Welsh physicist Brian David Josephson won the 1973 Nobel Prize in physics. Josephson’s theories predicted how electrons flow through an insulating barrier, a phenomenon now called the Josephson effect.
Brian D. Josephson, born in 1940, Welsh physicist and one of the youngest recipients of a Nobel Prize. Josephson shared the 1973 Nobel for physics with Japanese physicist Leo Esaki and Norwegian-born American physicist Ivar Giaever for their research on tunneling effects in semiconductors and superconductors (see Superconductivity). According to classical physics, an electric current—and specifically, electrons—cannot flow in a circuit that is interrupted by an insulating barrier. Since the 1930s, many physicists had predicted that electrons might be able to “tunnel” through an insulating barrier if it was thin enough. Esaki, who first demonstrated tunneling in semiconductors, laid the groundwork for Giaever's research on superconducting tunnel junctions. Based on their discoveries, Josephson formulated theories predicting how electrons flow through a tunnel barrier.
Josephson was born in Cardiff, Wales. He attended Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a B.A. (1960), an M.A. (1964), and a Ph.D. (1964) in physics. In 1962 he made his Nobel-prize winning observations about the behavior of an electrical contact between a superconducting material and a normal metal separated by a very thin insulating layer. Traditional quantum theory stated that only a small amount of current (electrons) could tunnel through the nonconducting barrier. Josephson predicted that a much higher number of electrons would actually move across the insulator. He also noted that this current would be affected by an external magnetic field. The flow of electric current through nonconductive material became known as the Josephson effect. Josephson's discoveries have had practical applications in the development of miniature electronics.
In 1964 Josephson took a teaching position at the University of Cambridge. He spent a year at the University of Illinois as a visiting research professor, returning to the University of Cambridge in 1967 to serve as assistant director of research in physics. He then worked as reader in physics for two years. In 1974 Josephson became professor of physics.
He shifted his research focus from physics to the scientific study of the mind after attending a 1971 lecture on transcendental meditation. He became interested in synthesizing modern physics and mathematics with the study of intelligence, language, higher states of consciousness, and the paranormal. With Indian chemical engineer V.S. Ramachandran, Josephson edited Consciousness and the Physical World (1979).
Brian D. Josephson, born in 1940, Welsh physicist and one of the youngest recipients of a Nobel Prize. Josephson shared the 1973 Nobel for physics with Japanese physicist Leo Esaki and Norwegian-born American physicist Ivar Giaever for their research on tunneling effects in semiconductors and superconductors (see Superconductivity). According to classical physics, an electric current—and specifically, electrons—cannot flow in a circuit that is interrupted by an insulating barrier. Since the 1930s, many physicists had predicted that electrons might be able to “tunnel” through an insulating barrier if it was thin enough. Esaki, who first demonstrated tunneling in semiconductors, laid the groundwork for Giaever's research on superconducting tunnel junctions. Based on their discoveries, Josephson formulated theories predicting how electrons flow through a tunnel barrier.
Josephson was born in Cardiff, Wales. He attended Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a B.A. (1960), an M.A. (1964), and a Ph.D. (1964) in physics. In 1962 he made his Nobel-prize winning observations about the behavior of an electrical contact between a superconducting material and a normal metal separated by a very thin insulating layer. Traditional quantum theory stated that only a small amount of current (electrons) could tunnel through the nonconducting barrier. Josephson predicted that a much higher number of electrons would actually move across the insulator. He also noted that this current would be affected by an external magnetic field. The flow of electric current through nonconductive material became known as the Josephson effect. Josephson's discoveries have had practical applications in the development of miniature electronics.
In 1964 Josephson took a teaching position at the University of Cambridge. He spent a year at the University of Illinois as a visiting research professor, returning to the University of Cambridge in 1967 to serve as assistant director of research in physics. He then worked as reader in physics for two years. In 1974 Josephson became professor of physics.
He shifted his research focus from physics to the scientific study of the mind after attending a 1971 lecture on transcendental meditation. He became interested in synthesizing modern physics and mathematics with the study of intelligence, language, higher states of consciousness, and the paranormal. With Indian chemical engineer V.S. Ramachandran, Josephson edited Consciousness and the Physical World (1979).
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