Kastler, Alfred

(1902-1984)

   physicist, Nobel laureate

   Alfred Kastler, who was born in Guebwiller, alsace, developed methods that used light to manipulate and study the energy level of electrons. He studied at the École normale supérieure in Paris, where he later also taught, as well as at Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux. From 1968 to 1972, he served as director of the national Center for Scientific Research. Kastler discovered and developed the methods of double resonance and optional pumping in his study of light and action. Both these methods were great improvements over earlier methods and allowed much more detailed studies of atomic structure. optical pumping, in particular, was later applied to lasers, the magnetometer, and improvements of the atomic clock. For his work, Kastler was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize in physics.