Norman Foster Ramsey Jr.
American physicist (1915-2011) · United States · Scientists · Died at 96
Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. is read about 42 times a day, in 63 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 found a way to make atoms tick with such precision that every GPS satellite, every cell tower, every computer syncing time across the globe now depends on the method he invented in the 1940s.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
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In their own words 1
, You have to get a little untrapped from too much prior knowledge.
Awards
In their orbit
Father: Norman F. RamseyAbout this person
Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. was born August 27, 1915, and spent most of his career as a physics professor at Harvard. In the 1940s he invented the separated oscillatory field method - a technique for probing atoms that became the foundation of atomic clocks. The work earned him the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics. Beyond the lab, he helped found Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab, two of the United States' major research centers, and held posts with NATO and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He died November 4, 2011, decades after the clocks he made possible began keeping time for the world.
In common with Norman
Glenn T. SeaborgBoth received Vannevar Bush Award
Carl WiemanBoth received Oersted MedalWolfgang PaulBoth received Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics
David J. WinelandBoth received Einstein Prize for Laser Science
James RainwaterBoth received Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award
Burton RichterBoth received Ernest Orlando Lawrence AwardFame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.