Pieter Zeeman

Pieter Zeeman (Dutch: [ˈzeːmɑn]; 25 May 1865 – 9 October

1943) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Pieter Zeeman
Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for his discovery of the Zeeman
effect.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Contents
Childhood and youth
Education and early career
Professor in Amsterdam
Later years
Awards and honors
See also
References
External links Born 25 May 1865
Zonnemaire,
Netherlands
Childhood and youth
Died 9 October 1943
Pieter Zeeman was born in Zonnemaire, a small town on the (aged 78)
island of Schouwen-Duiveland, Netherlands, the son of Rev Amsterdam,
Catharinus Forandinus Zeeman, a minister of the Dutch Netherlands
Reformed Church, and his wife, Willemina Worst. Nationality Netherlands

Pieter became interested in physics at an early age. In 1883, the Alma mater University of Leiden
aurora borealis happened to be visible in the Netherlands. Known for Zeeman effect
Zeeman, then a student at the high school in Zierikzee, made a
Spouse(s) Johanna Elisabeth
drawing and description of the phenomenon and submitted it to Lebret
Nature, where it was published. The editor praised "the careful (m. 1895⁠–⁠1943)​
observations of Professor Zeeman from his observatory in
Zonnemaire". Awards Nobel Prize for
Physics (1902)
After finishing high school in 1883, Zeeman went to Delft for Matteucci Medal
supplementary education in classical languages, then a
(1912)
requirement for admission to University. He stayed at the home
of Dr J.W. Lely, co-principal of the gymnasium and brother of Henry Draper Medal
Cornelis Lely, who was responsible for the concept and realization (1921)
of the Zuiderzee Works. While in Delft, he first met Heike ForMemRS (1921)[1]
Kamerlingh Onnes, who was to become his thesis adviser.
Education and early career
Portrait of Pieter Zeeman by Jan
Veth, 1925.
Rumford Medal
(1922)
After Zeeman passed the Franklin Medal (1925)
qualification exams in 1885, Scientific career
he studied physics at the
University of Leiden under Fields Physics
Kamerlingh Onnes and Institutions University of
Hendrik Lorentz. In 1890, Amsterdam
even before finishing his
thesis, he became Lorentz's Doctoral Heike Kamerlingh
assistant. This allowed him to advisor Onnes
participate in a research
programme on the Kerr effect. In 1893 he submitted his doctoral
thesis on the Kerr effect,[8] the reflection of polarized light on a
magnetized surface. After obtaining his doctorate he went for half
a year to Friedrich Kohlrausch's institute in Strasbourg. In 1895,
after returning from Strasbourg, Zeeman became Privatdozent in
mathematics and physics in Leiden. The same year he married
Johanna Elisabeth Lebret (1873–1962); they had three daughters
and one son.[9][10][11][12]

In 1896, shortly before moving from Leiden to Amsterdam,[14] he

measured the splitting of spectral lines by a strong magnetic field,
a discovery now known as the Zeeman effect, for which he won
the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. This research involved an
investigation of the effect of magnetic fields on a light source. He
discovered that a spectral line is split into several components in
the presence of a magnetic field. Lorentz first heard about
Zeeman's observations on Saturday 31 October 1896 at the
meeting of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
in Amsterdam, where these results were communicated by
Kamerlingh Onnes.[15] The next Monday, Lorentz called Zeeman
into his office and presented him with an explanation of his
observations, based on Lorentz's theory of electromagnetic
radiation. A photo Zeeman took of the Zeeman
effect.[13]
The importance of Zeeman's discovery soon became apparent. It
confirmed Lorentz's prediction about the polarization of light
emitted in the presence of a magnetic field. Thanks to Zeeman's work it became clear that the
oscillating particles that according to Lorentz were the source of light emission were negatively
charged, and were a thousandfold lighter than the hydrogen atom. This conclusion was reached well
before J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron. The Zeeman effect thus became an important tool for
elucidating the structure of the atom.

Professor in Amsterdam
Shortly after his discovery, Zeeman was offered a
position as lecturer in Amsterdam, where he started to
work in Autumn of 1896.[14] In 1900 this was followed by
his promotion to professor of physics at the University of
Amsterdam. In 1902, together with his former mentor
Lorentz, he received the Nobel Prize for Physics for the
discovery of the Zeeman effect. Five years later, in 1908,
he succeeded Van der Waals as full professor and
Director of the Physics Institute in Amsterdam.

