe in general...
and in later to
ETH ZurichETH Zurich or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is a science and technology university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland...
. Stern received his
HabilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and...
at the
University of FrankfurtUniversity of Frankfurt may refer to several German universities:*Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main in Frankfurt am Main...
in 1915 and in 1921, he became a professor at the
University of RostockThe University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area as well as the second oldest in northern Europe after the University of St...
, which he left in 1923 to work at the newly founded
Institut für Physikalische Chemie at the
University of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 1 April 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium...
.
After resigning from his post at the
University of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 1 April 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium...
in 1933 because of the
NazisNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
'
MachtergreifungMachtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in Weimar Germany on January 30 1933. This is the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany....
(seizure of power), he became professor of
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
at the
Carnegie Institute of TechnologyThe Carnegie Institute of Technology , one of the predecessors to Carnegie Mellon University, was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. His stated intention was to build a "first class technical school" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the children of local steel...
and later professor emeritus at the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
.
As an experimental physicist Stern contributed to the discovery of
spin quantizationIn particle physics and quantum mechanics, spin is a fundamental characteristic property of elementary particles including the force carriers , composite particles , and atomic nuclei....
in the Stern-Gerlach experiment with Walther Gerlach in 1922; demonstration of the wave nature of
atomThe atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s and
moleculeA molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense...
s; measurement of
atomThe atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
ic
magnetic momentThe magnetic moment of a system is a measure of the strength and the direction of its magnetism. More technically , the term magnetic moment of a system usually refers to its magnetic dipole moment, and quantifies the contribution...
s; discovery of the
protonThe proton is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of +1 elementary charge. It is found in the nucleus of each atom but is also stable by itself and has a second identity as the hydrogen ion, H
+...
's
magnetic momentThe magnetic moment of a system is a measure of the strength and the direction of its magnetism. More technically , the term magnetic moment of a system usually refers to its magnetic dipole moment, and quantifies the contribution...
; and development of the molecular ray method which is utilized for the technique of
molecular beam epitaxyMolecular beam epitaxy , is one of several methods of depositing single crystals. It was invented in the late 1960s at Bell Telephone Laboratories by J. R. Arthur and Alfred Y. Cho.-Method:...
.
He was awarded the 1943
Nobel Prize in PhysicsThe 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...
, the first to be awarded since 1939.
Otto Stern (17 February 1888 – 17 August 1969) was a German
physicistA 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 in physicsThe 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...
.
Biography
Stern was born in
Sohrau, now ŻoryŻory is a town in southern Poland with 62,625 inhabitants .Since 1999 it has been part of Silesian Voivodeship; it was previously in Katowice Voivodeship .- History :...
in the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
's
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
(now in Poland) and studied at Breslau, now Wrocław in
Lower SilesiaLower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast. Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of medieval Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany. After 1945 the main part of the former...
.
Stern completed his studies at the University of Breslau in 1912 with a doctor's degree in physical chemistry. He then followed
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
to
Charles University in PragueCharles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1347, it was the first university in the Holy Roman Empire and in Central Europe in general...
and in later to
ETH ZurichETH Zurich or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is a science and technology university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland...
. Stern received his
HabilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a person can achieve by their own pursuit in certain European and...
at the
University of FrankfurtUniversity of Frankfurt may refer to several German universities:*Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main in Frankfurt am Main...
in 1915 and in 1921, he became a professor at the
University of RostockThe University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area as well as the second oldest in northern Europe after the University of St...
, which he left in 1923 to work at the newly founded
Institut für Physikalische Chemie at the
University of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 1 April 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium...
.
After resigning from his post at the
University of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 1 April 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium...
in 1933 because of the
NazisNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
'
MachtergreifungMachtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in Weimar Germany on January 30 1933. This is the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany....
(seizure of power), he became professor of
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
at the
Carnegie Institute of TechnologyThe Carnegie Institute of Technology , one of the predecessors to Carnegie Mellon University, was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. His stated intention was to build a "first class technical school" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the children of local steel...
and later professor emeritus at the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
.
As an experimental physicist Stern contributed to the discovery of
spin quantizationIn particle physics and quantum mechanics, spin is a fundamental characteristic property of elementary particles including the force carriers , composite particles , and atomic nuclei....
in the Stern-Gerlach experiment with Walther Gerlach in 1922; demonstration of the wave nature of
atomThe atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s and
moleculeA molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense...
s; measurement of
atomThe atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
ic
magnetic momentThe magnetic moment of a system is a measure of the strength and the direction of its magnetism. More technically , the term magnetic moment of a system usually refers to its magnetic dipole moment, and quantifies the contribution...
s; discovery of the
protonThe proton is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of +1 elementary charge. It is found in the nucleus of each atom but is also stable by itself and has a second identity as the hydrogen ion, H
+...
's
magnetic momentThe magnetic moment of a system is a measure of the strength and the direction of its magnetism. More technically , the term magnetic moment of a system usually refers to its magnetic dipole moment, and quantifies the contribution...
; and development of the molecular ray method which is utilized for the technique of
molecular beam epitaxyMolecular beam epitaxy , is one of several methods of depositing single crystals. It was invented in the late 1960s at Bell Telephone Laboratories by J. R. Arthur and Alfred Y. Cho.-Method:...
.
He was awarded the 1943
Nobel Prize in PhysicsThe 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...
, the first to be awarded since 1939. He was the sole recipient in Physics that year, and the award citation omitted mention of the Stern-Gerlach experiment, as Gerlach had remained active in Nazi-led Germany.
External links