Pieter Zeeman: From Village Boy to Nobel Laureate in Physics - Hardcover

by A. J. Kox (Author), H. F. Schatz (Author)

Dutch physicist and master experimenter Pieter Zeeman (1865 - 1943) was a key figure in 20th Century physics. Together with Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1902 for his discovery of the effect named after him which describes the influence of magnetism on light. His discovery marked the beginning of a very successful career in which he was awarded many honors and prizes.

This first-time biography of Pieter Zeeman describes his life and work, offering new and enlightening details about his personal life and that of his family. Drawing on a wealth of newly discovered material, the authors A. J. Kox and H. F. Schatz present a full picture of who Pieter Zeeman was. The biography also provides an overview of the societal context in which he lived and worked, as well as an historical perspective and a more general picture of life in the Netherlands in Zeeman's time.

Author Biography

A. J. Kox, Independent scholar, , H. F. Schatz, Independent scholar,

Professor A. J. Kox was Pieter Zeeman Professor of the History of Physics at the University of Amsterdam. He trained as a theoretical physicist and obtained a doctorate from the University of Amsterdam. After ten years of research in theoretical physics, he switched his focus to the history of science with an interest in the history of modern physics in the Netherlands. For forty years, he was one of the editors of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. A.J. Kox has also edited the scientific correspondence of Zeeman's fellow Nobel laureate Lorentz. With H.F. Schatz, he has co-authored a biography of Lorentz.

Dr H. F. Schatz holds a doctorate in linguistics from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. She has been active as a writer, interpreter, translator, and editor since the early 1960s. After around ten years of research in sociolinguistics, she changed her focus to international management consulting, particularly on judicial reform and anti-corruption measures in Eastern Europe. She has translated the Dutch letters in A.J. Kox's edition of the scientific correspondence of Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and has co-authored the Lorentz biography.