John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (; March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American

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

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. He was co-awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

in 1977, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, ...

solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

Early life and education

Van Vleck was born to mathematician Edward Burr Van Vleck and Hester L. Raymond in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, while his father was an assistant professor at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, and where his grandfather, astronomer John Monroe Van Vleck, was also a professor. He grew up in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, and received an A.B. degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1920, before earning his Ph.D. at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1922 under the supervision of Edwin C. Kemble.

Career and research

He joined the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

as an assistant

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in 1923, then moved to the University of Wisconsin before settling at Harvard. He also earned '' Honorary D. Sc.'', or ''D. Honoris Causa'', degree from

in 1936. including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1977 ''Quantum Mechanics The Key to Understanding Magnetism'' J. H. Van Vleck established the fundamentals of the quantum mechanical theory of

, crystal field theory and ligand field theory ( chemical bonding in metal complexes). He is regarded as the ''Father of Modern

Magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, ...

''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, J. H. Van Vleck worked on

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

at the MIT Radiation Lab. He was half time at the Radiation Lab and half time on the staff at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. He showed that at about 1.25-centimeter

wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

water molecules in the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

would lead to troublesome absorption and that at 0.5-centimeter

there would be a similar absorption by

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

molecules A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry ...

. This was to have important consequences not just for military (and civil) radar systems but later for the new science of radioastronomy. J. H. Van Vleck participated in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. In June

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, J. Robert Oppenheimer held a summer study for confirming the concept and feasibility of a

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Eight theoretical scientists, including J. H. Van Vleck, attended it. From July to September, the theoretical study group examined and developed the principles of atomic bomb design. J. H. Van Vleck's theoretical work led to the establishment of the Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Laboratory. He also served on the Los Alamos Review committee in 1943. The committee, established by General Leslie Groves, also consisted of W. K. Lewis of MIT, Chairman; E. L. Rose, of Jones & Lamson; E. B. Wilson of

; and Richard C. Tolman, Vice Chairman of NDRC. The committee's important contribution (originating with Rose) was a reduction in the size of the firing gun for the Little Boy atomic bomb, a concept that eliminated additional design weight and sped up production of the bomb for its eventual release over

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

. However, it was not employed for the Fat Man bomb at

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, which relied on implosion of a plutonium shell to reach critical mass. The philosopher and historian of science

Thomas Kuhn Thomas Samuel Kuhn (; July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American History and philosophy of science, historian and philosopher of science whose 1962 book ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' was influential in both academic and ...

completed a Ph.D. in physics under Van Vleck's supervision at Harvard. From 1951, Van Vleck was Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard. He concurrently held the first deanship of Harvard's Division of Engineering and Applied Physics until 1957. In 1961/62 he was George Eastman Visiting Professor at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Nobel Laureates
, University of Oxford. and held a professorship at Balliol College. In 1950 he became foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

in 1966 and the Lorentz Medal in 1974. For his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of

s in magnetic solids, Van Vleck was awarded the

1977, along with Philip W. Anderson and Sir Nevill Mott. Van Vleck transformations, Van Vleck paramagnetism and Van Vleck formula are named after him. Van Vleck died in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, aged 81. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Awards and honors

Van Vleck was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1934, the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1935, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1939. He was awarded the Irving Langmuir Award in 1965, the

in 1966 and elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1967. He was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1971, the Lorentz Medal in 1974 and the

in 1977.

Personal life

J. H. Van Vleck met Abigail Pearson, a student at University of Minnesota, during his professorship there, and married her on June 10, 1927. He and his wife Abigail were also important art collectors, particularly in the medium of Japanese woodblock prints (principally ''

Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

''), known as ''Van Vleck Collection''. It was inherited from his father Edward Burr Van Vleck. They donated the collection to the Chazen Museum of Art in

in 1980s.''E. B. Van Vleck Collection''
, Chazen Museum of Art

Publications

''The Absorption of Radiation by Multiply Periodic Orbits, and its Relation to the Correspondence Principle and the Rayleigh–Jeans Law. Part I. Some Extensions of the Correspondence Principle''
Physical Review, vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 330–346 (1924)
''The Absorption of Radiation by Multiply Periodic Orbits, and its Relation to the Correspondence Principle and the Rayleigh–Jeans Law. Part II. Calculation of Absorption by Multiply Periodic Orbits''
Physical Review, vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 347–365 (1924)
''The Statistical Interpretation of Various Formulations of Quantum Mechanics''
Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 207, Issue 4, pp. 475–494 (1929) *''Quantum Principles and Line Spectra'', (Bulletin of the National Research Council; v. 10, pt 4, no. 54, 1926) *''The Theory of Electric and Magnetic Susceptibilities'' (Oxford at Clarendon, 1932).

Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1977
The Correspondence Principle in the Statistical Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, vol. 14, pp. 178–188 (1928)

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1977 ''Quantum Mechanics The Key to Understanding Magnetism''
John Hasbrouck Van Vleck
13 March 1899-27 October 1980, Elected for Mem. R.S. 1967, by Brebis Bleaney, from Royal Society Publishing.
The Theory of Electric and Magnetic Susceptibilities

* Duncan, Anthony and Janssen, Michel. "On the verge of ''Undeutung'' in Minnesota: Van Vleck and the correspondence principle. Part one," ''Archive for History of Exact Sciences'' 2007, 61:6, pages 553–624

Chazen Museum of Art

Oral histories

Oral history interview with John H. Van Vleck on 2 October 1963, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics
- Session I
Oral history interview with John H. Van Vleck on 4 October 1963, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics
- Session II
Oral history interview with John H. Van Vleck on 28 February 1966, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics
- Session I
Oral history interview with John H. Van Vleck on 19 January 1973, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics
- Session II
Oral history interview with John H. Van Vleck on 28 January 1977, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics

Archival collections

J. H. Van Vleck papers, 1853-1981 (1920-1980), Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Vleck, John Hasbrouck 1899 births 1980 deaths People from Middletown, Connecticut Harvard University alumni University of Minnesota faculty Scientists from Madison, Wisconsin American Nobel laureates 20th-century American physicists American people of Dutch descent Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences National Medal of Science laureates Nobel laureates in Physics Lorentz Medal winners Foreign members of the Royal Society Fellows of the American Physical Society University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Harvard University faculty Wesleyan University people Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy 20th-century American mathematicians Manhattan Project people Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Presidents of the American Physical Society Members of the American Philosophical Society Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin) Physicists from Connecticut