physics

Peter Nordlander

Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander rather than just read about it. In short: Peter J. Nordlander is a Swedish physicist.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Peter J. Nordlander is a Swedish physicist.

Career Nordlander completed a doctorate in theoretical physics at Chalmers University of Technology. Following postdoctoral research at Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Bell Labs, and Rutgers University, Nordlander began teaching at Rice University in 1989. He works within the Laboratory for Nanophotonics at Rice, and serves as the Wiess Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

Research Nordlander's research focuses on theoretical nanophotonics and plasmonics. He has collaborated extensively with Naomi Halas at Rice University on the development of plasmonic nanostructures and their applications in optics, sensing, and catalysis. Together with Halas and then-student Emil Prodan (now Professor of Physics at Yeshiva University), Nordlander developed the Plasmon Hybridization model. This theory explains the plasmonic properties of nanoparticles of complex shapes in terms of interacting primitive plasmon modes. His group has investigated plasmonic nanocavities, nanoparticle dimers, and active optical antennas. These studies revealed symmetry-breaking effects, Fano resonances, and quantum plasmonic behaviors in metallic nanostructures.

Recognition Nordlander was elected to fellowship of the American Physical Society in 2002 "for pioneering contributions to the chemical physics of atom-surface interactions, including the development of a many-body theoretical description of charge transfer processes in atom-surface scattering." He is also a fellow of SPIE, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Optical Society. Nordlander was one of three recipients of the Willis E. Lamb Award in 2013, "for pioneering theoretical contributions in the field of plasmonics" alongside Shaul Mukamel and Susanne Yelin. Nordlander, Naomi Halas, and Tony Heinz won the 2014 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids awarded by the American Physical Society. Nordlander and Halas shared a second award in 2015, the Optical Society's R. W. Wood Prize. In 2016, Nordlander was listed an ISI highly cited researcher.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter Nordlander

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander

In research: Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander 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: Peter Nordlander is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century Swedish physicists, 21st-century Swedish physicists, Chalmers University of Technology alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Peter Nordlander in simple terms?

Peter J. Nordlander is a Swedish physicist.

Why does Peter Nordlander 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 Peter Nordlander?

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 Peter Nordlander.