Louis Néel
| Louis Néel | |
|---|---|
Néel in 1970
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| Born | Louis Eugène Félix Néel 22 November 1904 Lyon, France |
| Died | 17 November 2000 (aged 95) Brive-la-Gaillarde |
| Fields | Solid-state physics |
| Institutions | CNRS, Grenoble |
| Alma mater |
École Normale Supérieure, University of Paris University of Strasbourg |
| Known for | |
| Notable awards |
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Louis Eugène Félix Néel ForMemRS (22 November 1904 – 17 November 2000) was a French physicist born in Lyon.
Néel studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Strasbourg. He was corecipient (with the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfvén) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his pioneering studies of the magnetic properties of solids. His contributions to solid state physics have found numerous useful applications, particularly in the development of improved computer memory units. About 1930 he suggested that a new form of magnetic behavior might exist; called antiferromagnetism, as opposed to ferromagnetism. Above a certain temperature (the Néel temperature) this behaviour stops. Néel pointed out (1948) that materials could also exist showing ferrimagnetism. Néel has also given an explanation of the weak magnetism of certain rocks, making possible the study of the history of Earth's magnetic field.
He is the instigator of the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble.
Néel received numerous awards and honours for his work including:
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