Who Discovered Magnetic Energy in Waves?
A philosopher once said that ideas, like butterflies, land on many shoulders. Each person receiving a visit from the butterfly sees the creature differently.
The Swiss scientist, Felix Bloch, and American-born Edward Mills Purcell shared a prestigious Nobel Prize in 1952. It pays homage to this type of confluence. Despite distance, diverse educational paths and eclectic research experiences, the pair independently arrived at conclusions that lead to the discovery of theories and formulas resulting in today's life-saving Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology.
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History
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The concept of magnetic energy wave activity evolved from the Greek words Magnesia (a type of rock) and resonance (to sound again). For those with more curiosity than understanding about how magnetic energy waves behave, this explanation might help. When atoms are confined to a strong magnetic field, their nuclei absorb energy waves that cause them to move back and forth. As the nuclei in the atoms oscillate they produce high and low frequencies. The rate at which the waves move can indicate potential changes in cells. Changes in cells can portend serious physical changes in the body, including tumors. Thanks to the pioneering research accomplished individually by Bloch and Purcell magnetic energy waves can now identify life-threatening medical issues in time to reverse the course of a patient's fate.
Identification
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Born in Zurich, Switzerland of Jewish parents, Felix Bloch began his academic career in engineering before discovering a passion for physics. His doctoral degree from the University of Leipzig (Germany) in 1928 included the completion of a thesis exploring the quantum theory of solids. As Hitler's rise to power began threatening Jews, Bloch was able to immigrate to the United States. Given his impressive body of scientific work, Bloch's reputation and credentials lead to a professorship in theoretical physics at California's Stanford University. After becoming an American citizen in 1939, Bloch attained new professional heights as a top-secret scientist assigned to the nation's atomic energy project at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Before his death in 1997 at the age of 85, Bloch became one of the nation's preeminent experts on nuclear magnetization and left behind a legacy that continues to benefit the international scientific community.
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Identification
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While Felix Bloch and his Nobel Prize-winning associate Edward Mills Purcell both died in 1997, this is one of the few commonalities the scientists shared. Purcell, seven years Bloch's junior, was born in rural Illinois and attended Purdue University and Harvard, where he earned a doctorate for his pioneering work in microwave radar. Purcell is credited with the discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in 1945. His scientific achievements included being the first scientist to detect radio emissions originating in the hydrogen of galaxies and his investigations into solid-state physics are still considered pioneering. An adviser to Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, Purcell earned multiple honors for his scientific discoveries. His books are still considered required reading for students pursuing degrees in science and medicine.
Theories/Speculation
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How often do scientists reach similar conclusions despite never having collaborated in the laboratory or by sharing their independent research findings with each other? More often than one might think. While both Bloch and Purcell attended and worked at Harvard University, their paths crossed only in terms of reputation until the two scientific giants stood on an Oslo stage in 1952 to accept their Nobel Prizes for Physics.
Potential
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When diagnosticians study MRI images, they find clear pictures of the body's trouble zones - including markers pointing to potential problems that can reveal the smallest, most obscure abnormalities. These crystal-clear pictures were of a high quality when the first MRI machines were put to work and as science continues to move forward, they can only get better. By making these machines smaller and more accurate, MRI technology may reflect 21st Century advances, but had it not been for Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell, who knows how long it might have taken the science of magnetic energy wave imaging to reach its current state of excellence?
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