Johan Peter Holtsmark (13 February 1894 – 10 December 1975) was a Norwegian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, who studied spectral line broadening and

electron scattering Electron scattering occurs when electrons are displaced from their original trajectory. This is due to the electrostatic forces within matter interaction or, if an external magnetic field is present, the electron may be deflected by the Lorentz ...

. In 1929, while at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

, Holtsmark established

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

research laboratories, focusing on architectural acoustics and sound insulation. Holtsmark was also a consultant for the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

(NRK) throughout the 1930s. Together with the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

physicist

Hilding Faxén Olov Hilding Faxén (29 March 1892 – 1 June 1970) was a Swedish physicist who was primarily active within mechanics. Faxén received his doctorate in 1921 at Uppsala University with the thesis ''Einwirkung der Gefässwände auf den Widersta ...

published Holtsmark a work in 1927 about scattering of

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s in gases. Here they introduced a new, mathematical method based upon partial waves. This is now standard and described in almost every modern book on

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

. Between 1934 and 1937 he led the construction of a

Van de Graaff Van de Graaf, Van de Graaff or Van der Graaf may refer to: * Van de Graaff (crater), a lunar crater * Van de Graaf (surname), includes a list of people with the surname and its variants * Van de Graaff generator, an electrostatic generator * Van d ...

accelerator at the

, which became the first

particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...

to go into operation in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Holtsmark was one of the founding fathers of

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

and represented

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

to the European Council for Nuclear Research, which later led into the establishment of the organization itself. He was awarded the Fridtjof Nansen Excellent Research Award in 1969, was a fellow of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

from 1925 and the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

from 1926.

References

1894 births 1975 deaths People from Asker People from Bærum Academic staff of the University of Oslo Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Norwegian physicists Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters People associated with CERN {{Physicist-stub