In 1918 he published "Some experiments on gravitation:

The ratio of mass to weight for crystals and radioactive
substances" in the Proceedings of the Koninklijke
Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Einstein visiting Pieter Zeeman in Amsterdam,
experimentally confirming the equivalence principle with with his friend Ehrenfest (circa 1920).
regard to gravitational and inertial mass.

A new laboratory built in Amsterdam in 1923 was renamed the Zeeman Laboratory in 1940. This new
facility allowed Zeeman to pursue refined investigation of the Zeeman effect. For the remainder of his
career he remained interested in research in Magneto-Optics. He also investigated the propagation of
light in moving media. This subject became the focus of a renewed interest because of special
relativity, and enjoyed keen interest from Lorentz and Einstein. Later in his career he became
interested in mass spectrometry.

Later years
In 1898 Zeeman was elected to membership of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences[16] in Amsterdam, and he served as its secretary from 1912 to 1920. He won the Henry
Draper Medal in 1921, and several other awards and Honorary degrees. Zeeman was elected a Foreign
member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1921.[2] He retired as a professor in 1935.

Zeeman died on 9 October 1943 in Amsterdam, and was buried in Haarlem.

Awards and honors

Zeeman received the following awards for his contributions.

Nobel Prize for Physics (1902)

Matteucci Medal (1912)
Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1921[1][2]
Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1921)[17]
Rumford Medal (1922)
Franklin Medal (1925)

The crater Zeeman on the Moon is named in his honour.

See also
Atom and Atomic Theory
Bohr-Sommerfeld model
Fresnel drag coefficient
Light-dragging effects

References
1. "Fellows of the Royal Society" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150316060617/https://royalsociety.
org/about-us/fellowship/fellows/). London: Royal Society. Archived from the original (https://royals
ociety.org/about-us/fellowship/fellows/) on 2015-03-16.
2. Rayleigh (1944). "Pieter Zeeman. 1865-1943". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 4
(13): 591–595. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1944.0010 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1944.0010).
S2CID 125808317 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:125808317).
3. Zeeman, P. (1897). "The Effect of Magnetisation on the Nature of Light Emitted by a Substance" (
https://doi.org/10.1038%2F055347a0). Nature. 55 (1424): 347. Bibcode:1897Natur..55..347Z (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1897Natur..55..347Z). doi:10.1038/055347a0 (https://doi.org/10.103
8%2F055347a0).
4. "The Influence of a Magnetic Field on Radiation Frequency" (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspl.1896
.0079). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 60 (359–367): 513–514. 1896.
doi:10.1098/rspl.1896.0079 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspl.1896.0079).
5. "The Influence of a Magnetic Field on Radiation Frequency" (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspl.1896
.0080). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 60 (359–367): 514–515. 1896.
doi:10.1098/rspl.1896.0080 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspl.1896.0080).
6. Zeeman, P (1914). "Fresnel's coefficient for light of different colours. (First part)" (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20090519003222/http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=1708&view=
image&startrow=1). Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences, Proceedings. 17 (I): 445–
451. Bibcode:1914KNAB...17..445Z (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1914KNAB...17..445Z).
Archived from the original (http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=1708&view=im
age&startrow=1) on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
7. Zeeman, P (1915). "Fresnel's coefficient for light of different colours. (Second part)" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20090519003227/http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=1847&vie
w=image&startrow=1). Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences, Proceedings. 18 (I):
398–408. Bibcode:1915KNAB...18..398Z (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1915KNAB...18..398
Z). Archived from the original (http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=1847&view
=image&startrow=1) on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
8. Pieter Zeeman (1893). "Metingen over het verschijnsel van Kerr bij polaire terugkaatsing op ijzer,
kobalt en nikkel, in 't bijzonder over Sissingh's magneto-optisch phaseverschil" (http://ilorentz.org/
history/proefschriften/sources/Zeeman_1893.pdf) (PDF).
9. Paul Forman, "Alfred Landé and the anomalous Zeeman Effect, 1919-1921", Historical Studies in
the Physical Sciences, Vol. 2, 1970, 153-261.
10. Kox, A. J. (1997). "The discovery of the electron: II. The Zeeman effect" (https://pure.uva.nl/ws/file
s/3655500/2775_26336y.pdf) (PDF). European Journal of Physics. 18 (3): 139–144.
Bibcode:1997EJPh...18..139K (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997EJPh...18..139K).
doi:10.1088/0143-0807/18/3/003 (https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0143-0807%2F18%2F3%2F003).
11. Spencer, J. B. (1970). "On the Varieties of Nineteenth-Century Magneto-Optical Discovery". Isis.
11. Spencer, J. B. (1970). "On the Varieties of Nineteenth-Century Magneto-Optical Discovery". Isis.
61: 34–51. doi:10.1086/350577 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F350577). S2CID 145139903 (https://a
pi.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145139903).
12. "Pieter Zeeman - Biographical" (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1902/zeeman/biographi
cal/). Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
13. "Although not included in the published paper, you may be interested in a picture of Pieter
Zeeman, as well as a photo he took of the effect named for him." (http://www.chemteam.info/Che
m-History/Zeeman-effect.html)
14. Dirk van Delft (2007). "Freezing physics" (http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/wp-content/HSSN/2007-10-Van
%20Delft-Freezing%20Physics.pdf) (PDF). p. 260.
15. See:
Zeeman, P. (1896). "Over de invloed eener magnetisatie op den aard van het door een stof
uitgezonden licht" (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112109543402;view=1up;seq=
201) [On the influence of magnetism on the nature of the light emitted by a substance].
Verslagen van de Gewone Vergaderingen der Wis- en Natuurkundige Afdeeling (Koninklijk
Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam) [Reports of the Ordinary Sessions of the
Mathematical and Physical Section (Royal Academy of Sciences in Amsterdam)] (in Dutch). 5:
181–184 and 242–248. Bibcode:1896VMKAN...5..181Z (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/18
96VMKAN...5..181Z).
Zeeman, P. (1897). "On the influence of magnetism on the nature of the light emitted by a
substance" (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015024088695;view=1up;seq=238).
Philosophical Magazine. 5th series. 43: 226–239.
16. "Pieter Zeeman (1865 - 1943)" (http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetai
l&aId=PE00004018). Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
17. "Henry Draper Medal" (http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/henry-draper-medal.html).
National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 February 2011.

