Norman Ramsey Jr.

"Norman Ramsey" redirects here. For the U.S. federal judge (1922–1993), see Norman Park Ramsey.

Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr.
Born	(1915-08-27) August 27, 1915 Washington, DC
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Columbia University, University of Cambridge
Known for	Separated oscillatory field method
Awards	IEEE Medal of Honor 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Harvard University

Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr. (born August 27, 1915, in Washington, DC) is an American physicist. A physics professor at Harvard University since 1947, Ramsey also held several posts with such government and international agencies as NATO and the United States Atomic Energy Commission. He was awarded a half share of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the separated oscillatory field method, which had important applications in the construction of atomic clocks. The other half of the Prize was shared between Hans G. Dehmelt and Wolfgang Paul.

Ramsey earned his B.A. and Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University in 1935 and 1940, respectively. He stayed on as a member of the Columbia faculty until 1947, when he moved to Harvard.

Among his other accomplishments are helping to found the United States Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab.

Publications

• Ramsey, N. F.; Birge, R. W. & U. E. Kruse. "Proton-Proton Scattering at 105 Mev and 75 Mev", Harvard University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the United States Atomic Energy Commission), (January 31, 1951).
• Ramsey, N. F.; Cone, A. A.; Chen, K. W.; Dunning, J. R. Jr.; Hartwig, G.; Walker, J. K. & R. Wilson. "Inelastic Scattering Of Electrons By Protons", Department of Physics at Harvard University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the United States Atomic Energy Commission), (December 1966).
• Ramsey, N. F.; Greene, G. L.; Mampe, W.; Pendlebury, J. M.; Smith, K. ; Dress, W. B.; Miller, P. D. & P. Perrin. "Determination of the Neutron Magnetic Moment", Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Harvard University, Institut Max von Laue, Astronomy Centre of Sussex University, United States Department of Energy, (June 1981).

References

• "Norman Ramsey and the Separated Oscillatory Fields Method". Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. DOE. Retrieved on 2 March 2009.
• Norman F. Ramsey, an oral history conducted in 1991 by John Bryant, IEEE History Center, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
• Norman Ramsey, an oral history conducted in 1995 by Andrew Goldstein, IEEE History Center, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

External links

• Photograph, Biography and Bibliographic Resources, from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
• Nobel autobiography
• Nobel 1989 Physics laureates
• Norman F. Ramsey
• Group photograph including (right to left) Norman F. Ramsey, Marlan Scully, and F. J. Duarte.