# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/walter-m-elsasser
# Generated: 2026-08-14T01:56:44.321Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/walter-m-elsasser"
name: "Walter M. Elsasser"
slug: "walter-m-elsasser"
description: "Walter Maurice Elsasser was a German-born American physicist who developed the presently accepted dynamo theory to explain Earth's magnetic field. He proposed that this field results from electric currents induced in the fluid outer core. He demonstrated that the history of Earth's magnetic field is revealed by the magnetic orientation of minerals in rocks. He is also noted for his unpublished proposal that the diffraction of electrons sent through a crystal would demonstrate their wavelike nature. The subsequent Davisson–Germer experiment showing this effect led to a Nobel Prize in Physics."
tagline: "German-American physicist"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Waltermelsasser.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Germany"
  isoCode: "DE"
category:
  name: "Scientists"
  slug: "scientists"
profileType:
  name: "Scientist"
  slug: "scientist"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "1904-03-20"
deathDate: "1991-10-14"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           47.45
  momentum:             14.48275862068966
  historical:           13.34467333333333
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "BREAKOUT"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80_%D0%9C._%D0%95%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80"
    title: "Вальтер М. Ельзассер"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D8%A5%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1"
    title: "والتر إلساسر"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1"
    title: "والتر الساسر"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%85%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1"
    title: "والتر ام‌الساسر"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Maurice_Elsasser"
    title: "Walter Maurice Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Elsasser"
    title: "Walter Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Elsasser"
    title: "Walter M. Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Elsasser"
    title: "Walter M. Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Elsasser"
    title: "Walter Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Elsasser"
    title: "Walter M. Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%85%E2%80%8C._%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1"
    title: "والتر ام‌. الساسر"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Elsasser"
    title: "Walter M. Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Elsasser"
    title: "Walter Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A9%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%83%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC"
    title: "ウォルター・エルサッサー"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Elsasser"
    title: "Walter M. Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Elsasser"
    title: "Walter Elsasser"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q64550"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump