Hans Georg Dehmelt
German physicist (1922-2017) · Germany · Scientists · Died at 94
Hans Georg Dehmelt is read about 35 times a day, in 62 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 16 September 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He built a trap for single atoms - then used it to measure the electron's magnetic moment with a precision that redefined what experiments could do.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
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In their own words 1
, In closing, I should like to cite a line from William Blake. “To see a world in a grain of sand - - - ” and allude to a possible parallel to see worlds in an electron.
Awards
About this person
Hans Georg Dehmelt was born in Germany on 9 September 1922 and later became an American physicist. He co-developed the ion trap technique, specifically the Penning trap, working alongside Wolfgang Paul. The method allowed physicists to isolate and study individual particles with unprecedented control. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing half the prize with Paul for the ion trap work; Norman Foster Ramsey took the other half that year. The technique became the foundation for high-precision measurement of the electron magnetic moment. Dehmelt died on 7 March 2017.
In common with Hans
Carl WiemanBoth received Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics
David J. WinelandBoth received Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics
Norman Foster Ramsey Jr.Both received Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics
John L. HallBoth received Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface PhysicsScientists from Germany 2
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