Hofstadter, Robert

Hofstadter, Robert

▪ American physicist

born Feb. 5, 1915, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died Nov. 17, 1990, Stanford, Calif.

      American scientist who was a joint recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1961 for his investigations of protons (proton) and neutrons (neutron), which revealed the hitherto unknown structure of these particles. He shared the prize with Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer (Mössbauer, Rudolf Ludwig) of Germany.

      Hofstadter was educated at Princeton University, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1938. As a physicist at the National Bureau of Standards during World War II, he was instrumental in developing the proximity fuse, which was used to detonate anti-aircraft and other artillery shells. He joined the faculty of Princeton in 1946, where his principal scientific work dealt with the study of infrared rays, photoconductivity, and crystal and scintillation counters.

      Hofstadter taught at Stanford University from 1950 to 1985. At Stanford he used a linear electron accelerator to measure and explore the constituents of atomic nuclei. At the time, protons, neutrons, and electrons were all thought to be structureless particles; Hofstadter discovered that protons and neutrons have a definite size and form. He was able to determine the precise size of the proton and neutron and provide the first reasonably consistent picture of the structure of the atomic nucleus. Hofstadter found that both the proton and neutron have a central, positively charged core surrounded by a double cloud of pi-mesons. Both clouds are positively charged in the proton, but in the neutron the inner cloud is negatively charged, thus giving a net zero charge for the entire particle.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Hofstadter , Robert — (1915–1990) American physicist A New Yorker by birth, Hofstadter graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1935 and gained his MA and PhD at Princeton University in 1938. From 1939 he held a fellowship at the University of… …   Scientists

  • Hofstadter, Robert — (1915–90)    US physicist and Nobel laureate, 1961. As professor of physics at Stanford University Hofstadter studied the effects of bombarding atomic nuclei with the high energy electrons produced by an accelerator. His work threw light on the… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Hofstadter,Robert — Hof·stadt·er (hŏfʹstătʹər), Robert. 1915 1990. American physicist. He shared a 1961 Nobel Prize for determining the structure of protons and neutrons. * * * …   Universalium

  • Hofstadter, Robert — (1915 90)    American physicist. He was professor of physics at Stanford University. He studied the effects of bombarding atomic nuclei with electrons. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1961 …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Hofstadter, Robert — ► (1915 90) Físico estadounidense. Fue premio Nobel de Física en 1961, compartido con R. Mössbauer, por sus estudios sobre los protones y neutrones existentes en el núcleo atómico …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hofstadter — Hofstadter, Robert …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Robert Hofstadter — (5 février 1915 à New York 17 novembre 1990) est un physicien américain. Il est un des deux lauréats du prix Nobel de physique de 1961 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Robert Hofstadter — Robert Hofstadter, 1961 Robert Hofstadter (* 5. Februar 1915 in New York City; † 17. November 1990 in Stanford/Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Physiker. Er erhielt den Nobelpreis für Physik 1961, zusammen mit R …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert Hofstadter — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Retrato de 1961. Robert Hofstadter (Nueva York, 5 de febrero de 1915 †Stanford, 17 de noviembre de 1990) fue un físico estadounidense. Compartió con Rudolph L. Mössbauer el Premio Nobel de Física de 1961 por «sus… …   Wikipedia Español

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