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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectFelix Bloch
Dates
October 23, 1905 – September 10, 1983
Authorized Form of Name
Bloch, Felix, 1905-
Additional Forms of Names
Bloch, Felix
Bloch, Felix, 1905-1983
Biography
Abstract
Felix Bloch made numerous scientific contributions to twentieth-century physics including Bloch wave functions, Bloch spin waves, Bloch walls, the Bethe-Bloch formula, and the Bloch-Nordsieck theory. His institutional affiliations include University of Leipzig, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and Stanford University.
Important Dates
October 23, 1905Birth, Zurich (Switzerland).
1928Obtained PhD in physics, University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), Leipzig (Germany).
1928 – 1929Assistant in Theoretical Physics to Wolfgang Pauli, ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule), Zurich (Switzerland).
1929 – 1930Lorentz Foundation Fellow, University of Utrecht (Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht).
1930 – 1931Assistant in Theoretical Physics, University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), Leipzig (Germany).
1931 – 1932Oersted Foundation Fellow, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Copenhagen (now Niels Bohr institutet).
1932 – 1933Privatdozent, University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig).
1933 – 1934Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, University of Rome (Università di Roma).
1934 – 1983Acting Associate Professor of Physics (1934-1936); Professor of Physics (1936-1962); Max H. Stein Professor of Physics (1962-1971); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1971-1983), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).
1939Naturalized as American citizen.
1943Physicist, Manhattan Project, Los Alamos Laboratory, Los Alamos (N.M.).
1943 – 1945Associate Group Leader, Theoretical Division, Harvard Radio Research Laboratory.
1948Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1952Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Edward Mills Purcell "for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewith".
1954 – 1955Director General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
1965President, American Physical Society.
1970Elected honorary member, Societe Francaise de Physique.
September 10, 1983Death, Zurich (Switzerland).
Occupation
Theoretical physicist.
Places
Birth
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Bloch, Lore Misch
Wife.
Advisors & Collaborators
Collaborated on an experiment which led to the first measurement of the magnetic moment of the neutron.
PhD advisor at University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), Uber die Quantenmechanik der Elektronen in Kristallgittern (on the quantum mechanics of electrons in crystal lattices).
Advised by Bloch at Stanford University, Direct Determination of the Magnetic Moment of the Proton in Units of the Nuclear Magneton.
Advisor at Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
Shared the 1952 Nobel Prize "for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewith."
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Co-wrote an article.
Colleagues
Both employed at Stanford University.
Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965
Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Barschall, H. H. (Henry Herman), 1915-1997
Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Fairbank, William Martin, 1917-1989
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Hahn, E. L. (Erwin Louis), 1921-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Hansen, W. W. (William Webster), 1909-1949
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Lamb, Willis E. (Willis Eugene), 1913-2008
Both employed at Stanford University.
McDaniel, Boyce D. (Boyce Dawkins), 1917-
Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.
Meyerhof, Walter E. (Walter Ernst), 1922-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999
Both employed at Stanford University.
Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Terman, Frederick Emmons, 1900-1982
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Additional
Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005
Casimir, H. B. G. (Hendrik Brugt Gerhard), 1909-2000
Cranberg, Lawrence, 1917-
Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966
Dirac, P. A. M. (Paul Adrien Maurice), 1902-1984
Gentner, Wolfgang, 1906-1980
Giulotto, Luigi, 1911-1986
Gorter, C. J. (Cornelis Jacobus), 1907-
Herring, William Conyers, 1914-
Hobbs, Marcus Edwin
Hoddeson, Lillian
Mattson, James
Moller, C. (Christian), 1904-1980
Nicodemus, David Bowman
Nordheim, Lothar, 1899-
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Peierls, Rudolf E. (Rudolf Ernst), 1907-1995
Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988
Roberts, John D., 1918-
Rozental, S. (Stefan)
Tamm, I. E. (Igor' Evgen'evich), 1895-1971
Torrey, Henry Cutler, 1911-
Waller, Ivar, 1898-1991
Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002
Weizsacker, Carl Friedrich, Freiherr von, 1912-2007
Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995
Wilson, Alan Herries
Woodyard, John R., 1904-1981
Institutions
Major Positions
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Departement Physik
Assistant in Theoretical Physics.
European Organization for Nuclear Research
Director General.
Harvard University. Radio Research Laboratory
Associate Group Leader, Theoretical Division.
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
Physicist, Manhattan Project.
Manhattan Project (U.S.)
Physicist, Los Alamos Laboratory.
Stanford University. Department of Physics
Acting Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Max H. Stein Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Universität Leipzig. Institut für Theoretische Physik
Obtained PhD in 1928; Assistant in Theoretical Physics; and Privatdozent.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
President.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Niels Bohr institutet
Oersted Foundation Fellow.
Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht
Lorentz Foundation Fellow.
Société française de physique
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Università di Roma
Rockefeller Foundation Fellow.
University of Michigan. Department of Physics
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Felix Bloch lecture on the Josephson Effect in a superconducting ring [videorecording], 1971.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Felix Bloch letters, 1954.
Archives
Duke University
Duke University, Durham, NC 27706, USA
Felix Bloch papers, 1931-1987.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Felix Bloch scientific correspondence with Niels Bohr, 1931-1955.
Archive
Niels Bohr Institute
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Los Alamos report 24: lecture series on nuclear physics, 1943-1944.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Memorial Session [sound recording] / 1963 April 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Nobel laureates on scientific research project : oral history, 1964.
Oral History Research Office
Columbia University
Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA
Notes on physics courses given at Los Alamos, 1943-1946.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Felix Bloch, 1964 May 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Felix Bloch, 1968 August 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Felix Bloch, 1981 December 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Reminiscences of Felix Bloch : oral history, 1964.
Oral History Research Office
Columbia University
Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA
Symposium at the 50th anniversary of quantum mechanics [sound recording] / 1976 April 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission lecture series on nuclear physics, 1943.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Subject
AIP Physics Today Division unpublished letters to the editors, 1972-1983.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Albert Kempton papers and correspondence, circa 1930-2000.
Library. Department of Manuscripts and University Archives
Cambridge University
West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Bruno Rossi papers, 1927-1985.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Christian Møller papers, 1928-1980.
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Conversation with Alan Herries Wilson [sound recording], 1974 November 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
David B. Nicodemus papers, 1945-1989 (1945-1960 bulk).
Libraries
Oregon State University
University Archives Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Excerpts from a Georgetown University Summer School course on the science and technology of superconductivity [videorecording] / recorded by Georgetown University ; 1971.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Faust, eine Historie, 1932.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Francis Bitter papers, 1925-1967.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
H. B. G. Casimir papers, 1929-2000.
Rijksarchief in Noord-Holland
Kleine Houtweg 18, Haarlem, Netherlands
Henry Cutler Torrey papers, 1935-1976.
Libraries. Special Collections and Archives
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA
I. I. Rabi papers, 1899-1989 (bulk 1945-1968).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Igor E. Tamm papers, 1921-1971.
In private hands. Contact Tamm family.
Moscow
Ivar Waller papers, circa 1912-1989.
Kungl. Svenska vetenskapsakademien
Centrum för Vetenskapshistoria
Stockholm, Sweden
J. Robert Oppenheimer papers, 1921-1980 (bulk 1947-1967).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Lawrence Cranberg papers, 1962-2000.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Leon Brillouin papers, 1877-1972.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Melba Phillips response to early 1930s Ph.D.s Survey, 1978.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr collection of manuscripts by other authors, 1910-1961.
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Oral history interview with Carl Friedrich Weizsacker, 1978 April 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Cornelis Jacobus Gorter, 1962 November 13.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Locke Webster, 1964 May 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Edward Mills Purcell, 1977 June 8 and 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Emilio Gino Segrè, 1967 February 13.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Erwin Louis Hahn, 1986 August 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1981 January 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Hans Bethe, 1981 April 29.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with John R. Woodyard, 1974 October 18 and 1975 December 17.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with John R. Woodyard: Cyclotron and Klystron development: oral history transcript, 1974 October 18 and 1975 December 17.
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA
Oral history interview with Lothar Wolfgang Nordheim, 1977 July 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Luigi Giulotto, 1982 December 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Luis Alvarez, 1967 February 14 and 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Nicolaas Bloembergen, 1983 June 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Norman Ramsey, 1960 July 19 to August 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Norris Edwin Bradbury, 1976 February 11.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Rudolf Ernst Peierls, 1977 May 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Rudolf Ernst Peierls, 1981 May 13 and July.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Stefan Rozental, 1971 August 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with William Conyers Herring, 1974 July 23, 29, and 31 October.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Wolfgang Gentner, 1971 November 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky, 1973 May 15 and 1974 March 6 and June 3.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Some personal actions and reactions, 1971.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Stanford University Department of Physics records, 1966-1985 (bulk 1971-1985).
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
William W. Hansen papers, 1925-1974.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Published Resources
Author
Molekulartheorie des mangetismus / von Felix Bloch.
Theorien des Aufbaues der Materie / von H. A. Kramers.
Subject
Felix Bloch - Biographical, Nobel Prize
Felix Bloch Physics Today obituary.
Felix Bloch: 1905-1983, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences