physics

Harald Herborg Nielsen

Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen rather than just read about it. In short: Harald Herborg Nielsen (January 25, 1903 – January 8, 1973) was an American physicist. Biography He was born in Menominee, Michigan, to Knud Nielsen and Maren Sorensen, immigrant parents who had moved to the United States from Denmark.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Harald Herborg Nielsen (January 25, 1903 – January 8, 1973) was an American physicist.

Biography He was born in Menominee, Michigan, to Knud Nielsen and Maren Sorensen, immigrant parents who had moved to the United States from Denmark. He was the brother of Alvin H. Nielsen. His college education was attained at the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. He then spent a year at the Bohr's Institute in Copenhagen as a Scandinavian-American Fellow. In 1930 he joined the Ohio State University, where he remained until his retirement. Much of his work at OSU involved the infrared spectra of molecules; particularly with regard to their vibrational-rotational energies. He performed pioneering design work with high-resolution spectrographs, and made major theoretical contributions on molecular spectra. From 1946 until 1967 he was chairman of the physics department. He held a Guggenheim Fellowship at Cambridge University from 1949 to 1950, served as science attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm from 1952 to 1953, and was a Fulbright Lecturer, University of Paris from 1958 to 1959. He also served as editor of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy. He died on January 8, 1973, in Columbus, Ohio.

Awards and honors Fellow of the American Physical Society. Elected to the Cosmos Club, 1954. Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), 1953. Cross of the Order of Knights of Dannebrog, Denmark, 1957. University Medal, University of Liège. Honorary doctorate, University of Dijon. The lunar crater Nielsen is co-named for him and Axel Nielsen.

References

Further reading Williams, Dudley (1973). "Harald Herborg Nielsen" (PDF). Journal of the Optical Society of America. 63 (5): 638. Retrieved 2007-09-04.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Harald Herborg Nielsen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen

In research: Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen 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: Harald Herborg Nielsen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1903 births, 1973 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Harald Herborg Nielsen 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Harald Herborg Nielsen” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Harald Herborg Nielsen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Harald Herborg Nielsen in simple terms?

Harald Herborg Nielsen (January 25, 1903 – January 8, 1973) was an American physicist. Biography He was born in Menominee, Michigan, to Knud Nielsen and Maren Sorensen, immigrant parents who had moved to the United States from Denmark.

Why does Harald Herborg Nielsen 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 Harald Herborg Nielsen?

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 Harald Herborg Nielsen.