Felix Bloch Quotes
A collection of quotes by Felix Bloch.
Felix Bloch (1905-1983) was a Swiss-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear magnetism and is best known for his work on the spectroscopy of atomic nuclei. He was born on October 23, 1905, in Zürich, Switzerland, and grew up in a family of Jewish intellectuals.
Bloch obtained his education in physics from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zürich, where he received his Ph.D. in 1928 under the supervision of Peter Debye. His early research focused on the application of quantum mechanics to the study of solids and crystal structures. In collaboration with Arnold Nordsieck, he developed a theoretical framework to understand the behavior of electrons in crystals, known as the Bloch-Nordsieck model.
In 1933, due to mounting anti-Semitism in Europe, Bloch left Germany and immigrated to the United States. He joined the faculty at Stanford University, where he continued his research on nuclear physics. In 1946, Bloch and his graduate student Edward Mills Purcell independently discovered the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1952.
Throughout his career, Bloch's research contributed to advancements in nuclear physics and solid-state physics. His work on NMR provided valuable insights into the behavior of atomic nuclei, leading to applications in diverse fields such as chemistry, medicine, and materials science. Considered one of the pioneers of nuclear magnetic resonance, Felix Bloch's contributions have had lasting impact on the field of physics. He passed away on September 10, 1983, in Zürich, Switzerland.
