Emil Wolf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emil Wolf
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| Born | July 30, 1922 |
| Died | June 2, 2018 (aged 95) Rochester, New York, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Bristol University |
| Known for | Holotomography Wolf effect Born and Wolf |
| Awards | Frederic Ives Medal (1978) Michelson Medal (1980) Max Born Award (1987) Marconi Medal (1987) Esther Hoffman Beller Medal (2002) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Optics, physics |
| Institutions | University of Edinburgh University of Manchester University of Rochester |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward H. Linfoot |
| Other academic advisors | Max Born |
| Doctoral students | Girish Agarwal M. Suhail Zubairy |
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Emil Wolf (born July 30, 1922 – died June 2, 2018) was an American physicist who was born in Czechoslovakia. He made many important discoveries in the field of optics, which is the study of light. His work helped us understand how light behaves, including how it spreads out (diffraction) and how different light waves work together (coherence). He also studied how light scatters and how we can use light to see very small things.
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Life and Work
Emil Wolf was born into a Jewish family in Prague, which was then part of Czechoslovakia. When the Germans invaded his home country, he had to leave. After spending short times in Italy and France, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1940.
Education and Early Career
He studied at Bristol University in England. He earned his first degree in Mathematics and Physics in 1945. Then, he completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1948. From 1951 to 1954, he worked at the University of Edinburgh with a famous scientist named Max Born. Together, they wrote a very important textbook about optics called Principles of Optics. People often just call it "Born and Wolf."
After working at the University of Manchester for a while, Emil Wolf moved to the United States in 1959. He became a professor at the University of Rochester. He later became an American citizen. He was also the president of the Optical Society of America in 1978. Emil Wolf lived in Pittsford, New York, with his wife until he passed away.
The Wolf Effect
Emil Wolf discovered something new about how light can change color. This change is called redshift or blueshift. Usually, these shifts happen because a light source is moving, like the Doppler effect you might learn about with sound. But Wolf found that light can shift color even if the source isn't moving!
He called this the Wolf effect. Imagine two musical tuning forks that are connected. When one vibrates, it can make the other one vibrate too, and their sounds might change slightly. In a similar way, Wolf found that certain light sources can interact and cause their light to shift color. This effect can make light appear redder (redshift) or bluer (blueshift). Scientists have since confirmed this effect with experiments. Some scientists even think the Wolf effect might help explain strange color shifts seen in very distant objects in space called quasars.
Emil Wolf continued to teach, research, and write books even when he was in his 80s. He passed away on June 2, 2018, at the age of 95.
Books and Publications
Emil Wolf was well-known for writing many books about optics. His most famous book, Principles of Optics, which he wrote with Max Born, is a standard textbook for anyone studying optics.
He also wrote other important books, including Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics with Leonard Mandel. He wrote Introduction to the Theory of Coherence and Polarization of Light. Besides writing his own books, he was also the editor of a series of books called Progress in Optics starting in 1962.
Awards and Honors
Emil Wolf received many awards and honors for his important work in physics and optics.
Awards
- Frederic Ives Medal (1977)
- Albert A. Michelson Medal (1980)
- Max Born Award (1987)
- Marconi Medal (1987)
- Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science (1991)
- Medal of the Union of Czechoslovak Mathematicians and Physicists (1991)
- Gold Medal of Palacký University of Olomouc, Czechoslovakia (1991)
- Esther Hoffman Beller Medal (2002)
- G. G. Stokes Award of SPIE (2010)
Memberships
- Honorary member of the Optical Society of America (he was president in 1978)
- Honorary member of the Optical Societies of India and Australia
Honorary Degrees
Emil Wolf also received special honorary degrees from many universities around the world. These degrees are given to people who have made outstanding contributions to their field.
- University of Groningen, the Netherlands (1989)
- University of Edinburgh (1990)
- Palacký University of Olomouc (1992)
- University of Bristol (1997)
- Université Laval, Quebec (1997)
- University of Franche-Comté, France (1999)
- Aalborg University, Denmark (1999)
See also
- Past presidents of the Optical Society of America
- Progress in Optics
