Louis Néel Explained

Birth Name:	Louis Eugène Félix Néel
Louis Néel
Birth Date:	22 November 1904
Birth Place:	Lyon, France
Death Place:	Brive-la-Gaillarde
Fields:	Solid-state physics
Workplaces:	CNRS, Grenoble
Alma Mater:	École Normale Supérieure, University of Paris^[1] University of Strasbourg
Doctoral Advisor:	Pierre Weiss
Notable Students:	Jacques Villain Louis Lliboutry^[2]

Louis Eugène Félix Néel (22 November 1904 – 17 November 2000) was a French physicist born in Lyon^[3] who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his studies of the magnetic properties of solids.^[4]

Biography

Néel studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Strasbourg. He was corecipient (with the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfvén) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his pioneering studies of the magnetic properties of solids.^[5] His contributions to solid state physics have found numerous useful applications, particularly in the development of improved computer memory units. About 1930 he suggested that a new form of magnetic behavior might exist; called antiferromagnetism, as opposed to ferromagnetism.^[6] Above a certain temperature (the Néel temperature) this behaviour stops. Néel pointed out (1948)^[7] that materials could also exist showing ferrimagnetism. Néel has also given an explanation of the weak magnetism of certain rocks, making possible the study of the history of Earth's magnetic field.^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]}

He is the instigator of the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble.

The Louis Néel Medal, awarded annually by the European Geophysical Society, is named in Néel's honour.

Néel died at Brive-la-Gaillarde on 17 November 2000 at the age 95, just 5 days short of his 96th birthday.

Awards and honours

Néel received numerous awards and honours for his work including:

Awards

• Hughes Prize of the Académie des sciences (1935)
• Félix Robin Prize of the Société française de physique (1938)
• André Blondel Medal (1948)
• Grand prix du conseil de l’association « Au service de la pensée française » (1949)
• Holweck Prize (1952)^[17]
• Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1959)^[18]
• Three Physicists Prize (1963)
• Gold Medal of CNRS (1965)
• Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1966^[4]
• Nobel Prize in Physics (1970)
• Great Gold Medal of l’Électronique (1971)
• Great Gold Medal of the Société d’encouragement pour la recherche et l’invention (1973)
• Founding member of the World Cultural Council (1981).^[19]

Distinctions

Owing to his involvement in national defense, particularly through research in the protection of warships by demagnetization against magnetic mines, he received numerous distinctions:

• Legion of Honour

• • Knight (for exceptional military services) (1940)
  • Officer (1951)
  • Commander (1958)
  • Grand Officer (1966)
  • Grand Cross (1974)
• Croix de Guerre with Palm (1940)
• Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (1957)
• Knight of the Order of Social Merit (1963)
• Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (1972)
• Honorary Admiral (French Navy)

See also

• Néel effect
• Néel relaxation theory
• Néel temperature
• Néel wall
• Néel TRM model

External links

• including the Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1970 Magnetism and the Local Molecular Field

Notes and References

1. At the time, the ENS was part of the University of Paris according to the decree of 10 November 1903.
2. Web site: Louis Néel .
3. Web site: Louis-Eugène-Félix Néel | French physicist | Britannica .
4. Friedel. J.. Averbuch, P. . Louis Eugène Félix Néel. 22 November 1904 – 17 November 2000. Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 1 December 2003. 49. 367–384. 10.1098/rsbm.2003.0021. 74311735. free.
5. Néel. L.. Magnetism and Local Molecular Field. Science. 3 December 1971. 174. 4013. 985–992. 10.1126/science.174.4013.985. 17757022. 1971Sci...174..985N . 27784885.
6. Book: Aharoni, Amikam . Introduction to the Theory of Ferromagnetism . Oxford University Press . Oxford . 2000 . 978-0-19-850809-0 . 21.
7. Néel. Louis. Magnetic Properties of Ferrites: Ferrimagnetism and Antiferromagnetism. Ann. Phys. (Paris). 1948. 3. 137–198.
8. Néel. Louis. Some theoretical aspects of rock-magnetism. Advances in Physics. 1 April 1955. 4. 14. 191–243. 10.1080/00018735500101204. 1955AdPhy...4..191N .
9. Barbara. B.. Lacroix . Claudine . Retrospective in Science: Louis Neel (1904–2000). Science. 2000. 291. 5506. 1000. 10.1126/science.1059052. 11232560. 161752562.
10. Coey. Michael. Obituary: Louis Néel (1904–2000) . Nature. 2001. 409. 6818. 302. 10.1038/35053274. 2001Natur.409..302C. 36961096. free.
11. Coey. J. M. D.. Louis Néel: Retrospective (invited). Journal of Applied Physics. 2003. 93. 10. 8224–8229. 10.1063/1.1557815. 2003JAP....93.8224C . free.
12. Dunlop. David J.. Partial thermoremanent magnetization: Louis Néel's legacy in rock magnetism (invited). Journal of Applied Physics. 2003. 93. 10. 8236–8240. 10.1063/1.1558640. 2003JAP....93.8236D .
13. Encyclopedia: Louis Néel – Biography . Nobel Lectures, Physics 1963–1970 . Elsevier Publishing Company.
14. Book: Néel, Louis. Un siècle de physique. 1991. Jacob. Paris. 978-2-7381-0140-2.
15. Web site: Louis Néel, un siècle de science à Grenoble . 2004 . 27 October 2011 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110604062110/http://www.louisneel-centenaire.inpg.fr/ . 4 June 2011 . dmy-all .
16. Book: Kurti. Nicholas. Selected works of Louis Néel. 1988. Gordon and Breach. New York. 978-2-88124-300-4.
17. Web site: Holweck medal recipients . Institute of Physics. 14 January 2020.
18. Web site: Louis Eugène Felix Néel (1904 - 2000) . https://web.archive.org/web/20200705132614/https://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00002047 . Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences . 5 July 2020.
19. Web site: About Us . . 8 November 2016.