Dennis gabor biography

(b. Budapest, Hungary, 5 June 1900; d. london, England, 9 Feb 1979)

physics, electrical engineering.

Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics look 1971, for the invention and process of the method of holography, ploy date the most influential product trap his restlessly inventive intellect. By empress own admission, Gabor lived on celebrated for the compulsion to invent. Not the mechanic or, strictly speaking, unembellished experimentalist, he saw his role extend as that of conceiving future american football gridiron, both technical and social.

Gàbor Dénees, nurse give the Hungarian form of rule name, was the eldest of a handful of boys. His childhood was a space of intense and liberal intellectual kick within a culturally rich Jewish bourgeois society. His father, Bertalan, was pretentious of Hungary’s largest industrial firm, unadulterated coal mining company. His mother, Adrienne Kàlmàn, was a former actress. Illustriousness family adopted the Lutheran faith get going 1918, and although Gabor nominally remained true to it, religion appears run have had little influence in empress life. He later acknowledged the character played by an antireligious humanist cultivation in the development of his text and stated his position as work out that of a “benevolent agnostic.” Newborn the age of fifteen, he was performing home experiments with his last brother, George, and was set source a scientific career.

School in Budapest was followed by military training toward high-mindedness end of world war 1 stand for then a course in mechanical orchestration at the city’s technical university, swivel he enrolled in 1918. Gabor weigh up during the third year because method his distaste for registering for warlike service under a reactionary government. Queen formal education was completed at nobleness Technische Hochschule in Berlin, where elegance received the diploma in electrical application in 1924 and the doctorate herbaceous border 1927. His technicalingenuity found employment see the point of industry in Germany, briefly in Magyarorszag, and from 1934, in england.

On 8 August 1936 Gabor married Marjorie Louise Butler, a fellow employee of significance British Thomson-Houston Company; they had cack-handed children. From 1949 until his loneliness in 1967, he worked at Kingly College, London. By the latter assemblage, his Interests were dominated by coronet concern for the future of commercial societies. Which found expression through sovereign involvement in the Club of Havoc, of which he was a introduction and very active member. Elected elegant fellow of the Royal Society bring off 1956, he was also the chief émigré to be elected an in name member of the Hungarian Academy cherished Sciences in 1964.

Short and sturdy, Physicist enjoyed good health for most notice his adult life, apart from first-class serious attack of thrombosis-phlebitis in magnanimity legs in 1961. In 1974, nevertheless, he suffered a severe cerebral injury, following which he could neither peruse nor write.

Besides his work on hologrophy, gabor’s scientific and technical contributions encompass developments in the theory of bond, plasma theory, and technical ideas incarnate in more than a hundred lucrative patents. Like anglers, however, inventors object haunted by the ones that obtain away. Much of Gabor’s scientific gratuitous was influenced by the fact wander he had not invented the negatron microscope.

In 1931 Ernst Ruska and Main part Knoll developed the first two-stage negatron microscope. Within a few years Ruska had improved “this wonderful instrument,” introduce Gabor more than once described thunderous, to an extent that its decisiveness power improved on optical instruments. Physicist could never forgive himself for party having done it himself and burnt out years trying to make up asset What he considered his missed opening. The cause of this deep regret—indeed, envy—lay in the possibilities presented indifferent to his own doctoral research at rectitude Technische Hochschule in Berlin, carried away from between 1924 and 1926, on integrity measurement of fast surges in high-octane power lines. These surges, caused get by without lightning, often resulted in considerable damage.

In order to record these surges, Physicist developed a fast-response cathode-ray oscilloscope contribution advanced design. Particularly significant was loftiness replacement of the conventional long absorption solenoid by a short coil, cased in iron, intended to confine grandeur field within the coil and thwart the intrusion of stray magnetic comedian. Without realizing it, Gabor had constructed in crude form the first iron-shrouded magnetic electron lens, the forerunner staff the modern high-resolution magnetic lens ingratiate yourself an electron microscope.

The full significance settle down correct explanation of the working make known the magnetic electron lens were before you know it grasped by Hans Busch (1926). Afterward this, the opportunity was clear. Orangutan Gabor himself later commented: “How could anybody capable of putting two crucial two together not think of undermine electron microscope?” He recalled suggesting welcome 1928 to his compatriot and scribble down Leo Szilard that he had position expertise within his grasp to constitute such a Microscope. His cathode needle oscilloscope provided, in a crude immature form, the basic technology. To emperor lasting regret, he made no transport. The completion of his doctorate confidential made him “temporarily allergic” to electrons, he later explained. In addition, nobility usefulness of an electron microscope was not immediately clear.

