From chemistry-request {*at*} server.ccl.net Tue Mar 19 07:45:31 2002 Received: from mail.laposte.net ([160.92.113.114]) by server.ccl.net (8.11.6/8.11.0) with ESMTP id g2JCjUp03730 for ; Tue, 19 Mar 2002 07:45:30 -0500 Received: from nouveaupc (80.14.187.207) by mail.laposte.net (5.5.044) id 3C9102D70004A2E4 for CHEMISTRY ^%at%^ ccl.net; Tue, 19 Mar 2002 13:45:12 +0100 Message-ID: <008501c1cf43$f9ba9e40$0b00000a ":at:" nouveaupc> From: "Alexandre Hocquet" To: Subject: Tjalling Koopmans Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 13:45:39 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 I guess it it is well known that the Koopmans that won the 1975 nobel prize in economics is also the same person that is quoted in our famous Koopmans "theorem". I was surprised the other day to learn that his past in theoretical chemistry is unknowned to the economists. As a matter of fact, here is how he presented this period of his life in his nobel prize autobiography (http://www.nobel.se/economics/laureates/1975/koopmans-autobio.html) : "in 1930, I switched [from mathematics] my emphasis to theoretical physics - a timid compromise between my desire for a subject matter closer to real life and the obvious argument in favor of a field in which my mathematical training could be put to use. [...] Below, I cite my one publication in quantum mechanics so that I can add here that Kramers's generosity and my inexperience combined to prevent his being listed as co-author of that paper. He should have been, because, although the main proposition was my own idea, Kramers, besides guiding the writing, also supplied the proof" This means that his paper ("Ueber die Zuordaung von Wellenfunktionen und Eigenwerten zu den einzelnen Elektronen eines Atoms, "Physica 1, no. 2, 1934, pp. 104-113) was the only one he ever wrote in the field. I know it was not uncommon at the time that people publishing in theoretical physics/chemistry were in fact mathematicians, but i am surprised that his work seemed so secondary in his career. Could it be that he was even unaware of how much he is quoted in theoretical chemistry ? Any hints ? ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexandre HOCQUET Laboratoire de Physicochimie Biomoléculaire et Cellulaire ESA CNRS 7033 hocquet \\at// lpbc.jussieu.fr Fax: 33 1 44277560 LPBC, case courrier 138 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 PARIS Cedex 05 France ------------------------------------------------------------