Abstract
Anatole Abragam, a French physicist of Russian origin, made a profound and lasting impact on the field of magnetic resonance, both electronic and nuclear, through his discoveries, contributions and his eminent educational role. In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) especially, he brought to the field theoretical rigour and clarity. Many of the most distinguished scientists in the field consider themselves to be his students, and he is known by many as a ‘giant of magnetic resonance’. Among his main contributions are: theories of the spin Hamiltonian and of core polarization in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR); the theory of perturbed angular correlations of radioactive emissions in condensed matter; a new theoretical formalism of spin relaxation; the invention of an Earth magnetometer; basic studies of spin temperature; dynamic nuclear polarization in solids and production of polarized targets; nuclear dipolar magnetic ordering studied both by NMR and by neutron diffraction; the discovery of nuclear pseudo-magnetism and its use for measuring the spin-dependent neutron–nucleus scattering amplitudes; and a new spectroscopic technique for muon spin rotation (
μ
SR).