The blue dot in this photograph is a Barium atom held in Dehmelt鈥檚 ion trap. ( 91探花Department of Physics)
When I was a graduate student, my professor drew a dot on the blackboard and said, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 an electron,鈥� but nobody had ever isolated one...
Dehmelt鈥檚 Nobel Prize Laureate portrait, shot in about 1989. (Dehmelt Collection, University Archives, Special Collections, 91探花Libraries)
Physicist Hans Georg Dehmelt devoted his 91探花career to the study of subatomic particles, held captive for long periods of time, 鈥淪o,鈥� as he put it, 鈥淵ou could study them to your heart鈥檚 content.鈥� His innovative work gained Dehmelt a Nobel Prize in 1989, shared with colleague Wolfgang Paul.
German-born American physicist Dehmelt joined the 91探花Department of Physics in 1955. In 1973, Dehmelt and his graduate students used an electromagnetic trap to capture a single electron, allowing observation and measurement of the particle鈥檚 key properties. They recorded measurements of unprecedented precision, to an accuracy of four parts in a trillion. Able to hold individual electrons, positrons, and other sub-atomic particles trapped for months, Dehmelt and his team were able to isolate a single barium ion, visible as a tiny blue-white star, and photograph it.
Dr. Dehmelt continued his distinguished work on ion traps at 91探花until his 2002 retirement. Aside from the Nobel Prize. he has been honored with every possible award in his field, including the National Medal of Science. Through this research, the invisible world has been made visible, making it possible to see into the very heart of matter.
Linear Ion Trap at the University of Calgary (By Upload to Commons: Akriesch 19:47, 14 April 2006 (UTC) Original on English Wikipedia: en:Danfoste - From English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Further Reading
Local coverage of Dr. Dehmelt鈥檚 Nobel prize, 10/12/1989
Seattle Times
Paper by Dr. Hans Dehmelt, updating the field on the experimental spectroscopy work at the UW.
Physica Scripta 1988 102
This article in the publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science identifies the everyday results of Nobel Prize winning physics: This work on atomic properties led to atomic clocks, magnetic resonance imaging, and verification of quantum mechanics.
Science, New Series. Vol. 246 No. 928 (October 20, 1989)
This article reviews the physics of ion traps, explaining clearly how each works.
Los Alamos Science Number 27 (2002)
Dr. Hans Dehmelt described the history of his work with Penning Traps through 1989.
American Journal of Physics 58, 17 (1990)
Local newspaper articles quotes Department of Physics chair Mark
McDermott on the day of Dehmelt鈥檚 Nobel, stating that his work 鈥渙pens a whole new realm of possibilities in precision measurement of individual particles,鈥� 10/12/1989
Seattle Times
