N. David Mermin

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David Mermin

N. David Mermin (born March 30, 1935 in New Haven , Connecticut) is an American theoretical physicist . He is a professor emeritus at Cornell University . His main areas are statistical physics , low temperature physics , solid state physics and the fundamentals of quantum mechanics .

Life

Mermin graduated from Harvard University . In 1956 he made his bachelor's degree in mathematics, in 1961 he received his doctorate in physics. He worked at the University of Birmingham and the University of California, San Diego . In 1964 he became an assistant professor at Cornell University, an associate professor in 1967 and a full professor in 1972. Between 1984 and 1990 he headed the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics there . In 2006 he retired.

plant

Mermin's first work dealt with statistical physics; the Mermin-Wagner theorem is named after him and Herbert Wagner . In low temperature physics he worked on the Fermi liquid and superfluid helium -3. In solid state physics, the Mermin-Lindhard constant goes back to his work, as well as a generalization of the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem (case of finite temperature, 1965)

Later he worked on basic questions of quantum theory as initiated by John Stewart Bell . He dealt with Bell's inequalities , the Koch-Specker theorem and the EPR effect . He also made contributions to theoretical crystallography with regard to aperiodic crystals and is interested in quantum computers .

Mermin wrote important textbooks, including the standard work Solid State Physics with Neil Ashcroft . He is also known for his longstanding column in Physics Today magazine . He also takes part in work and discussions on the theory of science and sociological investigations of the scientific community.

Honors

Mermin is a member of the American Physical Society , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , the National Academy of Sciences , the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Philosophical Society (2015). He was a Sloan Research Fellow (1966 to 1970) and Guggenheim Fellow (1970/71). Awards he has won include the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize from the APS, the Klopsteg Memorial Prize from the American Association of Physics Teachers , the Russell Distinguished Teaching Award from Cornell University, and the Marjoram Prize . He held many guest lectures at international universities, such as the Wolfgang Paul Lecture in Bonn in 2002 .

literature

  • with Neil W. Ashcroft Solid State Physics . 3rd, verb. Edition 2007, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. ISBN 978-3-486-58273-4
    • Original edition: Solid State Physics , Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1976
  • Quantum computer science- an introduction , Cambridge University Press 2007
  • It's about time: understanding Einstein's relativity , Princeton University Press 2005
  • Space and time in special relativity , McGraw Hill 1968
  • Boojum's all the way: communicating science in a prosaic age , Cambridge University Press 1990

Web links

  • Homepage. Cornell University(English).;
  • N. David Mermin. In: Physics History Network. American Institute of Physics

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thermal properties of the inhomogeneous electron gas, Phys. Rev., Volume 137, 1965
personal data
SURNAME Mermin, N. David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mermin, Nathaniel David (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH New Haven , Connecticut, USA