PHYSICIST

Arthur Leonard Schawlow

1921 - 1999

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Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 1999) was an American physicist who, along with Charles Townes, developed the theoretical basis for laser science. His central insight was the use of two mirrors as the resonant cavity to take maser action from microwaves to visible wavelengths. He shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for his work using lasers to determine atomic energy levels with great precision. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Arthur Leonard Schawlow is the 180th most popular physicist (up from 206th in 2019), the 660th most popular biography from United States (up from 781st in 2019) and the 29th most popular American Physicist.

Arthur Leonard Schawlow is most famous for his work in laser physics. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981 with Nicolaas Bloembergen for their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy.

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Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Arthur Leonard Schawlow ranks 180 out of 851Before him are Leon Cooper, James Jeans, Julius von Mayer, Herbert Kroemer, Martin Lewis Perl, and Richard E. Taylor. After him are Burton Richter, Isamu Akasaki, Shin'ichirō Tomonaga, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Jerome Isaac Friedman, and Hans Geiger.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1921, Arthur Leonard Schawlow ranks 30Before him are Gunnar Nordahl, Sophie Scholl, Aaron T. Beck, Joseph Beuys, Ágnes Keleti, and Paulo Freire. After him are Fawzia Fuad of Egypt, Vasily Smyslov, Gianni Agnelli, Yoichiro Nambu, Patricia Highsmith, and Ralph Asher Alpher. Among people deceased in 1999, Arthur Leonard Schawlow ranks 16Before him are Gertrude B. Elion, Mario Puzo, Joaquín Rodrigo, Amália Rodrigues, Yehudi Menuhin, and Raisa Gorbacheva. After him are Wassily Leontief, Anatoliy Solovianenko, Robert Bresson, Willi Stoph, Glenn T. Seaborg, and Wilt Chamberlain.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Arthur Leonard Schawlow ranks 660 out of 20,380Before him are William Lipscomb (1919), Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (1959), William S. Burroughs (1914), Paul Berg (1926), Christian B. Anfinsen (1916), and Dave Grohl (1969). After him are Chuck Jones (1912), Clyde Tombaugh (1906), Bill Hewlett (1913), George Herbert Mead (1863), Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834), and Tennessee Williams (1911).

Among PHYSICISTS In United States

Among physicists born in United States, Arthur Leonard Schawlow ranks 29Before him are Clifford Shull (1915), John Bardeen (1908), Joseph Henry (1797), George E. Smith (1930), Leon Cooper (1930), and Martin Lewis Perl (1927). After him are Burton Richter (1931), Jerome Isaac Friedman (1930), Douglas Osheroff (1945), George Smoot (1945), Val Logsdon Fitch (1923), and Hugh David Politzer (1949).