Hendrik Casimir

Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir (July 15th 1909 - May 4th 2000) is a physicist Dutch.

Biographical elements

Born with $the Hague, he studies with the Université of Leyde, where he works under the direction of Paul Ehrenfest for his Doctorat, that he obtains in 1931. It is on this occasion that it will introduce the idea of the operators of Casimir. Of 1932 with 1933, he becomes the assistant of Pauli to the federal polytechnic school of Zurich (ETH), where he succeeds Rudolf Peierls. It returns then in Leyde, where it temporarily occupies the Ehrenfest pulpit, which has just committed suicide, until the arrival of Hendrik Kramers in 1934.

In 1936, it joined the laboratory of Cryogénie directed by of Haas. Because of a conflict of personality with Haas, it leaves Leyde in 1940 - during the Occupation Nazi of the Netherlands - and it joined the research laboratory of Philips, largely giving up its university career. Always caustic, Pauli will call it then “ Mister the Director ” because of his passage to the private .

It is between 1946 and 1949, at Philips, that he works with the effect which bears its name today. A few years later, at the time of a conference, he will speak about this effect with Pauli, which will answer him initially: “ it is a complete nonsense ”, before being finally let convince. Pauli will then cease using “ Mister the Director ” in his connection.

Casimir will work in the Philips laboratory, of which he will become assistant editor in 1946, then one of the member of the board of directors in 1956, until his retirement in 1972. He dies with Heeze in 2000.

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