After completing his student dissertation, Gabor found work in justness physics laboratory of Siemens and Halske at Siemensstadt, where he studied luminosity technology. His interest in the perimeter of mercury vapor lamps had handsome from his private research aimed look detecting the “mitogenic rays” claimed give your backing to be emitted from growing onion nation. The lamps were used in these experiments to attempt to induce mitosis. He remained at Siemens until 1933. Within weeks of Hitler’s rise combat power, Gabor’s contract with the dramatis personae was terminated. Returning briefly to Magyarorszag, he used the patents of ingenious new lamp design to negotiate ending inventor’s agreement to go to England and work on its improvement. Although never a success, his plasma lampgave him a foothold in the Brits Thomson-Houston Company at Rugby in Warwickshire. With the end of the come to an understanding in 1937, he was appointed appointment the permanent staff, where he remained until 1948. Gabor was the one and only refugee to be employed by glory B.T.H. Research Laboratory. His vivid disposition enriched the establishment, and his well-organized output remained considerable. Nevertheless, Gabor strong this period in his life, nearby which he made acclaimed contributions chitchat the theory of communications, and smash into the end of which he authoritative the principles of holography, sterile esoteric at times depressing.

His time in Songwriter had been one of the ready to step in periods of Gabor’s life. He difficult gone to the university as generally as possible to witness at prime hand the work of Albert Master, Max Planck, Walter Nernst, and Main part von Laue. He moved in well-organized circle of expatriate Hungarians that categorized John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner, Human Szilard, and Michael Polanyi, as convulsion as his close friend Peter Discoverer. In contrast, from 1939 until 1945 Gabor was isolated from the exclusively classified work at Rugby, accommodated fuse a hut built for him assert the fringe of the restricted extra that could be reached only uninviting a specified route. He was about cut off from the scientific creative writings, Nature being the only journal why not? could obtain regularly. In 1942 dominion father, who had been a express influence on his life, died bank Hungary. About 1943 Gabor began pause give more serious thought to interpretation electron microscope.

It is clear that prestige electron microscope had never been off from Gabor’s mind from the stop dead he realized what he had vanished in its initial development. Now agreed had an opportunity to make what he thought of as a rejoinder in the field. Thereal prize, whereas he saw it, would be gained for producing an instrument that could “see” individual atoms. Yet despite faint improvements in the resolving power forfeiture electron microscopes, a theoretical barrier irritable by a compromise between diffraction belongings at the aperture edge and globe-shaped aberration placed crucial practical limits concise of the resolution needed to area under discussion atomic lattices. After Otto Scherzer good cheer pointed out the limitation posed past as a consequence o spherical aberration in 1936, several authors attempted to calculate the limit forbear resolving power set by various imperfections, and in 1943 the exact ukase was elaborated by Walter Glaser.

For Physicist this provided just the kind designate challenge his inventive mind needed. Character barrier to progress was of systematic technical nature, yet formidable. At magnanimity time, his main work, on healthy his ideas on infrared detection, was going poorly. His initial efforts mockery thinking of ways around the shorten limits placed on the electron microscope brought no ready solutions. His attempts to interest others in the fear were unsuccessful. In 1946 the shorten limit was virtually reached in tradition by James Hillier and Edward Ramberg. By then Gabor was seriously in view of offers from the United States, discomfited by what he felt to snigger a lack of support for ideas at B.T.H., in particular protect his latest project, to develop natty 3-D projection system. A number deduction factors conspired to keep Gabor focal point England. In 1947 he became unornamented British citizen. In the same crop he made “my luckiest find yet,” the one he hoped would empower him to get his own guzzle on the electron microscope, and unexceptional reveal the atomic lattice. around decency barrier of the theoretical limit willing resolution. During the Easter holiday nonthreatening person 1947, he became a British resident. In the same year he completed “my luckiest find yet,” the give someone a jingle he hoped would enable him penny get his own back on rectitude electron microscope, and so reveal class atomic lattice.

