physics

Han Woerdman

Han Woerdman is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Han Woerdman rather than just read about it. In short: Johannes Petrus "Han" Woerdman (29 November 1942 – 18 August 2020) was a Dutch physicist. He was a researcher at Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium and later professor at Leiden University.

Key takeaways

Han Woerdman belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Han Woerdman to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Han Woerdman from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Johannes Petrus "Han" Woerdman (29 November 1942 – 18 August 2020) was a Dutch physicist. He was a researcher at Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium and later professor at Leiden University.

Life Woerdman was born on 29 November 1942 in Laren, North Holland. In 1968 he started working at Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium. He obtained his PhD in mathematics at the University of Amsterdam in 1971 under Andries Rinse Miedema with a thesis titled: Some optical and electrical properties of a laser-generated free-carrier plasma in Si. In 1983 he left Philips and was appointed professor of experimental physics at Leiden University. At Leiden University Woerdman performed research into lasers and optics, specializing in classical optics. He was responsible for building the field of quantum optics at the university. In 2020 one of the articles he contributed to in 1992 was chosen as one of three classics of Physical Review A. Woerdman was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002. In 2007 he was named a Fellow of the European Optical Society. In 2010 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which caused his death on 18 August 2020 at the age of 77.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Han Woerdman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Han Woerdman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Han Woerdman before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Han Woerdman ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Han Woerdman

In research: Han Woerdman appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Han Woerdman in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Han Woerdman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1942 births, 2020 deaths, 20th-century Dutch physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Han Woerdman outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Han Woerdman in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Han Woerdman means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Han Woerdman out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Han Woerdman in simple terms?

Johannes Petrus "Han" Woerdman (29 November 1942 – 18 August 2020) was a Dutch physicist. He was a researcher at Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium and later professor at Leiden University.

Why does Han Woerdman matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Han Woerdman?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Han Woerdman.