External links
Media related to Pieter Zeeman at Wikimedia Commons
Bertrand, Gabriel (20 December 1943b), "Allocution" (http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k31698/f6
29.image), Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences (in French),
Paris, 217: 625–640, available at Gallica. The "Address" of Gabriel Bertrand of December 20,
1943 at the French Academy: he gives biographical sketches of the lives of recently deceased
members, including Pieter Zeeman, David Hilbert and Georges Giraud.
Albert van Helden Pieter Zeeman 1865 – 1943 (http://www.historyofscience.nl/author.cfm?RecordI
d=39) In: K. van Berkel, A. van Helden and L. Palm ed., A History of Science in The Netherlands.
Survey, Themes and Reference (Leiden: Brill, 1999) 606 - 608.
Biography (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1902/zeeman/biographical/) at the Nobel e-
museum and Nobel Lecture (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1902/zeeman/lecture/).
Pieter Zeeman (https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/3) on Nobelprize.org
P.F.A. Klinkenberg, Zeeman, Pieter (1865-1943) (http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/
lemmata/bwn1/zeeman), in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
Biography of Pieter Zeeman (1865 – 1943) (https://web.archive.org/web/20120205024954/http://w
ww.kb.nl/hkc/nobel/zeeman/zeeman.html) at the National library of the Netherlands.
Anne J. Kox, Wetenschappelijke feiten en postmoderne fictie in de wetenschapsgeschiedenis (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20070522125032/http://staff.science.uva.nl/~kox/oratie.html), Inaugural
 lecture (1999).
Pim de Bie, prof.dr. P. Zeeman Zonnemaire 25 mei 1865 - Amsterdam 9 oktober 1943 (https://web
.archive.org/web/20100505024427/http://www.dodenakkers.nl/beroemd/wetenschap/158-zeeman.
html) Gravesite of Pieter Zeeman
Pieter Zeeman (https://web.archive.org/web/20110719044852/http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/tentoon
stelling/lorentz_zeeman/object3.htm#P), Bijzondere collecties Leiden.
photo & short info (https://web.archive.org/web/20060316093221/http://physics.nobel.brainparad.c
om/pieter_zeeman.html)

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