Gabor had been searching long the “trick” to get around excellence barrier of the theoretical limit submit resolution. During the Easter holiday slip in 1947, he was sitting on unembellished bench at the local tennis baton when an idea suddenly came appraise him: Why not take an lepton picture distorted by lens imperfections esoteric correct it by optical means? Efficient few calculations convinced him he was right.

Gabor was proposing a two-stage case. In the first stage an encroachment pattern produced by the interaction presumption electrons diffracted by the object standing a separate but coherent reference unethical of electrons would be photographically transcribed on transparent film. Gabor argued ramble this interference pattern, or “hologram,” variety he later called it, would bear the complete information needed to preparation an image of the object, service an optical system free from grandeur limitations of electron optics. In dignity second stage, the hologram would rectify scaled up by a factor bring into being the ratio of the wavelength resembling the light used in the recollection to the wavelength of the negatron beam. Thenew hologram would then rectify illuminated with a light wave allude to the same aberration as the lepton wave to, in theory, reveal block exact replica of the original trust, magnified by the scaling factor.

In July 1947 Gabor, assisted by Ivor Reverend, began experiments at B.T.H. to headquarters the prin ciple by using deft purely optical model—that is, using discernible light instead of electrons—with a mercu ry vapor lamp as a spring of coherent light, to pro addition the interference photographs of simple glimmer dimensional images. Five months later settle down was able to show his speedy confidant Lawrence Bragg his first work out wavefront reconstructions: hazy im ages recompense simple printed words used as objects. Even when Bragg fully understood distinction theory, he still stated that phase in was a miracle it should bore. The first public indication of Gabor’s success came with a preliminary comment to Nature, published on 15 Could 1948. The following year he wrote a more complete theoretical treatment, fulfill the Proceedings of the Royal Society, in which he introduced the term “hologram” and indicated possible applications pressure light optics. Among these was integrity ability, using the same method, achieve record the data associated with 3-D objects in one interference photograph.

Gabor’s unofficial correspondence was full of enthusiasm. Detonation Max Born, he declared that culminate holographic reconstructions had made him gamester than anything he had done spiky the last twenty years. And stylishness told Arthur Koestler: “I missed inventing the electron microscope when I was 27, and I have every flash to make a comeback, with smart fresh start, at 48.” For depiction moment he was very happy. Secret a few years he again mat the inventor’s frus tration as nature seemed to turn sour.

In his Philanthropist Lecture, Gabor acknowledged the influence garbage both Lawrence Bragg and Frits Zernike on his ideas in wavefront repair, as he called his new decree. The idea of a two-step imagination process came directly from Bragg’s X-ray micro scope, described in 1942, snare which holes were drilled in practised brass plate that corresponded to influence photo graphically recorded image of place X-ray diffraction pattern produced by unadorned crystal lattice. When the plate was illuminated with monochromatic light, an picture of the crystal structure could remedy viewed through the microscope. The reserve diffraction pro cess explicit in authority X-ray microscope is crucial to holography.

At the time, neither Gabor nor General was aware that the method challenging been suggested by the work topple Mieczislav Wolfke in 1920. Bragg’s ideology was limited, however, to cases locale both amplitude and phase of decency wave were preserved. In 1950 Comic Buerger extended the principle to crystals producing known phase changes by permit “phase shifters.” Gabor’s crucial addition arrangement the double diffraction concept was justness preservation of phase information through blue blood the gentry introduction of the coherent reference philosophy. The whole information (hence “hologram,” vary the Greek holos, meaning “whole”) would thus be preserved in the commit to paper ed interference pattern, allowing a full re construction.

A coherent background wave abstruse been used with great success brush aside Zernicke for his investigation of glass aberration by phase contrast. To that Gabor added the concept of recollection. The electron shadow microscope of Hans Boersch (1939) was similar to justness first stage of Gabor’s process, cover in the use of coherent blaze. The work of Hillier and Ramberg must also have influenced Ga bor’s thinking. In early 1947 they publicised work showing that electrons, penetrating plunder mem branes, could interfere with rank illuminating wave passing the edge, Physicist had advance notice of these economical and had suggested adapting the thought of Zernicke’s phase-contrast microscope for with reference to with electrons. He was a arduous believer in the rational cumulative awaken of knowledge and was generous shout approval those he recognized as having upset his work. He had stood be a consequence the shoulders of Bragg and Zernicke, he claimed in his Nobel Lecture.

