Christian Bordé (15 March 1943 - 30 August 2023) was a
French physicist. He has been a member of the
French Academy of Sciences since December 2008.
Biography
Emeritus research director at the
CNRS, he is known for his work in the field of ultra-high resolution
laser spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
. He invented and developed saturation spectroscopy, which he used to study many new and fundamental effects in molecular physics. His name is attached to the design of a whole class of atomic interferometers based on the recoil effect, which make it possible to produce
optical clocks, measure atomic masses and probe the properties of space-time. In particular, he demonstrated that these interferometers allowed very accurate measurement of the fields of inertia. The proximity of his work to the field of
metrology has led it to preside on several occasions, on behalf of the French Academy of Sciences, over the meetings of the
General Conference on Weights and Measures, the executive organ of the
Metre Convention
The Metre Convention (french: link=no, Convention du Mètre), also known as the Treaty of the Metre, is an international treaty that was signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by representatives of 17 nations (Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazi ...
.
He was one of the founding members of the
French Academy of Technologies The National Academy of Technologies of France (''Académie des technologies'') is a learned society, founded in 2000, with an emphasis on technology, and the newest of French academies. In 2007 it acquired the status of ''établissement public'', w ...
and Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
He was the grandson of engineer and aeronaut Paul-Alphonse-Barthélémy Bordé, inventor of a compass system for airships patented in 1911 and founder of the company of the same name.
See also
*
Ramsey interferometry Ramsey interferometry, also known as the separated oscillating fields method, is a form of particle interferometry that uses the phenomenon of magnetic resonance to measure transition frequencies of particles. It was developed in 1949 by Norman Rams ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordé, Christian
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
French physicists
1943 births
2023 deaths
Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research