John Bardeen ( Madison , 23 as maypole as 1908 – Boston , 30 as January as 1991 ). American physicist. Awarded twice with the Nobel Prize in Physics , in 1956 and 1972 , his is an exceptional case in the world of modern science. He shared his first prize with William B. Shockley and Walter H. Brattain , for the invention of the transistor, and the second, with Leon N. Cooper and John R. Schrieffer , for the development of the BCS theory of superconductivity.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Studies conducted
- 2 Scientific work
- 3 Scientific investigations
- 4 Teacher
- 5 Death
- 2 Awards and recognitions
- 3 Sources
Biographical synthesis
Son of a doctor and professor of anatomy , John Bardeen graduated in Letters in 1928, but his great vocation was in other subjects, in mathematics , physics and engineering, so he graduated around the same time in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin ( Madison ) and obtained a doctorate in mathematical physics from Princeton University .
Applied studies
Bardeen went with Professor Leo J. Peters to Pennsylvania for three years to work on the development of applicable methods in the interpretation of magnetic measurements. Later in Princeton , in 1933, he became even more interested in physics, obtaining a graduate from the university of that city, and working with Professor Wigner, who introduced him to physics related to the solid state.
He married Jane Maxwell in 1938. The couple had three children, James Maxwell, William Allen and Elizabeth Ann.
He became interested in mathematics at a very young age, and began his studies in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin , Madison in 1923, finishing his studies in 1928. Influenced by his mentor John Hasbrouck Van Vleck he was also influenced by Paul Dirac , Werner Heisenberg and Arnold Sommerfeld . He expanded his studies in physics and mathematics at Princeton University, graduating in 1936.
In 1938 he began his university teaching task as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota . After participating in World War II as head of the naval artillery laboratory, in 1943 he was invited to participate in the Manhattan Project but declined the invitation.
Scientific work
During the Second World War (1939-1945) he developed his scientific work first in the naval ordinance laboratory that was in Washington .
After the conflict ended, in 1945, he joined the research group in the laboratory called Bell Telephone , where he was especially interested in electrical conduction and in the properties of semiconductors. The intense studies that he carried out during these years, of great dedication and commitment, contributed decisively to important advances in the field of electronics, which later facilitated the improvement of the transistor, which with his new advances succeeded in replacing the valves. called thermionics and open a wide range of new perspectives in the field of microelectronics and computing .
In 1956 the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize, an award that is given for an entire career dedicated to an activity, and which in this case did justice to his work in the study of semiconductors and the discovery of the possibilities it afforded. the transistor. The award was joint since Walter Houser Brattain and William Shockley also achieved this distinction in the same year, which did not detract from this fact.
A year after the Nobel Prize, he published his BCS theories of superconductivity, together with his colleagues Cooper and Schrieffer, with spectacular success. Those initials (BCS) belong to the names of the three protagonists who promoted these theories (Bardeen, Cooper, Schrieffer) that very shortly afterwards resulted in the award of a new Nobel Prize. It was in 1972, once again shared with his two professional colleagues, and it had an extra value since it was the first time that the same person achieved that award in the same discipline.
Scientific investigations
Along with William Shockley and Walter Houser Brattain he developed the transistor , for which he received in 1956 the Nobel Prize in Physics .
In 1945 he began to work at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey conducting scientific research around semiconductors .
William Shockley and Walter Houser Brattain had attempted to build a new type of amplifier other than thermionic tubes, based on Shockley’s research on semiconductors. They tried copper oxide without success.
Bardeen Brattain managed to build together with the device with germanium the 4 of July of 1951 , completing the development of the transistor.
Despite this, Shockley postulated that the credit should be solely his since his was the original idea. Bardeen became very angry and yelled at him, “Hell, Shockley, there’s enough glory in this for everyone!”
Finally, in 1956 the three American physicists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their search in semiconductors and for the discovery of the transistor effect.
The first application of these devices was made in hearing aids .
In 1951 Bardeen entered the University of Illinois , appointing physicist Nick Holonyak as his personal assistant, who would later design the first LED diode in 1962 .
He worked with Leon N. Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer to create the standard theory of superconductivity, which would later be called the BCS Theory. For this work the three physicists were awarded in 1972 the Nobel Prize in Physics .
Bardeen thus became the first physicist, and thus far the only one, to win this Nobel Prize twice.1
Together with Leon N. Cooper and John R. Schrieffer he received his second Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972 , for the development of the BCS theory of superconductivity.
Bradeen was a most pragmatic researcher, always seeking to contrast all his experiments and statements, in addition to consulting them with his colleagues. All his studies were deeply thought out and Bardeen thought deeply before spreading his ideas. He had a very remarkable imagination and prepared all his studies in detail, as well as his university classes
Professor
In 1935 he moved to Harvard , where he was offered a position as a “junior fellow”, and where he delved into topics such as varieties in electrical connections or conductions that occur in metals. Little by little a gap was being made in positions of responsibility.
Years later he got sufficient preparation to teach physics classes as an associate at the University of Minnesota
From 1951 to 1975 he served as a professor at the University of Illinois . During this period, he developed, in collaboration with Cooper and Schrieffer , the theoretical work on which all subsequent investigations in the field of superconductivity were founded, called BCS theory after the initials of the surnames of its creators.
In 1975 he stopped teaching at the University of Illinois , although he did not leave there definitively since he remained as emeritus until the very moment he died in 1991. In the same way, he served as a consultant in some companies such as Xerox, General Electric, etc. . Also for three years he was part of the Scientific Committee of Advisors in the United States, and another of the important positions in which he was was in the Council of Science of the White House, very close to the president.
The Sony Corporation of Japan remembered Bardeen shortly before his death and established at the University of Illinois , where he had previously taught new generations, the John Bardeen Chair in Physics and Electrical Engineering in homage to the American scientist.
Death
He died of a heart failure on June 30 , 1991 in Boston at the age of 83. He left behind a career full of successes, with many international recognitions and impeccable research work that left an important and useful mark for new generations.
Bardeen will be remembered for his Nobel prizes in the world of modern science, the first to achieve it twice, and for his intensive studies of the different electrical properties of semiconductors, which ultimately led to the discovery of the transistor, an invention. which opened wide new perspectives in matters related to microelectronics and computing.
Awards and honours
- Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 and 1972.
- Fritz London Prize in 1962.
- The National Medal of Sciences.
- The Vincent Bendiz in 1962.
