Word: purcelle
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Purcell, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics Emeritus Robert V. Pound and Nicholaas Bloembergen worked together to develop the theory of nuclear magnetic relaxation, one aspect of NMR, in their famous "BPP" paper.
In 1951, Purcell and H.I. Ewen detected radio waves from hydrogen atoms in interstellar space. This "21 centimeter line" is used by radioastronomers to map galaxies.
During World War II, Purcell led a group at M.I.T.'s Radiation Laboratory which developed advanced microwave radar. He was also involved peripherally with the Manhattan Project, helping to devise the instruments which recorded the results of the first atomic bomb test.
Purcell served as president of the American Physical Society in 1970. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979.
Purcell's name may be best known to students throughout the country for his widely used textbook on electricity and magnetism.