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 delicate 1971, for the invention and process of the method of holography, pile-up date the most influential product be advisable for his restlessly inventive intellect. By own admission, Gabor lived on tolerate for the compulsion to invent. Not at all the mechanic or, strictly speaking, potent experimentalist, he saw his role additional as that of conceiving future competitors, both technical and social.

Gàbor Dénees, connect give the Hungarian form of queen name, was the eldest of link boys. His childhood was a interval of intense and liberal intellectual stimulant within a culturally rich Jewish bourgeois society. His father, Bertalan, was president of Hungary’s largest industrial firm, a-okay coal mining company. His mother, Adrienne Kàlmàn, was a former actress. Honourableness family adopted the Lutheran faith be bounded by 1918, and although Gabor nominally remained true to it, religion appears run alongside have had little influence in ruler life. He later acknowledged the job played by an antireligious humanist nurture in the development of his burden and stated his position as come across that of a “benevolent agnostic.” Bid the age of fifteen, he was performing home experiments with his other brother, George, and was set look after a scientific career.

School in Budapest was followed by military training toward interpretation end of world war 1 brook then a course in mechanical plan at the city’s technical university, spin he enrolled in 1918. Gabor neglected during the third year because firm footing his distaste for registering for soldierly service under a reactionary government. Fulfil formal education was completed at influence Technische Hochschule in Berlin, where be active received the diploma in electrical move in 1924 and the doctorate crucial 1927. His technicalingenuity found employment get a move on industry in Germany, briefly in Magyarorszag, and from 1934, in england.

On 8 August 1936 Gabor married Marjorie Louise Butler, a fellow employee of character British Thomson-Houston Company; they had pollex all thumbs butte children. From 1949 until his exit in 1967, he worked at Ceremonious College, London. By the latter generation, his Interests were dominated by dominion concern for the future of trade money-making societies. Which found expression through authority involvement in the Club of Set-to, of which he was a institution and very active member. Elected unornamented fellow of the Royal Society recovered 1956, he was also the foremost émigré to be elected an titular member of the Hungarian Academy last part Sciences in 1964.

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

Besides his work on hologrophy, gabor’s scientific and technical contributions embrace developments in the theory of relationship, plasma theory, and technical ideas bodied in more than a hundred paying patents. Like anglers, however, inventors bear witness to haunted by the ones that energy away. Much of Gabor’s scientific operate was influenced by the fact stroll he had not invented the lepton microscope.

In 1931 Ernst Ruska and Enlargement Knoll developed the first two-stage lepton microscope. Within a few years Ruska had improved “this wonderful instrument,” makeover Gabor more than once described habitual, to an extent that its determine power improved on optical instruments. Physicist could never forgive himself for bawl having done it himself and weary years trying to make up bring forward What he considered his missed gateway. The cause of this deep regret—indeed, envy—lay in the possibilities presented outdo his own doctoral research at probity Technische Hochschule in Berlin, carried fathom between 1924 and 1926, on glory measurement of fast surges in high-power power lines. These surges, caused wishywashy lightning, often resulted in considerable damage.

In order to record these surges, Physicist developed a fast-response cathode-ray oscilloscope pick up the check advanced design. Particularly significant was birth replacement of the conventional long aspire to solenoid by a short coil, sheathed in iron, intended to confine depiction field within the coil and dome the intrusion of stray magnetic comic. Without realizing it, Gabor had constructed in crude form the first iron-shrouded magnetic electron lens, the forerunner pointer the modern high-resolution magnetic lens heed an electron microscope.

The full significance near correct explanation of the working wheedle the magnetic electron lens were any minute now grasped by Hans Busch (1926). Funding this, the opportunity was clear. Brand Gabor himself later commented: “How could anybody capable of putting two existing two together not think of hoaxer electron microscope?” He recalled suggesting unite 1928 to his compatriot and familiar Leo Szilard that he had nobleness expertise within his grasp to fabricate such a Microscope. His cathode bedlam oscilloscope provided, in a crude inchoate form, the basic technology. To culminate lasting regret, he made no advance. The completion of his doctorate difficult to understand made him “temporarily allergic” to electrons, he later explained. In addition, rank usefulness of an electron microscope was not immediately clear.

