John Pendry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Brian Pendry
FRS HonFInstP
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Pendry in 2014
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| Born | 4 July 1943 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Downing College, Cambridge |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
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| Thesis | The application of pseudopotentials to low energy electron diffraction (1970) |
| Doctoral advisor | Volker Heine |
Sir John Brian Pendry (born July 4, 1943) is a famous British physicist. He is known for his amazing work with light and materials. He helped create the idea of "metamaterials." These are special materials that can bend light in unusual ways. His most famous ideas include the "invisibility cloak" and the "perfect lens." He is a professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London.
In 2014, he received the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. This award was for his big contributions to nano-optics. His work changed how we think about the limits of optical microscopy and imaging. He shared this prize with Stefan Hell and Thomas Ebbesen.
Contents
Education and Early Career
John Pendry studied at Downing College, Cambridge. He earned his Master of Arts degree in Natural Sciences. He also completed his PhD there in 1969. His PhD research looked at how to examine the surface of materials.
After his studies, he worked as a research fellow. He spent time at Bell Labs in the United States. From 1975 to 1981, he led the theory group at the Daresbury Laboratory. In 1981, he became a professor at Imperial College London. He stayed there for the rest of his career.
In 1984, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists. In 2004, he was knighted, which means he received the title "Sir."
Amazing Discoveries in Physics
Sir John Pendry has written many important articles and books. His research has changed how we understand materials and light.
Understanding Surfaces and Electrons
His early work focused on understanding the surfaces of materials. He developed methods to compute results from a technique called low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). This made it much easier to study surfaces.
He also worked on photoelectron spectroscopy. This helped scientists understand how electrons behave in materials. His methods allowed scientists to map out the structure of electrons with great accuracy. He even suggested a new technique called Inverse photoemission spectroscopy. This is now widely used to explore electron states that are usually empty.
The World of Metamaterials
Later, Sir John Pendry started studying how light interacts with metals. This led to his invention of metamaterials. Metamaterials are special materials that are engineered to have properties not found in nature. They can bend light in ways that normal materials cannot.
The idea of metamaterials has grown a lot.
- First, it focused on light waves.
- Then, it expanded to other types of waves, like sound waves.
- Now, it even includes how things spread out, like heat or chemicals.
The Perfect Lens
In 2000, Sir John Pendry published a groundbreaking article. It described a simple way to create a lens that could focus light perfectly. This idea was very new and surprising to many scientists.
His ideas were later proven true through experiments. This concept, known as the superlens, has changed the field of tiny optics. It allows us to see things that are incredibly small, much smaller than what normal lenses can show.
The Invisibility Cloak
In 2006, he came up with another incredible idea: bending light to make objects invisible. He worked with David R. Smith to show how this could work using microwaves. This idea is often called the Invisibility cloak.
This concept has inspired a lot of new research in metamaterials. Scientists are now working to develop these cloaks for visible light.
Awards and Honors
Sir John Pendry has received many important awards for his scientific work:
- In 2024, he won the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology.
- In 2019, he received the SPIE Mozi Award for his work on the perfect lens.
- In 2016, he was awarded the Dan David Prize.
- In 2014, he shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience.
- In 2013, he won the Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal.
- In 1996, he received the Dirac Prize from the Institute of Physics.
- He was also selected as a Clarivate Citation laureate for predicting and discovering negative refraction.
