Christian Bordé (15 March 1943 - 30 August 2023) was a
French physicist. He has been a member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
since December 2008.
Biography
Emeritus research director at the
CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
, 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 electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Spectrosc ...
. 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 clock
Optical clocks are the most precise instruments ever developed. The precision of a clock is the smallest unit of time it can measure. Optical clocks reach record-breaking precision by counting oscillations of visible light, which oscillates up to ...
s, 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
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...
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 General Conference on Weights and Measures (abbreviated CGPM from the ) is the supreme authority of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the intergovernmental organization established in 1875 under the terms of the Metre C ...
, the executive organ of the
Metre Convention
The Metre Convention (), 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, Brazil, Denmark, France, German Empire, Ge ...
.
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'', ...
and Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
.
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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordé, Christian
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
20th-century French physicists
1943 births
2023 deaths
Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research