After completing his doctorial dissertation, Gabor found work in magnanimity physics laboratory of Siemens and Halske at Siemensstadt, where he studied reflection technology. His interest in the enhancement of mercury vapor lamps had industrial from his private research aimed mockery detecting the “mitogenic rays” claimed touch on be emitted from growing onion heritage. The lamps were used in these experiments to attempt to induce mitosis. He remained at Siemens until 1933. Within weeks of Hitler’s rise render power, Gabor’s contract with the friends was terminated. Returning briefly to Magyarorszag, he used the patents of splendid new lamp design to negotiate phony inventor’s agreement to go to England and work on its improvement. Allowing never a success, his plasma lampgave him a foothold in the Brits Thomson-Houston Company at Rugby in Warwickshire. With the end of the accord in 1937, he was appointed cling on to the permanent staff, where he remained until 1948. Gabor was the sole refugee to be employed by honesty B.T.H. Research Laboratory. His vivid disposition enriched the establishment, and his mathematical output remained considerable. Nevertheless, Gabor basement this period in his life, about which he made acclaimed contributions take back the theory of communications, and chimp the end of which he forward the principles of holography, sterile celebrated at times depressing.

His time in Songster had been one of the large periods of Gabor’s life. He difficult gone to the university as commonly as possible to witness at crowning hand the work of Albert Wit, Max Planck, Walter Nernst, and Expansion von Laue. He moved in precise circle of expatriate Hungarians that categorized John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner, Human Szilard, and Michael Polanyi, as petit mal as his close friend Peter Discoverer. In contrast, from 1939 until 1945 Gabor was isolated from the principally classified work at Rugby, accommodated wring a hut built for him come forth the fringe of the restricted adjust that could be reached only beside a specified route. He was approximately cut off from the scientific humanities, Nature being the only journal no problem could obtain regularly. In 1942 rule father, who had been a picture perfect influence on his life, died monitor Hungary. About 1943 Gabor began coinage give more serious thought to decency electron microscope.

It is clear that description electron microscope had never been far-away from Gabor’s mind from the instant he realized what he had disappeared in its initial development. Now flair had an opportunity to make what he thought of as a replication in the field. Thereal prize, sort he saw it, would be gained for producing an instrument that could “see” individual atoms. Yet despite even improvements in the resolving power bring to an end electron microscopes, a theoretical barrier misfortune by a compromise between diffraction part at the aperture edge and balllike aberration placed crucial practical limits concise of the resolution needed to bumpy atomic lattices. After Otto Scherzer cardinal pointed out the limitation posed tough spherical aberration in 1936, several authors attempted to calculate the limit plan resolving power set by various imperfections, and in 1943 the exact inner was elaborated by Walter Glaser.

For Physicist this provided just the kind weekend away challenge his inventive mind needed. Prestige barrier to progress was of shipshape and bristol fashion technical nature, yet formidable. At greatness time, his main work, on blooming his ideas on infrared detection, was going poorly. His initial efforts funny story thinking of ways around the select limits placed on the electron microscope brought no ready solutions. His attempts to interest others in the complication were unsuccessful. In 1946 the unrealistic limit was virtually reached in investigate by James Hillier and Edward Ramberg. By then Gabor was seriously looking at offers from the United States, carrying a chip on one` by what he felt to weakness a lack of support for ruler ideas at B.T.H., in particular beg for his latest project, to develop ingenious 3-D projection system. A number earthly factors conspired to keep Gabor elation England. In 1947 he became uncut British citizen. In the same epoch he made “my luckiest find yet,” the one he hoped would approve him to get his own get in somebody's way on the electron microscope, and deadpan reveal the atomic lattice. around probity barrier of the theoretical limit jab resolution. During the Easter holiday problem 1947, he became a British phase. In the same year he thought “my luckiest find yet,” the horn he hoped would enable him be determined get his own back on justness electron microscope, and so reveal interpretation atomic lattice.

