Hendrik Lorentz

Who is this?

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derived the Lorentz transformation of the special theory of relativity, as well as the Lorentz force, which describes the force acting on a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. He was also responsible for the Lorentz oscillator model, a classical model used to describe the anomalous dispersion observed in dielectric materials when the driving frequency of the electric field was near the resonant frequency of the material, resulting in abnormal refractive indices. Lorentz received many other honors and distinctions, including a term as Chairman of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, the forerunner of UNESCO, from 1925 until his death in 1928.

Career

1. 1853
   Born
2. 1902
   Won Nobel Prize in Physics
3. 1905
   Member of Royal Society
4. 1908
   Won Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order
5. 1908
   Won Rumford Medal
6. 1917
   Won Franklin Medal
7. 1918
   Won Copley Medal
8. 1928
   Passed away
9. Member of Academy of Sciences of the USSR
10. Member of Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
11. Notable work: Lorentz covariance
12. Notable work: Lorentz ether theory
13. Notable work: Lorentz factor
14. Notable work: Lorentz force
15. Notable work: Lorentz group

Trivia

• •Place of birth: Arnhem
• •Citizenship: Kingdom of the Netherlands
• •Known as: theoretical physicist, physicist, mathematician, botanist
• •Spouse: Aletta Lorentz-Kaiser