Martin Lewis Perl
Scientists

Martin Lewis Perl Net Worth

Martin Lewis Perl was a renowned American physicist who discovered the subatomic particle, tau lepton, which helped to further our understanding of elementary physics. His work was initially met with skepticism, but eventually gained acceptance and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995. Perl was a bright student, but initially chose to pursue chemical engineering instead of physics due to his doubts about making a living in research. However, he eventually gained his PhD in physics and went on to work at the University of Michigan and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). It was at SLAC that he discovered the tau particle, which was later recognized with a Nobel Prize.
Martin Lewis Perl is a member of Scientists

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Physicist
Birth Day June 24, 1927
Birth Place New York City, New York, United States
Age 93 YEARS OLD
Died On September 30, 2014(2014-09-30) (aged 87)\nPalo Alto, California
Birth Sign Cancer
Alma mater NYU-Poly and Columbia University
Known for Tau lepton
Awards Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995
Fields Physics
Institutions University of Michigan Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) University of Liverpool
Doctoral advisor I. I. Rabi
Doctoral students Samuel C. C. Ting, Valerie Halyo

💰 Net worth

Martin Lewis Perl, a renowned physicist in the United States, is estimated to have a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million in 2024. Recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of particle physics, Perl's work on the discovery of the tau lepton earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995. Perl's net worth reflects his achievements and prominence in the scientific community, testament to his dedication and significant contributions to the field of physics.

Biography/Timeline

1948

Perl is a 1948 chemical engineering graduate of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now known as NYU-Poly) in Brooklyn. After graduation, Perl worked for the General Electric Company, as a chemical Engineer in a factory producing electron vacuum tubes. To learn about how the electron tubes worked, Perl signed up for courses in atomic physics and advanced calculus at Union College in Schenectady, New York, which led to his growing interest in physics, and eventually to becoming a graduate student in physics in 1950.

1955

He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1955, where his thesis advisor was I.I. Rabi. Perl's thesis described measurements of the nuclear quadrupole moment of sodium, using the atomic beam resonance method that Rabi had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for in 1944.

1963

Seeking a simpler interaction mechanism to study, Perl started to consider electron and muon interactions. He had the opportunity to start planning experimental work in this area when he moved in 1963 to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), then being built in California. He was particularly interested in understanding the muon: why it should interact almost exactly like the electron but be 206.8 times heavier, and why it should decay through the route that it does. Perl chose to look for answers to these questions in experiments on high-energy charged leptons. In addition, he considered the possibility of finding a third generation of lepton through electron-positron collisions.

1974

The tau was first detected in a series of experiments between 1974 and 1977 by Perl with his colleagues at the SLAC-LBL group. Their equipment consisted of SLAC's then-new
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colliding ring, called SPEAR, and the LBL magnetic detector. They could detect and distinguish between leptons, hadrons and photons. SPEAR was able to collide electrons and positrons at higher energies than had previously been possible, initially at up to 4.8 GeV and eventually at 8 GeV, energies high enough to lead to the production of a tau/antitau pair. The tau has a lifetime of only 2.9×10 s and so these particles decayed within a few millimetres of the collision. Hence Perl and his coworkers did not detect the tau directly, but rather discovered anomalous events where they detected either an electron and a muon, or a positron and an antimuon:

1976

Following his Ph.D., Perl spent 8 years at the University of Michigan, where he worked on the physics of strong interactions, using bubble chambers and spark chambers to study the scattering of pions and later neutrons on protons. While at Michigan, Perl and Lawrence W. Jones served as co-advisors to Samuel C. C. Ting, who earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976.

1995

Perl won the Nobel Prize in 1995 jointly with Frederick Reines. The prize was awarded "for pioneering experimental contributions to lepton physics". Perl received half "for the discovery of the tau lepton" while Reines received his share "for the detection of the neutrino".

2009

He joined University of Liverpool as a visiting professor. He served on the board of advisors of Scientists and Engineers for America, an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government. In 2009, Perl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Belgrade.

2014

He died after a heart attack at Stanford University Hospital on September 30, 2014 at the age of 87.

Some Martin Lewis Perl images

About the author

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As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.