Wolfgang Paul
Paul, Wolfgang (1913-1993) was a German physicist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in physics for his research and invention of the ion trap, also known as the “Paul trap.” He shared the prize with German-born American physicist Hans Georg Dehmelt, who developed the ion trap technique at the same time as Paul. The prize was also shared by American physicist Norman Foster Ramsey for work in a different field.
Paul was born on Aug. 10, 1913, in Lorenzkirch, Saxony, Germany. In 1932, he entered the Technical University of Munich. He transferred two years later to the Technical University of Berlin, where in 1937, he received his diploma (equivalent to a master's degree). In 1939, he was granted his Ph.D. degree. Paul became an assistant professor at the University of Göttingen in 1944. In 1952, he went to the University of Bonn as professor and director of its Physics Institute. He stayed there until his retirement in 1983.
In the 1950's, Paul began the research in mass spectrometry that would result in the Nobel Prize. Mass spectrometry is a method separating ionized atoms or molecules according to their mass and electrical charge. Paul sought to invent a device that would stop and hold an individual particle for some period of time. This would allow for the study of the structure and properties of the particle. Paul invented a device made up of a ring-shaped electrode between two electrical plates or end caps. A particle placed within the ring was unable to move in any direction, held in place by the electrical field that surrounded it. The device has been called a “Paul trap.”
Paul died on Dec. 6, 1993, in Bonn, Germany.