Werner Döring was a German theoretical physicist. From 1963 until his retirement in 1977, he was ordinary professor at the University of Hamburg. His main interest was the theory of magnetism

Magnetism

Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...

. His textbooks on theoretical physics have influenced several generations of students.

He is remembered today for the Becker

Richard Becker

Richard Becker was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, superconductivity, and quantum electrodynamics.-Education:...

–Döring theory of nucleation

Nucleation

Nucleation is the extremely localized budding of a distinct thermodynamic phase. Some examples of phases that may form by way of nucleation in liquids are gaseous bubbles, crystals or glassy regions. Creation of liquid droplets in saturated vapor is also characterized by nucleation...

 of liquid droplets in solids (in condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...

), and for the Zel'dovich–von Neumann–Döring detonation model

ZND detonation model

The ZND detonation model is a one-dimensional model for the process of detonation of an explosive. It was proposed during World War II independently by Y. B. Zel'dovich, John von Neumann, and Werner Döring, hence the name....

 (in explosives engineering

Explosives engineering

Explosives engineering is the field of science and engineering which is related to examining the behavior and usage of explosive materials.- Topics :Some of the topics that explosives engineers study, research, and work on include:...

).

Selected publications

• R. Becker, W. Döring, Kínetische Behandlung der Keimbildung in übersättigten Dämpfen, Annalen der Physik 24, 719 (1935)
• R. Becker, W. Döring, Ferromagnetismus, Berlin, Springer 1939
• W. Döring, Einführung in die Theoretische Physik (Sammlung Göschen; fünf Bände: Mechanik, Elektrodynamik, Optik, Thermodynamik, Statistische Mechanik), Berlin, 1957
• W. Döring, Einführung in die Quantenmechanik, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1962
• W. Döring, Mikromagnetismus, in: Handbuch der Physik, S. Flügge Ed., Bd. XVIII/2, 1966
• W. Döring, Point Singularities in Micromagnetism, J. Appl. Phys. 39, 1006 (1968)
• W. Döring, Atomphysik und Quantenmechanik (Band 1: Grundlagen - Berlin: De Gruyter, 2. verbesserte Auflage 1981, ISBN 3-11-008199-7; Band 2: Die allgemeinen Gesetze, ditto, 1976, ISBN 3-11-004590-7; Band 3: Anwendungen, ditto, 1979, ISBN 3-11-007090-1)