Neel, Louis-Eugene-Felix

Neel, Louis-Eugene-Felix
▪ 2001

      French physicist (b. Nov. 22, 1904, Lyon, France—d. Nov. 17, 2000, Brive-la-Gaillarde, France), shared the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discoveries concerning new forms of magnetism. His findings led to applications ranging from the development of improved computer memory units to paleomagnetic techniques for establishing the age of fossils. In 1932 he discovered antiferromagnetism, a condition in some solids in which alternating groups of atoms align their electrons in opposite directions, thereby neutralizing the net magnetic effect. In his work on magnetic oxides (known as ferrites in the late 1940s), Néel found that the magnetic fields associated with individual atoms spontaneously align themselves either in the same direction, as in ferromagnetism, or are paired off in opposite directions, as in antiferromagnetism. Consequently, such ferromagnetic materials generally exhibit weaker strength than do the purely ferromagnetic solids, such as metallic iron. Ferrite crystals are essential ingredients in snooper paint, which allows stealth aircraft to be undetectable by radar. Néel served as a professor of science at the University of Strasbourg from 1937 to 1945 and at the University of Grenoble from 1945 to 1976; he was the founder and a former director of the Centre for Nuclear Studies in Grenoble.

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▪ French physicist
born November 22, 1904, Lyon, France
died November 17, 2000, Brive-Corrèze

      French physicist who was corecipient, with the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfvén (Alfvén, Hannes), of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his pioneering studies of the magnetic properties of solids. His contributions to solid-state physics have found numerous useful applications, particularly in the development of improved computer memory units.

      Néel attended the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and the University of Strasbourg (Ph.D., 1932), where he studied under Pierre-Ernest Weiss (Weiss, Pierre-Ernest) and first began researching magnetism. He was a professor at the universities of Strasbourg (1937–45) and Grenoble (1945–76), and in 1956 he founded the Center for Nuclear Studies in Grenoble, serving as its director until 1971. Néel also was director (1971–76) of the Polytechnic Institute in Grenoble.

      During the early 1930s Néel studied, on the molecular level, forms of magnetism that differ from ferromagnetism. In ferromagnetism, the most common variety of magnetism, the electrons line up (or spin) in the same direction at low temperatures. He discovered that, in some substances, alternating groups of atoms align their electrons in opposite directions (much as when two identical magnets are placed together with opposite poles aligned), thus neutralizing the net magnetic effect. This magnetic property is called antiferromagnetism. Néel's studies of fine-grain ferromagnetics provided an explanation for the unusual magnetic memory of certain mineral deposits that has provided information on changes in the direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field.

      Néel wrote more than 200 works on various aspects of magnetism. Mainly because of his contributions, ferromagnetic materials can be manufactured to almost any specifications for technical applications, and a flood of new synthetic ferrite materials has revolutionized microwave electronics.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Néel , Louis Eugène Félix — (1904–) French physicist Néel, who was born at Lyons in France, studied at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, later becoming professor of physics at the University of Strasbourg and subsequently at Grenoble. He became director of the Grenoble… …   Scientists

  • Louis Eugene Felix Neel — Louis Néel Pour les articles homonymes, voir Neel. Louis Eugène Félix Néel, né le 22 janvier 1904 à Lyon et mort le 17 novembre 2000 à Brive la Gaillarde, est un physicien français, prix Nobel de physique en 1970. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis Eugène Félix Néel — Louis Néel Pour les articles homonymes, voir Neel. Louis Eugène Félix Néel, né le 22 janvier 1904 à Lyon et mort le 17 novembre 2000 à Brive la Gaillarde, est un physicien français, prix Nobel de physique en 1970. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis Eugène Félix Néel — (Lyon, Francia 1904 íd. 2000) fue un físico y profesor universitario francés galardonado en 1970 con el Premio Nobel de Física. Biografía Nació el 22 de noviembre de 1904 en la ciudad francesa de Lyon. En 1924 ingresó en la Escuela Normal de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Louis Eugène Félix Néel — Infobox Scientist box width = name = Louis Eugène Félix Néel image size = caption = birth date = Birth date|1904|11|22 birth place = Lyon, France death date = Death date and age|2000|11|17|1904|11|22 death place = residence = citizenship =… …   Wikipedia

  • Louis Eugene Felix Neel — noun French physicist noted for research on magnetism (born in 1904) • Syn: ↑Neel • Instance Hypernyms: ↑physicist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Néel — Louis Eugène Félix …   Scientists

  • Louis Neel — Louis Eugène Felix Néel (* 22. November 1904 in Lyon; † 17. November 2000) war ein französischer Physiker. Néel erhielt 1970 den Physik Nobelpreis für seine grundlegenden Leistungen und Entdeckungen auf dem Gebiet des Antiferromagnetismus und des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Louis Néel — Louis Eugène Félix Néel Born 22 November 1904(1904 11 22) Lyon, France Died 17 November 2000(2000 11 17 …   Wikipedia

  • Louis Néel — Louis Eugène Felix Néel (* 22. November 1904 in Lyon; † 17. November 2000 in Brive la Gaillarde) war ein französischer Physiker. Néel erhielt 1970 den Physik Nobelpreis für seine grundlegenden Leistungen und Entdeckungen auf dem Gebiet des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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