Horst Ludwig Störmer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Horst Ludwig Störmer
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Störmer in 1998
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| Born | April 6, 1949 |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Stuttgart Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Known for | Fractional quantum Hall effect |
| Awards | Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize (1984) Nobel Prize in Physics (1998) The Benjamin Franklin Medal (1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Columbia University Bell Labs |
| Doctoral advisor | Hans-Joachim Queisser |
| Doctoral students | Jun Zhu |
Horst Ludwig Störmer (born April 6, 1949) is a German physicist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics and is now a retired professor at Columbia University.
In 1998, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Daniel Tsui and Robert Laughlin. They won for finding a new type of quantum fluid. This fluid has tiny parts with "fractional charges." This discovery is known as the fractional quantum Hall effect. Störmer and Tsui were working at Bell Labs when they made this important discovery.
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About Horst Störmer's Life
Horst Störmer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He grew up in a nearby town called Sprendlingen. After finishing school in 1967, he first studied architectural engineering.
His Journey to Physics
Later, he decided to study physics at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He earned his diploma there. During his studies, he worked in a lab with Eckhardt Hoenig. Another future Nobel Prize winner, Gerd Binnig, also worked there.
PhD Research in France
Störmer then moved to France for his PhD research. He worked in a special lab that used strong magnetic fields. This lab was a joint project between French and German research centers. In 1977, he received his PhD from the University of Stuttgart. His research focused on how tiny electron-hole droplets behave in strong magnetic fields.
Working in the United States
After getting his PhD, Störmer moved to the United States. He started working at Bell Labs. This is where he did the research that later earned him the Nobel Prize. He worked at Bell Labs for 20 years.
Later, he became a professor of physics at Columbia University in New York City. He retired from teaching in 2011. Störmer is also a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Horst Störmer's Scientific Discoveries
Horst Störmer's work led to major breakthroughs in physics. One of his important inventions is called modulation doping. This method helps create very fast-moving electrons in special materials called semiconductors.
The Fractional Quantum Hall Effect
This invention made it possible to observe the fractional quantum Hall effect. Störmer and Daniel Tsui discovered this effect in October 1981. They did their experiment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Less than a year after their discovery, Robert Laughlin was able to explain why it happened. For this groundbreaking work, Störmer, Tsui, and Laughlin were jointly awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics. Their discovery helped scientists understand more about how electrons behave in very cold temperatures and strong magnetic fields.
See also
In Spanish: Horst L. Störmer para niños
