Hendrik casimir biography samples

Heeze, Netherlands, 4 May , physicist, quantum physics, statistical physics. Early Life. Already at a young age Casimir showed extraordinary abilities, both in the sciences and in languages. He combined these talents with an extraordinary memory, which allowed him to recite favorite texts throughout his life. Starting in , he studied physics at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

After finishing the first phase of his studies in record time, ending with the candidaatsexamen in , he began his specialization, theoretical physics, under Paul Ehrenfest.

Born in the Hague

At the initiative of Ehrenfest, Casimir spent much time with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the period from to The Copenhagen years were formative ones for young Casimir. He witnessed firsthand how the new and still rudimentary quantum mechanics was developed into a mature theory. Working with Bohr, he made the acquaintance of all the major physicists of the time.

From the stories and anecdotes related in the autobiography, a picture emerges of a close-knit group of young people having a wonderful time, not just doing physics but engaging in all sorts of social activities in Copenhagen as well. In November , Casimir obtained his doctorate with a dissertation on the rotation of rigid bodies in quantum mechanics.

It contains, among other things, the introduction of what became known as the Casimir operator in the theory of representations of groups. The reason for this request became obvious when Ehrenfest committed suicide on 25 September of that year, an act that he had been planning for quite some time. The Leiden Laboratory.

In the meantime, Casimir had developed an interest in experimental physics. He assisted his wife, an experimental physicist, with her work in the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory of the University of Leiden.