Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon
Published: August 18, 2006, 7:08 pm
Updated: August 18, 2006, 7:08 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Peter Saundry
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853–1928), a Dutch physicist and pioneer in formulating the relations between electricity, magnetism, and light. He explained the Zeeman effect—a change in spectrum lines in a magnetic field—for which he shared with Pieter Zeeman the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1878, he published an essay on the relation between the velocity of light in a medium and the density and composition thereof. The resulting formula, proposed almost simultaneously by Danish physicist Lorenz, is known as the Lorenz-Lorentz formula. He extended the hypothesis of G. F. Fitzgerald that the length of a body contracts as its speed increases, now known as the Lorentz contraction. He also formulated the Lorentz transformation, in which the space and time coordinates of one moving system can be correlated with the known space and time coordinates of any other system. This work influenced and was confirmed by Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 18, 2006; Last revised Date August 18, 2006; Retrieved May 20, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lorentz,_Hendrik_Antoon>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853–1928), a Dutch physicist and pioneer in formulating the relations between electricity, magnetism, and light. He explained the Zeeman effect—a change in spectrum lines in a magnetic field—for which he shared with Pieter Zeeman the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1878, he published an essay on the relation between the velocity of light in a medium and the density and composition thereof. The resulting formula, proposed almost simultaneously by Danish physicist Lorenz, is known as the Lorenz-Lorentz formula. He extended the hypothesis of G. F. Fitzgerald that the length of a body contracts as its speed increases, now known as the Lorentz contraction. He also formulated the Lorentz transformation, in which the space and time coordinates of one moving system can be correlated with the known space and time coordinates of any other system. This work influenced and was confirmed by Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
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