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RefNoEC/1989/46
Previous numbersCert XXII, 190
LevelItem
TitlePurcell, Edward Mills: certificate of election to the Royal Society
Date1986
DescriptionCertificate of Candidate for Election to Foreign Membership. Citation typed
CitationProfessor Purcell is primarily known for his great contribution to science in discovering nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), for which he was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with the late Professor Felix Bloch. Following the discovery of NMR in 1946 he was at the centre of many early developments of the subject. First, a classic exposition of the fundamental understanding of nuclear relaxation in solids, liquids and gases in a famous paper by Bloembergen, Purcell and Pound (1948). He pioneered the use of NMR in structural determinations in solids and in the dynamical behaviour of molecules in solids, With Pound he proposed and substantiated the concept of negative spin temperatures. With Ramsey he provided a basic understanding of spin multiplets. With Carr he advanced the use of NMR echo trains in the determination of diffusion in liquids, NMR soon became an indispensable spectroscopic technique in chemistry and nowadays no chemistry laboratory is properly equipped without it. Technical advances have now extended the applications of NMR to biochemistry, biology, pharmacology, and medicine. The last decade has witnessed the remarkable development of NMR as an established method of diagnostic radiology with over three hundred whole-body systems currently installed in major hospitals worldwide, making a substantial impact on patient care.
Professor Purcell has made an exceptionally wide range of fundamental scientific discoveries. In addition to NMR, he has made important contributions in astrophysics; most notably he was the first in 1951, with his student Ewen, to discover the 21cm hydrogen hyperfine line from outer space. He has also made fundamental contributions in biophysics and was awarded the 1984 Biological Physics Prize of the American Physical Society jointly with Professor Howard Berg for "the elucidation of complex biological phenomena in particular chemotaxis and bacterial locomotion through simple but penetrating physical theories and brilliant experiments.
AccessStatusClosed
Fellows associated with this archive
CodePersonNameDates
NA2457Purcell; Edward Mills (1912 - 1997)1912 - 1997
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