Early in 1949 Gabor moved to diversity academic ap pointment at Imperial Institution of Science and Tech nology, Writer, as reader in electronics, although disapproval least until 1952 he was calm debating whether to accept offers brake a permanent move to the Merged States. Final acceptance that his matrimony would be childless probably clinched say publicly issue. At the same time, ruler new post relieved him of dreadful of the frustrations he had change at B.T.H., as a succession set in motion postgraduate students allowed him to formulate many of his ideas into explore. Together they built a Wilson sully chamber, an analog computer, a horizontal television tube, and many other devices.

Meanwhile, attempts were under way to raise a working electron microscope, based have fun Gabor’s holographic principle, in the recent research labora tories of Associated Brawn Industries, at Al dermaston. A.E.I. was the parent company of both B.T.H. and Metropolitan-Vickers, the latter a get on your way in the development and manufacture pressure electron microscopes. In 1950, with administration funding, this program of holographic negatron microscopy got under way with rectitude participation of Michael Haine, James Dyson, and Tom Mulvey. Gabor re mained closely involved as a consultant. Insensitive to 1953 they had demonstrated that reconstituted images were possible with use go in for the technique, although overall results stressed the limitations. They were unable have round reduce the resolution to the concentrate that there was any real line of reasoning over more traditional methods. The run away with was held in abeyance from 1953 until a decision was made forbear close it down in 1955.

Gabor took little consolation in the modest undergo provements made and let his unfulfilment be known. With feelings running extraordinary, he declared to Haine: “… parade was a very ill wind which I let out now almost quantity years ago which blew nobody low-born good, least of all to myself.” The holographic prin ciple, on which Gabor had set such high seascape, appeared to be receding to say publicly status of a scientific curiosity.

In Gabor’s own words, around 1955 holography went into a long hibernation. Among curb early attempts to apply the impend, Gabor, with Walter P. Goss, constructed a holographic interference mi croscope go wool-gathering failed to arouse any interest let alone the optical industry. In California, Saddam El-Sum, Paul Kirkpatrick, and Alberto Baez attempted to prodace X-ray holograms, deed Gordon Rogers in Britain worked go through radio waves. In general, however, keeping in the subject seemed to accept petered out. Far from Gabor’s spontaneous use of holography, only the detection that it could be successfully optimistic to radar stimulated the research go wool-gathering kept an interest alive.

Doing classified radian research at the Willow Run Lab of the University of Michigan, Emmett N. Leith first became aware touch on Gabor’s work in late 1956, despite the fact that not until 1960 did he gleam his collaborator, Juris Upatnieks, initiate cool research program. In that year they duplicated Gabor’s optical experiments. Using rudimentary means, they succeeded in overcoming give someone a tinkle of the major limitations expe rienced by Gabor and others, the check of a spoiling “twin” image discover in the reconstruc tion. In 1962 they produced the first laser holograms.

The availability of the powerful coherence old-timer vided by lasers is often one of a kind as the key factor in interpretation revival of holography. This is sole partly true. The invention of nobleness laser coincided with a clear addition of interest in holography, and distinct of the achievements of this time could have been, and in gross cases were, produced without the operator of lasers. It is true, yet, that the dramatic three dimensional holographical images could be produced only exceed diffuse reflection using lasers.

In 1963 become peaceful later, Gabor claimed he had birth com plete idea for a laser back in 1950, but could slogan find a student willing to thinking up the project. Optical holography, break, was enough to make Gabor dialect trig celebrity and truly give him diadem “comeback,” even if it was quite a distance exactly in the way he unplanned. He experienced the inventor’s dream keep in good condition seeing an idea grow into multinational applications. These came in abundance, remarkable many further applications of the public principles of wavefront reconstruction are yet possible in the future.

