Philip Warren Anderson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philip Warren Anderson
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| Born | December 13, 1923 |
| Died | March 29, 2020 (aged 96) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Harvard University U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1977) National Medal of Science (1982) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Bell Laboratories Princeton University Cambridge University |
| Doctoral advisor | John Hasbrouck van Vleck |
Philip Warren Anderson (December 13, 1923 – March 29, 2020) was an American physicist. He was a very important scientist who studied how materials work. He helped create and prove many big ideas in physics.
Anderson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois. He went to Harvard University to study.
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What Did Philip Anderson Study?
Philip Anderson was a brilliant theoretical physicist. This means he used math and logic to understand how the world works. He didn't do experiments himself. Instead, he thought about how tiny particles behave.
His Big Ideas
Anderson worked on many complex ideas. Some of his most famous work includes:
- Localization: This idea explains how electrons can get "stuck" in a material. They can't move freely, which changes how the material acts.
- Antiferromagnetism: This is about how magnetism works in some materials. It's like tiny magnets inside the material pointing in opposite directions.
- Symmetry Breaking: This is a key idea in physics. It explains how a system can start out balanced but then become uneven. Think of a perfectly round ball rolling down a hill; it could go any way, but once it starts, it picks a direction.
- High-Temperature Superconductivity: This is a very exciting field. Superconductors can carry electricity with no energy loss. Anderson helped understand materials that do this at higher temperatures.
He also wrote a lot about "emergent phenomena." This means how complex behaviors can appear from simple rules. Imagine how a flock of birds moves together. Each bird follows simple rules, but the whole flock shows complex patterns.
Where Did He Work?
Anderson worked at several famous places. He spent a long time at Bell Laboratories. This was a top research center. He also taught at Princeton University and Cambridge University.
Awards and Recognition
Philip Anderson received many important awards for his work.
- In 1977, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He shared it with two other scientists. They were honored for their research on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems.
- In 1982, he was given the National Medal of Science. This is one of the highest honors for scientists in the United States.
Later Life
Philip Anderson passed away on March 29, 2020. He was 96 years old. He died in Princeton, New Jersey. His ideas continue to influence physics today.
