Fritz Zernike, also known as Fredrik Zernike, was a Dutch mathematician and physicist who revolutionized microscopy with his invention of the phase-contrast microscope. His groundbreaking discovery of phase-contrast in 1930 allowed for the enhanced visualization of cellular structures without the need for staining or killing the cells. Despite its superiority, the significance of Zernike’s invention was initially overlooked until it caught the attention of the Germans during World War II. In addition to his contributions to microscopy, Zernike also collaborated on the development of the Ornstein-Zernike Equation, which laid the foundation for the theory of integral equations in fluid equilibrium. His extensive research on correlation coefficients and order-disorder theory further advanced our understanding of molecular behavior in various liquids.
Quick Facts
- Died At Age: 77
- Family: Spouse/Ex-: Lena Korberg-Baanders, Theodora ‘Dora’ Wilhelmina van Bommel van Vloten
- Father: Carl Frederick August Zernike
- Mother: Antje Diepernik
- Siblings: Anna, Elisabeth, Johannes, Lize, Nelly
- Children: Frits, N. N. Zernike
- Physicists
- Dutch Men
- Died on: March 10, 1966
- Place of death: Amersfoort, Netherlands
- City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- More Facts
- Education: University of Amsterdam
- Awards: Rumford Medal (1952), Nobel Prize for Physics (1953), Fellow of the Royal Society
Childhood & Early Life
Frits Zernike was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on July 16, 1888. His father, Carl Frederick August Zernike, was the headmaster of an elementary school, and his mother, Antje Diepernik, was a mathematics teacher. He had four younger sisters named Anna, Lize, Elisabeth, and Nelly, and a younger brother named Johannes. From a young age, Zernike had a passion for physics, which he inherited from his father. He conducted experiments at home and even set up a mini observatory to take photographs of comets. He excelled in science subjects at school but neglected subjects like history and languages.
Education and Early Career
After graduating from high school, Zernike joined the University of Amsterdam in 1905. He studied chemistry as his major subject and physics and mathematics as minor subjects. He won a gold medal from the University of Groningen for an essay on probability in 1908 and another gold medal from the Dutch Society of Sciences for his work on critical opalescence in gases in 1912. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the Groningen University in 1912. In 1913, he joined the Groningen University as an assistant to Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn, the head of the astronomical laboratory.
Career in Physics
Zernike worked with Leonard Salomon Ornstein in devising the Ornstein-Zernike Equation in 1914. He completed his PhD from the University of Amsterdam in 1915. He joined the Groningen University as a lecturer of Mathematical Physics and taught there from 1915 to 1920. In 1920, he became a professor of Theoretical Physics at the Groningen University. From 1930, he started studying optics more extensively and developed the phase-contrast theory. He made significant contributions to the field of optics, including the development of the phase-contrast microscope and the orthogonal circle polynomials.
Awards and Achievements
Zernike received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. He was made a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1946. He received the Rumford Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1952 and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1953. He also received an honorary doctorate in Medicine from the University of Amsterdam. He was made a Foreign Member of the Optical Society of America and a member of the Royal Microscopical Society.
Personal Life and Legacy
Zernike married Theodora ‘Dora’ Wilhelmina van Bommel van Vloten in 1930 and had a son named Frits. He also adopted Dora’s daughter. After Dora’s death in 1945, Zernike married Lena Korberg-Baanders, the widow of Samuel ‘Sam’ Kopenberg, in 1954. Zernike fell ill in 1958 and passed away on March 10, 1966, in Amersfoort, Netherlands. The northern complex of the Groningen University was named the Zernike Park in his honor. A Linux distribution called the Oz Enterprise was also named after him and Leonard Salomon Ornstein. Additionally, a crater on the Moon with a diameter of 48 kilometers was named ‘Zernike’ after him.