Alfred Kastler (; 3 May 1902 – 7 January 1984) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, and Nobel Prize laureate.

Biography

Kastler was born in Guebwiller (

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

) and later attended the Lycée Bartholdi in

Colmar, Alsace Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

, and

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in Paris in 1921. After his studies, in 1926 he began teaching

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

at the Lycée of

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, and then taught at the University of Bordeaux, where he was a university professor until 1941. Georges Bruhat asked him to come back to the École Normale Supérieure, where he finally obtained a chair in 1952. Collaborating with

Jean Brossel Jean Brossel (15 August 1918 – 4 February 2003) was a French physicist known for his work on quantum optics. He was born and died in Périgueux. Brossel passed the entrance exam for l' École normale supérieure (ENS) 1938, but then was for t ...

, he researched

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

, the interaction between

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

and

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...

s, and spectroscopy. Kastler, working on combination of optical resonance and

magnetic resonance Magnetic resonance is a process by which a physical excitation (resonance) is set up via magnetism. This process was used to develop magnetic resonance imaging and Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy technology. It is also being used to d ...

, developed the technique of "

optical pumping Optical pumping is a process in which light is used to raise (or "pump") electrons from a lower energy level in an atom or molecule to a higher one. It is commonly used in laser construction to pump the active laser medium so as to achieve pop ...

". Those works led to the completion of the theory of

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...

s and

maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, James ...

s. He won the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

in 1966 "for the discovery and development of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms". He was president of the board of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée and served as the first chairman of the

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

(NGO)

Action Against Hunger Action Against Hunger (french: Action Contre La Faim - ACF) is a global humanitarian organization which originated in France and is committed to ending world hunger. The organization helps malnourished children and provides communities with acc ...

. Kastler also wrote poetry (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

). In 1971 he published ''Europe, ma patrie: Deutsche Lieder eines französischen Europäers'' (i.e. ''Europe, my fatherland: German songs of a French European''). In 1976, Kastler was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. In 1978 he became foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1979, Kastler was awarded the Wilhelm Exner Medal.

Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel

Professor Kastler spent most of his research career at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris where he started after the war with his student,

a small research group on spectroscopy. Over the forty years that followed, this group has trained many of young physicists and had a significant impact on the development of the science of atomic physics in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Laboratoire de Spectroscopie hertzienne has then been renamed Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel in 1994 and has got a part of its laboratory in

Université Pierre et Marie Curie Pierre and Marie Curie University (french: link=no, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, UPMC), also known as Paris 6, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the ...

mainly at the

. Professor Kastler died on 7 January 1984, in Bandol, France.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1966 ''Optical Methods for Studying Hertzian Resonances''
Alfred Kastler biography
at Timeline of Nobel Winners * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kastler, Alfred 1902 births 1984 deaths People from Guebwiller French people of German descent École Normale Supérieure alumni École Normale Supérieure faculty French physicists German-language poets Nobel laureates in Physics French Nobel laureates Spectroscopists 20th-century poets Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the Société Française de Physique

Biography

Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel

See also

Notes

References

External links