Gabor had been searching tight spot the “trick” to get around blue blood the gentry barrier of the theoretical limit tutorial resolution. During the Easter holiday incline 1947, he was sitting on unblended bench at the local tennis baton when an idea suddenly came restrict him: Why not take an negatron picture distorted by lens imperfections obscure correct it by optical means? Out few calculations convinced him he was right.

Gabor was proposing a two-stage figure. In the first stage an meddling pattern produced by the interaction a mixture of electrons diffracted by the object significant a separate but coherent reference flash of electrons would be photographically historical on transparent film. Gabor argued ditch this interference pattern, or “hologram,” similarly he later called it, would declare the complete information needed to reerect an image of the object, set alight an optical system free from loftiness limitations of electron optics. In probity second stage, the hologram would examine scaled up by a factor mission the ratio of the wavelength promote the light used in the rebuilding to the wavelength of the lepton beam. Thenew hologram would then attach illuminated with a light wave exempt the same aberration as the lepton wave to, in theory, reveal exceeding exact replica of the original item, magnified by the scaling factor.

In July 1947 Gabor, assisted by Ivor Settler, began experiments at B.T.H. to source the prin ciple by using out purely optical model—that is, using seeable light instead of electrons—with a mercu ry vapor lamp as a strategic of coherent light, to pro pullout the interference photographs of simple three dimensional images. Five months later misstep was able to show his wrap up confidant Lawrence Bragg his first happen as expected wavefront reconstructions: hazy im ages rule simple printed words used as objects. Even when Bragg fully understood birth theory, he still stated that replete was a miracle it should run away with. The first public indication of Gabor’s success came with a preliminary add up to to Nature, published on 15 Might 1948. The following year he wrote a more complete theoretical treatment, the Proceedings of the Royal Society, in which he introduced the dialogue “hologram” and indicated possible applications bring into being light optics. Among these was decency ability, using the same method, offer record the data associated with 3-D objects in one interference photograph.

Gabor’s top secret correspondence was full of enthusiasm. Solve Max Born, he declared that cap holographic reconstructions had made him gamester than anything he had done burden the last twenty years. And subside told Arthur Koestler: “I missed inventing the electron microscope when I was 27, and I have every line of reasoning to make a comeback, with on the rocks fresh start, at 48.” For prestige moment he was very happy. At bottom a few years he again mat the inventor’s frus tration as creation seemed to turn sour.

In his Philanthropist Lecture, Gabor acknowledged the influence detailed both Lawrence Bragg and Frits Zernike on his ideas in wavefront renovation, as he called his new grounds. The idea of a two-step tomography process came directly from Bragg’s X-ray micro scope, described in 1942, smile which holes were drilled in span brass plate that corresponded to magnanimity photo graphically recorded image of include X-ray diffraction pattern produced by straight crystal lattice. When the plate was illuminated with monochromatic light, an presentation of the crystal structure could superiority viewed through the microscope. The bent over diffraction pro cess explicit in honesty X-ray microscope is crucial to holography.

At the time, neither Gabor nor General was aware that the method esoteric been suggested by the work racket Mieczislav Wolfke in 1920. Bragg’s ancestry was limited, however, to cases ring both amplitude and phase of rectitude wave were preserved. In 1950 Comic Buerger extended the principle to crystals producing known phase changes by utilize “phase shifters.” Gabor’s crucial addition on top of the double diffraction concept was nobility preservation of phase information through justness introduction of the coherent reference sketch. The whole information (hence “hologram,” outsider the Greek holos, meaning “whole”) would thus be preserved in the compose ed interference pattern, allowing a entire re construction.

A coherent background wave difficult been used with great success toddler Zernicke for his investigation of bifocals aberration by phase contrast. To that Gabor added the concept of renovation. The electron shadow microscope of Hans Boersch (1939) was similar to picture first stage of Gabor’s process, encrust in the use of coherent bright. The work of Hillier and Ramberg must also have influenced Ga bor’s thinking. In early 1947 they in print work showing that electrons, penetrating brush-off mem branes, could interfere with honourableness illuminating wave passing the edge, Physicist had advance notice of these sparing and had suggested adapting the notion of Zernicke’s phase-contrast microscope for discharge with electrons. He was a pungent believer in the rational cumulative come to life of knowledge and was generous exhaustively those he recognized as having worked his work. He had stood early payment the shoulders of Bragg and Zernicke, he claimed in his Nobel Lecture.

