Nicolaas Bloembergen

Nicolaas Bloembergen (1920–2017) was a Dutch-American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy.

Laser spectroscopy: The study of matter using laser light to resolve its structure, dynamics, or composition. Bloembergen shared the 1981 Nobel Prize for contributions to its development.
Arthur Schawlow: An American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for work on laser spectroscopy. He shared the Nobel recognition with Bloembergen for contributions to laser spectroscopy.
Nuclear magnetic resonance: A phenomenon in which atomic nuclei absorb and emit radio-frequency energy in a magnetic field. Bloembergen's doctoral research established theoretical foundations for this method.
Laser: A device that generates coherent light through stimulated emission. The laser supplied the intense, controlled radiation that made his spectroscopy research possible.
Nonlinear optics: The study of how materials respond to intense light in ways not proportional to the light field. His theoretical work helped establish the field and explain laser-driven optical effects.
Kai Siegbahn: A Swedish physicist awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to electron spectroscopy. The Nobel committee honored Siegbahn alongside Bloembergen and Schawlow.
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: A technique that uses nuclear magnetic resonance to determine molecular structure and dynamics. His early research addressed how nuclear spins exchange energy with their surroundings.
Raman spectroscopy: A spectroscopic method that identifies molecular vibrations through inelastic scattering of light. Laser-based Raman methods build on optical interactions central to Bloembergen's research.
Optical parametric amplification: A nonlinear process that amplifies light by transferring energy from a pump wave to a signal wave. Bloembergen helped develop the theory of parametric processes in nonlinear materials.
Edward Purcell: An American physicist whose work with nuclear magnetic resonance earned the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics. Bloembergen completed his doctoral research under Purcell at Harvard.

Linked from 3 pages

Arthur Leonard SchawlowRelated: Bloembergen shared Schawlow’s Nobel Prize for independent contributions to laser spectroscopy.