Hendrik Casimir

Hendrik Casimir
Hendrik "Henk" Brugt Gerhard Casimir (1909-2000)
Born	(1909-07-15)July 15, 1909 The Hague, Netherlands
Died	Heeze, Netherlands
Residence	Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Fields	Physics
Institutions	University of Leiden Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium
Alma mater	University of Leiden
Doctoral advisor	Paul Ehrenfest
Doctoral students	Hendrik Gerard van Bueren
Other notable students	Carolyne M. Van Vliet
Known for	Casimir effect Casimir invariant Casimir pressure
Notable awards	Wilhelm Exner Medal (1985). Matteucci Medal (1985)

Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir ForMemRS (July 15, 1909 – May 4, 2000) was a Dutch physicist best known for his research on the two-fluid model of superconductors (together with C. J. Gorter) in 1934 and the Casimir effect (together with D. Polder) in 1948.

Biography

He studied theoretical physics at the University of Leiden under Paul Ehrenfest, where he received his Ph.D. in 1931. His Ph.D. thesis dealt with the quantum mechanics of a rigid spinning body and the group theory of the rotations of molecules. During that time he also spent some time in Copenhagen with Niels Bohr. After receiving his Ph.D. he worked as an assistant to Wolfgang Pauli at ETH Zurich. In 1938, he became a physics professor at Leiden University. At that time, he was actively studying both heat conduction and electrical conduction, and contributed to the attainment of millikelvin temperatures.

In 1942, during World War II, Casimir moved to the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (Philips Physics Laboratory, NatLab) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He remained an active scientist and in 1945 wrote a well-known paper on Lars Onsager's principle of microscopic reversibility. He became a co-director of Philips NatLab in 1946 and a member of the board of directors of the company in 1956. He retired from Philips in 1972.

Although he spent much of his professional life in industry, Hendrik Casimir was one of the great Dutch theoretical physicists. Casimir made many contributions to science during his years in research from 1931 to 1950. These contributions include: pure mathematics, Lie groups (1931); hyperfine structure, calculation of nuclear quadrupole moments, (1935); low temperature physics, magnetism, thermodynamics of superconductors, paramagnetic relaxation (1935 - 1942); applications of Onsager's theory of irreversible phenomena (1942 - 1950). He helped found the European Physical Society and became its president from 1972 till 1975. In 1979 he was one of the key speakers at CERN's 25th anniversary celebrations. In 1946 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

While at Philips NatLab, in 1948 Casimir, collaborating with Dirk Polder, predicted the quantum mechanical attraction between conducting plates now known as the Casimir effect, which has important consequences in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), among others.

He was awarded six honorary doctor degrees by universities outside the Netherlands. He received numerous awards and prizes, among them the illustrious IRI Medal from the Industrial Research Institute in 1976. He was a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering.

See also

• Casimir effect
• Casimir invariant
• Casimir pressure
• Casimir element

Publications

• H. B. G. Casimir, Haphazard Reality: half a century of science (Harper & Row, New York, 1983); Casimir's autobiography in English. ISBN 0-06-015028-9
• H. B. G. Casimir, Het toeval van de werkelijkheid: Een halve eeuw natuurkunde (Meulenhof, Amsterdam, 1992); Casimir's autobiography in Dutch. ISBN 90-290-9709-4
• H. B. G. Casimir, and D. Polder, The Influence of Retardation on the London-van der Waals Forces, Physical Review, Vol. 73, Issue 4, pp. 360–372 (1948). [1]
• H. B. G. Casimir, On the attraction between two perfectly conducting plates, Proceedings of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 51, pp. 793–795 (1948). [2]

References and further reading

• For some relevant bibliographical details the reader may consult: Hendrik Casimir/Sources.

Obituaries

• D. Polder, Hendrik Burgt Gerhard Casimir, 15 juli 1909 — 4 mei 2000, Levensberichten en herdenkingen 2001, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, pp. 13–21 (in Dutch). ISBN 90-6984-314-5
• Steve K. Lamoreaux, Hendrik Burgt Gerhard Casimir, Biographical Memoirs, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 146, No. 3, September 2002, pp. 285–290. (PDF)

External links

• PhysicsWeb article on the Casimir Effect
• The Casimir Force
• C. J. Gorter, C. J. Gorter's life & science, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. [3]
• Oral History interview transcript with Hendrik Casimir 5 and 6 July 1963, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
• Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir at the Mathematics Genealogy Project