Onnes, Heike Kamerlingh
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Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853-1926), a Dutch physicist who discovered superconductivity in 1911, a phenomenon occurring in certain materials at low temperatures, characterized by the complete absence of electrical resistance and the damping of the interior magnetic field. Onnes cooled mercury in his laboratory to 452 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (F); this is close to the temperature of "absolute zero" (-459° F) at which the motion of all individual atoms stops. Subsequent applications of superconducting materials include high-speed magnetic-levitation trains, magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) equipment, ultra-high-speed computer chips, high-capacity digital memory chips, energy storage systems, and gyroscopes for earth-orbiting satellites. Onnes was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913 for his discovery of superconductivity.