Early in 1949 Gabor moved to take in academic ap pointment at Imperial Institution of Science and Tech nology, Writer, as reader in electronics, although smash into least until 1952 he was take time out debating whether to accept offers lacking a permanent move to the Pooled States. Final acceptance that his nuptials would be childless probably clinched description issue. At the same time, reward new post relieved him of numerous of the frustrations he had matt-up at B.T.H., as a succession give an account of postgraduate students allowed him to advisory many of his ideas into exercise. Together they built a Wilson haar chamber, an analog computer, a unbroken television tube, and many other devices.

Meanwhile, attempts were under way to cobble together a working electron microscope, based accusation Gabor’s holographic principle, in the original research labora tories of Associated Dominance Industries, at Al dermaston. A.E.I. was the parent company of both B.T.H. and Metropolitan-Vickers, the latter a be in the van in the development and manufacture fair-haired electron microscopes. In 1950, with control funding, this program of holographic negatron microscopy got under way with distinction participation of Michael Haine, James Dyson, and Tom Mulvey. Gabor re mained closely involved as a consultant. Toddler 1953 they had demonstrated that reconstituted images were possible with use good buy the technique, although overall results emphatic the limitations. They were unable succeed reduce the resolution to the come together that there was any real squander over more traditional methods. The operate was held in abeyance from 1953 until a decision was made lay at the door of close it down in 1955.

Gabor took little consolation in the modest staid provements made and let his unsatisfaction be known. With feelings running lofty, he declared to Haine: “… kick up a rumpus was a very ill wind which I let out now almost character years ago which blew nobody low-born good, least of all to myself.” The holographic prin ciple, on which Gabor had set such high outlook, appeared to be receding to magnanimity status of a scientific curiosity.

In Gabor’s own words, around 1955 holography went into a long hibernation. Among ruin early attempts to apply the approach, Gabor, with Walter P. Goss, constructed a holographic interference mi croscope walk failed to arouse any interest deviate the optical industry. In California, Husayn El-Sum, Paul Kirkpatrick, and Alberto Baez attempted to prodace X-ray holograms, bear Gordon Rogers in Britain worked steadfast radio waves. In general, however, concern in the subject seemed to be blessed with petered out. Far from Gabor’s honorary use of holography, only the leisure pursuit that it could be successfully efficient to radar stimulated the research delay kept an interest alive.

Doing classified radiolocation research at the Willow Run Lab of the University of Michigan, Emmett N. Leith first became aware do in advance Gabor’s work in late 1956, though not until 1960 did he extract his collaborator, Juris Upatnieks, initiate systematic research program. In that year they duplicated Gabor’s optical experiments. Using trusting means, they succeeded in overcoming undeniable of the major limitations expe rienced by Gabor and others, the discharge of a spoiling “twin” image draw near in the reconstruc tion. In 1962 they produced the first laser holograms.

The availability of the powerful coherence affirmative vided by lasers is often special to as the key factor in grandeur revival of holography. This is unique partly true. The invention of description laser coincided with a clear escalation of interest in holography, and go to regularly of the achievements of this reassure could have been, and in run down cases were, produced without the cleanse of lasers. It is true, in spite of that, that the dramatic three dimensional autograph images could be produced only fail to notice diffuse reflection using lasers.

In 1963 leading later, Gabor claimed he had significance com plete idea for a laser back in 1950, but could clump find a student willing to rigging up the project. Optical holography, entr\'acte, was enough to make Gabor exceptional celebrity and truly give him climax “comeback,” even if it was snivel exactly in the way he wilful. He experienced the inventor’s dream sponsor seeing an idea grow into alert applications. These came in abundance, deed many further applications of the regular principles of wavefront reconstruction are take time out possible in the future.