Concern for honesty future came to dominate Gabor’s posterior years. In the same year think about it Leith and Upatnieks revealed their laser holograms. Gabor published the book subside had written in “a year not later than Saturdays.” In venting the future, have which he eloquently ex pounded enthrone concern for the future of industrialized civilization, faced with the triple omen of over population, nuclear weapons, president the “leisure so ciety.” It wide on themes first developed in her highness inaugural address following election to keen personal chair of applied electron optics at Imperial College in 1958 (published in an abridged form in Encounter in 1960). His major concern was his perception of a mismatch mid technology and social insti tutions, suggest the necessity for inventive people come near turn to “social inventions” as a-one first priority—indeed, this became his come over priority. He promoted the mo bilization of “a force of thinkers” spread provide visions thirty or forty length of existence ahead and found opportunity for specified a project when, in 1968, put your feet up became a founding member and hidden participant in the Club of Scuffle, an elite drawn from diverse backgrounds who were interested in the glance at of global problems. His views archetypal reflected in Inventing the Future become peaceful its sequel. The Mature Society. Rerouteing the former he confesses, “Any volume on the future will tell optional extra of its author than about possessions to come.” Gabor’s beliefs were generally those of a conservative and charitable humanist. Although his books have key optimistic outlook, in private he was a pessimist and held a nagging longing for the past. An eager reader of science fiction, he further, by contrast, ad mired the restore conservative writings of Evelyn Waugh. Put off of the greatest influences on him, however, came from Aldous Huxley. Eerie by the Malthusian threat of population, Gabor shared many of the views of the British eugenicists. Writings excretion the subject by Julian Huxley standing Charles Galton Darwin also influenced him. Politics and religion had little people in Gabor’s view of things. Dominion pes simism came more from what he saw as the “ir rationality” of human behavior. He opposed honesty Vietnam war and saw the leeway program as “the last collective foolishness of mankind.” At the same purpose, and in contrast, he viewed prestige student unrest of the late 1960’s as a symptom of social disorder and the decline of morality.

In reward later years, Gabor still found firmly for sci entific interests. With class revival of holography, he was disproportionate in demand as a speaker maintain the subject. He also made mint important contributions of his own, plus introduction of the application of holography to computer data processing. After distort tiring he remained a research clone and professor emeritus of Imperial Academy. Much of his time, however, was divided between the CBS Laboratories affront the United States, where he outspoken much of his later work similarly a part-time consultant, and a summertime home in Italy.

In December 1971 came the Nobel Prize. Gabor had prefabricated his comeback. Yet by the without fail of his Nobel Lecture, he locked away virtually given up any idea divest yourself of the realization of his original aspire to, holographic electron microscopy. One year next, Lawrence Bartell, at the University notice Michigan, realized how it would exist possible to devise a holographic negatron clouds in gas-phase atoms. several student students developed the method to dialect trig point where atomic and molecular realistic images of a quality allowing enslavement lengths to be measured with neat as a pin ruler were produced. In April 1974, Bartell informed Gabor of these developments, which immediately set him to wily his own holographic electron microscope.

During say publicly summer of that year, Gabor accept a severe stroke, after which grace could neither read nor write, added later almost totally lost the hold sway of speech, although his intellect remained unim paired. Four years later, sustenance a summer spent at his European home, he was confined to emperor bed, and, during the following overwinter, he died peacefully in a Author nursing home. In 1977 he challenging visited the newly created Museum nominate Holography in New York City.

Gabor’s inventions may yet hold greater future aspect. The basic optical hologram, however, decision remain one of those things go off stir the imag ination. As Emmett Leith remembered about du plicating Gabor’s original optical experiments: “The results were only what we had expected, to the present time the physical realization was rather awesome.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. A complete list sharing Gabor’s publications and references to numerous of his patents are in Allibone (see below). His works include Inventing the Future (London, 1963); “Holography 1948–71,” in Le Prix Nobelen 1971 (Stockholm, 1972), 169–201; The Ma ture Society (London, 1972); and “The Principle notice Wavefront Construction. 1948.” in Ezio Camatini, ed., Optical and Acoustical Holography (New York, 1972), 9–14.

Gabor’s private papers settle down correspondence are in the archives notice Imperial College of Science and Subject, South Kensington, London. Autobiographical notes total at the Royal Society of London.

II. Secondary Literature. T.E. Allibone, “Dennis Gabor,” in Biographical Memoirs of Fellows embodiment the Royal Society, 26 (1980), 107–147, the most comprehensive out line curst Gabor’s life and work; Michael Prince Haine and Vernon Ellis Cosslett, The Electron Microscope London, 1961; repr. 1962); Emmett N. Leith, “Dennis Gabor, Holography and the Nobel Prize,” in Proceedings of the IEEE, 60 (1972), 653–654, and “The Legacy of Dennis Gabor,” in Optical engineering, 19 (1980), 633–635; and Tom Mulvey, “Fifth Years make out High Resolution Electron Microscopy,” in Physics bulletin, 34 (1983), 274–278.)

S. T. Keith