Néel, Louis

(1904-2000)

   physicist, Nobel laureate

   Louis Néel, who made significant advances in the understanding of the magnetic properties of solid materials, was born in lyon and studied at the École normale supérieure (1928) and at the University of Strasbourg (1932), where he served as professor from 1937 to 1945. During World War II, he also worked for the French navy, developing methods of protecting warships from magnetic mines. In the late 1920s, when Néel began studies of magnetism, physicists recognized only three types: diamagnet-ism, paramagnetism, and ferromagnetism. Néel identified two additional types of magnetic materials that were added to the classification scheme; antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic. The former act like paramagnetic substances above a certain temperature known as the "Néel point." Néel's pioneering research on magnetics provided new materials for the study of microwave electronics, computer memory, and other applications. Additionally, Néel studied the "magnetic memory" of certain mineral deposits to learn of changes in the earth's magnetic field. Néel was named to the Academy of Sciences in 1953 and, with the Swedish physicist Hannes Alfvén, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1970.