physics

Louis Néel

Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel rather than just read about it. In short: Louis Eugène Félix Néel (French: [neɛl]; 22 November 1904 – 17 November 2000) was a French physicist born in Lyon who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his studies of the magnetic properties of solids. Biography Néel studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Louis Eugène Félix Néel (French: [neɛl]; 22 November 1904 – 17 November 2000) was a French physicist born in Lyon who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his studies of the magnetic properties of solids.

Biography Néel studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Strasbourg. He was corecipient (with the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfvén) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his pioneering studies of the magnetic properties of solids. His contributions to solid state physics have found numerous useful applications, particularly in the development of improved computer memory units. About 1930 he suggested that a new form of magnetic behavior might exist; called antiferromagnetism, as opposed to ferromagnetism. Above a certain temperature (the Néel temperature or magnetic ordering temperature, TN) this behaviour stops since above the Néel temperature the material undergoes a phase transition and becomes paramagnetic. Néel pointed out (1948) that materials could also exist showing ferrimagnetism. Néel has also given an explanation of the weak magnetism of certain rocks, making possible the study of the history of Earth's magnetic field. He is the instigator of the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble. The Louis Néel Medal, awarded annually by the European Geophysical Society, is named in Néel's honour. Néel died at Brive-la-Gaillarde on 17 November 2000 at the age 95, just 5 days short of his 96th birthday.

Awards and honours Néel received numerous awards and honours for his work including:

Awards Hughes Prize of the Académie des sciences (1935) Félix Robin Prize of the Société française de physique (1938) André Blondel Medal (1948) Grand prix du conseil de l’association « Au service de la pensée française » (1949) Holweck Prize (1952) Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1959) Three Physicists Prize (1963) Gold Medal of CNRS (1965) Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1966 Nobel Prize in Physics (1970) Great Gold Medal of l’Électronique (1971) Great Gold Medal of the Société d’encouragement pour la recherche et l’invention (1973) Founding member of the World Cultural Council (1981).

Distinctions Owing to his involvement in national defense, particularly through research in the protection of warships by demagnetization against magnetic mines, he received numerous distinctions:

Legion of Honour: Knight (for exceptional military services) (1940) Officer (1951) Commander (1958) Grand Officer (1966) Grand Cross (1974) Croix de Guerre with Palm (1940) Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (1957) Knight of the Order of Social Merit (1963) Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (1972) Honorary Admiral (French Navy)

See also Rayleigh law Single domain (magnetic)

References

External links

Louis Néel on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1970 Magnetism and the Local Molecular Field

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Louis Néel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel

In research: Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel 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: Louis Néel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1904 births, 2000 deaths, 20th-century French physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Louis Néel in simple terms?

Why does Louis Néel 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 Louis Néel?

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 Louis Néel.