Frits Zernike

Frits Zernike
Zernike in 1953
Born	Frederick Zernike (1888-07-16)16 July 1888 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	10 March 1966(1966-03-10) (aged 77) Amersfoort, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam
Known for	Phase-contrast microscopy Zernike polynomials Ornstein–Zernike equation Van Cittert–Zernike theorem
Spouse	Dora van Bommel van Vloten (1930-1945) Lena Koperberg-Baanders (since 1954) Groningen University

Frits Zernike (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfrɪtˈsɛrnikə]; 16 July 1888 – 10 March 1966) was a Dutch physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1953 for his invention of the phase-contrast microscope.

Early life and education

Frederick "Frits" Zernike^[3] was born on 16 July 1888 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Carl Friedrich August Zernike and Antje Dieperink. Both parents were teachers of mathematics, and he especially shared his father's passion for physics. He studied chemistry (his major), mathematics and physics at the University of Amsterdam.

Academic career

In 1912, he was awarded a prize for his work on

In 1930, Zernike was conducting research into spectral lines when he discovered that the so-called ghost lines that occur to the left and right of each primary line in spectra created by means of a diffraction grating, have their phase shifted from that of the primary line by 90 degrees.^{[citation needed][5]} It was at a Physical and Medical Congress in Wageningen in 1933, that Zernike first described his phase contrast technique in microscopy. He extended his method to test the figure of concave mirrors. His discovery lay at the base of the first phase contrast microscope, built during World War II.^{[citation needed]}

He also made another contribution in the field of optics, relating to the efficient description of the imaging defects or

Zernike's work helped awaken interest in coherence theory, the study of partially coherent light sources. In 1938 he published a simpler derivation of Van Cittert's 1934 theorem on the coherence of radiation from distant sources, now known as the Van Cittert–Zernike theorem.^[6][7]

Death

He died in hospital in Amersfoort in 1966 after suffering illness the last years of his life.^[8] His granddaughter is journalist Kate Zernike.^[9]

Honours and awards

In 1946, Zernike became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[10]

In 1953, Zernike won the

In 1954, Zernike became an Honorary Member of The Optical Society (OSA).[11] Zernike was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS).^[1]

The university complex (Zernike Campus) to the north of the city of Groningen is named after him, as is the crater Zernike on the Moon and the minor planet 11779 Zernike.

Zernike's great-nephew Gerard 't Hooft won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1999.^[12]

The Oz Enterprise, a Linux distribution, was named after Leonard Ornstein and Frederik Zernike.

See also

• Leonard Ornstein
• Coherence theory
• Fourier optics
• Live cell imaging
• Optical aberration
• Phase-contrast X-ray imaging
• Physical optics

References

External links

• Media related to Frits Zernike at Wikimedia Commons

Wikiquote has quotations related to Frits Zernike.

• Frits Zernike Photo
• Frits Zernike on Nobelprize.org including his Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1953 How I discovered phase contrast
• Extended Nijboer–Zernike theory
• Museum Boerhaave Negen Nederlandse Nobelprijswinnaars
• H. Brinkman, Zernike, Frits (1888–1966), in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
• Prominente Groningse hoogleraren Frits Zernike (1888–1966)
• Frits Zernike (1888–1966) biography at the National library of the Netherlands.
• The Ornstein-Zernike equation and integral equations
• Multilevel wavelet solver for the Ornstein-Zernike equation Abstract
• Analytical solution of the Ornstein-Zernike equation for a multicomponent fluid
• The Ornstein-Zernike equation in the canonical ensemble