physics

Thomas Ebbesen

Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Wren Ebbesen (born 30 January 1954) is a Franco-Norwegian physical chemist and professor at the University of Strasbourg in France, known for his pioneering work in nanoscience. He received the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience “for transformative contributions to the field of nano-optics that have broken long-held beliefs about the limitations of the resolution limits of optical microscopy and imaging”, together wi…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thomas Wren Ebbesen (born 30 January 1954) is a Franco-Norwegian physical chemist and professor at the University of Strasbourg in France, known for his pioneering work in nanoscience. He received the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience “for transformative contributions to the field of nano-optics that have broken long-held beliefs about the limitations of the resolution limits of optical microscopy and imaging”, together with Stefan Hell, and Sir John Pendry in 2014.

Academic career Thomas Ebbesen obtained his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, and a PhD from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris in the field of photo-physical chemistry. He then worked at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory before joining the NEC Fundamental Research Laboratories in Japan in 1988 where his research shifted first to novel carbon materials such as fullerenes (C60), graphene and carbon nanotubes. After discovering how to mass-produce carbon nanotubes, he and his colleagues measured many of their unique features such as their mechanical and wetting properties. For his pioneering and extensive contribution to the field of carbon nanotubes, he shared the 2001 Agilent Europhysics Prize with Sumio Iijima, Cees Dekker and Paul McEuen. While working at NEC, Ebbesen discovered a major new optical phenomenon. He found that, contrary to the then accepted theory, it was possible to transmit light extremely efficiently through subwavelength holes milled in opaque metal films under certain conditions. The phenomenon, known as extraordinary optical transmission, involves surface plasmons. It has raised fundamental questions and is finding applications in broad variety of areas from chemistry to opto-electronics. Ebbesen has received several awards for the discovery of the extraordinary optical transmission such as the 2005 France Telecom Prize of the French Academy of Sciences and the 2009 Quantum Electronics and Optics Prize of the European Physical Society. In 1999, Thomas Ebbesen joined ISIS founded by Jean-Marie Lehn at the University of Strasbourg, which he headed from 2004 to 2012. In 2017–2018, he held the L. Bettencourt chair for Technological Innovation at the Collège de France. He is currently the director of the International Center for Frontier Research in Chemistry. and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study. Since 2005 he has developed new field of research at the interface of quantum electrodynamics and physical chemistry. His team demonstrated for the first time that material properties such as chemical reactivity could be modified by strongly coupling the molecules to the electromagnetic fluctuations of an optical cavity. For this work he was awarded the 2018 Grand Prix of the Maison de la Chimie foundation. He is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the French Academy of Sciences and the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts. In 2019, he is awarded the CNRS Gold medal in France

Honors and awards NEC Research Prize 1992 Randers Prize 2001 Agilent Europhysics Prize 2001 Prix France Telecom 2005 Tomassoni Prize 2009 Scola Physica Romana Medal 2009 Quantum Electronics and Optics Prize 2009 Dr. scient. h.c., University of Southern Denmark 2009 Clarivate Citation laureate in Physics 2010 "for observation and explanation of the transmission of light through subwavelength holes, which ignited the field of surface plasmon photonics." Kavli Prize in Nanoscience 2014 Prix Special of the French Physics Society, 2014 Honorary Doctorate, Oberlin College, USA 2015 Knight of the French Legion of Honour Doctor honoris causa on the occasion of the KU Leuven Patron Saint‘s Day 2018 Quinquennial Anniversary Award, European Materials Research Society 2018 Grand prix de la fondation Maison de la Chimie 2018 CNRS Gold medal 2019

References

External links

Thomas Ebbesen in Hyde Park Civilization on ČT24 3.12.2022 (moderator Daniel Stach)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas Ebbesen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen

In research: Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen 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: Thomas Ebbesen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1954 births, Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg, Carbon scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas Ebbesen in simple terms?

Why does Thomas Ebbesen 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 Thomas Ebbesen?

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 Thomas Ebbesen.