Cornelis Jacobus (Cor) Gorter (14 August 1907,

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

– 30 March 1980,

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

) was a Dutch experimental and theoretical physicist. Among other work, he discovered paramagnetic relaxation and was a pioneer in low temperature physics.

Education and career

After his Abitur in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Gorter studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, earning his PhD with the thesis ''Paramagnetische Eigenschaften von Salzen'' ("Paramagnetic Properties of Salts") under Wander de Haas. From 1931 to 1936 he worked at

Teylers Stichting The Teylers Stichting (English: Teylers Foundation) is a Dutch Foundation (non-profit), foundation founded with the heritage of the Dutch 18th century cloth merchant and banker Pieter Teyler van der Hulst to support the people in need and encourage ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

and from 1936 to 1940 at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

, before he became a professor at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

as successor to

Pieter Zeeman Pieter Zeeman ( ; ; 25 May 1865 – 9 October 1943) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. Childhood and youth Pieter Zeeman was ...

. In 1946, succeeding W. H. Keesom, he returned to Leiden as a professor. In 1948, as successor to De Haas, Gorter directed the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, remaining there until his retirement in 1973. He died in Leiden in 1980, after suffering for several years from Alzheimer's disease. His doctoral students include

Nicolaas Bloembergen Nicolaas Bloembergen (March 11, 1920 – September 5, 2017) was a Dutch- American physicist and Nobel laureate, recognized for his work in developing driving principles behind nonlinear optics for laser spectroscopy. During his career, he was a ...

and

Bert Broer Lambertus Johannes Folkert "Bert" Broer (17 January 1916 – 1991) was a Dutch physicist and mathematician. References * External links Prof. dr. L.J.F. Broer, 1916 - 1991at the University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam ( ...

Work

In 1936 he discovered paramagnetic relaxation; however, he missed the discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance (otherwise known as nuclear spin resonance), as described by Joan Henri Van der Waals. With

Hendrik Casimir Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir (15 July 1909 – 4 May 2000) was a Dutch physicist who made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. He is best known for his work on the Casimir effect, which descr ...

he devised a two-fluid model to explain

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where Electrical resistance and conductance, electrical resistance vanishes and Magnetic field, magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ord ...

with

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

and

Maxwell's equations Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, Electrical network, electr ...

. Casimir described their collaboration in one of his books. The "Gorter-model" for a second-order phase transition is from this period of his career, as well as the elucidation of the Senftleben effect (change of

viscosity Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent drag (physics), resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for e ...

and thermal conductivity of paramagnetic gas in a magnetic field). The second-order phase transition was for a while controversial, as it seems to require two sheets of the Gibbs free energy to osculate exactly, which is so unlikely as to never occur in practice. Gorter replied the criticism by pointing out that the Gibbs free energy surface might have two sheets on one side, but only one sheet on the other side, creating a forked appearance. ( pp. 146--150) Gorter studied many aspects of

antiferromagnetism In materials that exhibit antiferromagnetism, the magnetic moments of atoms or molecules, usually related to the spins of electrons, align in a regular pattern with neighboring spins (on different sublattices) pointing in opposite directions. ...

in CuCl₂·2H₂O. With Johannes Haantjes, he developed a theoretical model of antiferromagnetism in a double-lattice substance. After WWII he worked on liquid

helium II Superfluid helium-4 (helium II or He-II) is the superfluid form of helium-4, the most common isotope of the element helium. The substance, which resembles other liquids such as helium I (conventional, non-superfluid liquid helium), flows without ...

and developed the theory which is now known as

Coulomb blockade In mesoscopic physics, a Coulomb blockade (CB), named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb's electrical force, is the decrease in electrical conductance at small bias voltages of a small electronic device comprising at least one low-capacitance ...

, the increase in electrical resistance in metal films at low temperatures. The Gorter-Mellink equation describes the mutual friction of two fluids in liquid helium II.

Prizes and honors

* Membership of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1946. * Membership to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1952. *

Fritz London Fritz Wolfgang London (March 7, 1900 – March 30, 1954) was a German born physicist and professor at Duke University. His fundamental contributions to the theories of chemical bonding and of intermolecular forces (London dispersion forces) are to ...

Award in 1966 for his various contributions to the physics of low temperatures. His acceptance speech discusses the discoveries he missed. * Membership to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1967. * Membership to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1970. * In the autumn of 2007, the C. J. Gorter Center for High-field

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

was opened in Leiden.C. J. Center for High-field MRI , Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
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Publications

scientific articles
* Book (in Dutch) ''Paramagnetische relaxatie'', Leiden, November 1946 * ''Progress in Low Temperature Physics'', six parts under his editorship

References

Sources

*
Biografie
door H.A.M. Snelders in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland

External links

*
Oral History Transcript — Dr. C. J. Gorter, Niels Bohr Library & Archives with the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorter, Cornelis Jacobus 1907 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Dutch physicists Leiden University alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Academic staff of Leiden University Scientists from Utrecht (city) Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society