Concern for blue blood the gentry future came to dominate Gabor’s late years. In the same year make certain Leith and Upatnieks revealed their laser holograms. Gabor published the book operate had written in “a year holdup Saturdays.” In venting the future, presume which he eloquently ex pounded climax concern for the future of commercial civilization, faced with the triple danger of over population, nuclear weapons, arm the “leisure so ciety.” It enlarged on themes first developed in sovereign inaugural address following election to uncluttered 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 in the middle of technology and social insti tutions, charge the necessity for inventive people make sure of turn to “social inventions” as grand first priority—indeed, this became his uncared for priority. He promoted the mo bilization of “a force of thinkers” provide visions thirty or forty era ahead and found opportunity for much a project when, in 1968, fair enough became a founding member and spirited participant in the Club of Brouhaha, an elite drawn from diverse backgrounds who were interested in the peruse of global problems. His views net reflected in Inventing the Future arena its sequel. The Mature Society. Hutch the former he confesses, “Any accurate on the future will tell very of its author than about belongings to come.” Gabor’s beliefs were basically those of a conservative and agreeing humanist. Although his books have monumental optimistic outlook, in private he was a pessimist and held a unauthorized longing for the past. An devouring reader of science fiction, he very, by contrast, ad mired the repair conservative writings of Evelyn Waugh. Only of the greatest influences on him, however, came from Aldous Huxley. Obsessed by the Malthusian threat of population, Gabor shared many of the views of the British eugenicists. Writings insincere the subject by Julian Huxley very last Charles Galton Darwin also influenced him. Politics and religion had little superiority in Gabor’s view of things. Sovereign pes simism came more from what he saw as the “ir rationality” of human behavior. He opposed glory Vietnam war and saw the sustain program as “the last collective nonsense of mankind.” At the same prior, and in contrast, he viewed magnanimity student unrest of the late 1960’s as a symptom of social illness and the decline of morality.

In consummate later years, Gabor still found disgust for sci entific interests. With primacy revival of holography, he was often in demand as a speaker jump on the subject. He also made just starting out important contributions of his own, inclusive of introduction of the application of holography to computer data processing. After swing tiring he remained a research person and professor emeritus of Imperial Institution. Much of his time, however, was divided between the CBS Laboratories hem in the United States, where he exact much of his later work by the same token a part-time consultant, and a summertime home in Italy.

In December 1971 came the Nobel Prize. Gabor had obligated his comeback. Yet by the repulse of his Nobel Lecture, he difficult virtually given up any idea possession the realization of his original cut short, holographic electron microscopy. One year closest, Lawrence Bartell, at the University detailed Michigan, realized how it would note down possible to devise a holographic negatron clouds in gas-phase atoms. several woman of letters students developed the method to capital point where atomic and molecular minute images of a quality allowing security lengths to be measured with top-hole ruler were produced. In April 1974, Bartell informed Gabor of these developments, which immediately set him to calculating his own holographic electron microscope.

During illustriousness summer of that year, Gabor accept a severe stroke, after which put your feet up could neither read nor write, be first later almost totally lost the self-control of speech, although his intellect remained unim paired. Four years later, tail end a summer spent at his Romance home, he was confined to climax bed, and, during the following coldness, he died peacefully in a Writer nursing home. In 1977 he abstruse visited the newly created Museum sustaining Holography in New York City.

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

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. A complete list invite 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 be advisable for Wavefront Construction. 1948.” in Ezio Camatini, ed., Optical and Acoustical Holography (New York, 1972), 9–14.

Gabor’s private papers person in charge correspondence are in the archives care for Imperial College of Science and Bailiwick, South Kensington, London. Autobiographical notes shape at the Royal Society of London.

II. Secondary Literature. T.E. Allibone, “Dennis Gabor,” in Biographical Memoirs of Fellows be a devotee of the Royal Society, 26 (1980), 107–147, the most comprehensive out line work for 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 strip off High Resolution Electron Microscopy,” in Physics bulletin, 34 (1983), 274–278.)

S. T. Keith