He was born in Nagasaki, Kyushu, and learned physics at Tokyo Imperial
University. Upon graduating in 1887, Nagaoka began to work on magnetism, with
a particular interest in magnetostriction (deformation of a metallic solid or liquid
upon the onset of magnetization) in nickel and iron.
While a graduate student, Nagaoka conducted an experiment on Herz’s radio
wave experiment. In 1888, Heinrich R. Hertz (1857–1894) conducted the first
experiment on the transmission and reception of radio waves in the laboratory.
Upon hearing this news, Nagaoka immediately constructed a new device and
similarly confirmed the transmission and reception of radio waves in 1889. He
presented his experiment at a meeting of the Physical Society of Japan, and his
presentation made a deep impression on the several hundred attendants (Fig. 2.9).
In 1893, Nagaoka was sent to Germany for 3 years to study physics, mostly at the
University of Berlin, where he continued his study of magnetostriction along with
atomic and molecular structures, based on the mathematical theory of molecules
developed by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879). In 1894, he moved to Munich
University for 1 year to study the kinetic theory of gases under Ludwig Boltzmann
(1844–1906). After returning to Berlin University, he studied hydrodynamics and
electromagnetic theory under Max Planck (1856–1947).
After visiting Vienna and London, he returned to Japan in 1896 and was
appointed professor of physics at Tokyo Imperial University, where he served
until his retirement in 1925.
In the early twentieth century, physicists began to investigate the structure of
atoms. In 1904, Joseph John Thomson (1856–1940) at Trinity College of Cambridge
University proposed the so-called plum-pudding model, where an atom was a
uniform sphere with a positive charge, with electrons scattered freely inside the
sphere, like plums in a pudding. Nagaoka could not accept Thomson’s model, since
he thought that opposite charges repel each other. In contrast, Nagaoka proposed an
alternative Saturnian model of the atom in which a positively charged central core is
Fig. 2.9 Portrait of
Nagaoka Hantaro (Nagaoka
Hantaro Memorial Museum,
Yokosuka, 長岡半太郎記
念館、横須賀市)
2.3 Dawn of Astrophysics and Geophysics
27
University. Upon graduating in 1887, Nagaoka began to work on magnetism, with
a particular interest in magnetostriction (deformation of a metallic solid or liquid
upon the onset of magnetization) in nickel and iron.
While a graduate student, Nagaoka conducted an experiment on Herz’s radio
wave experiment. In 1888, Heinrich R. Hertz (1857–1894) conducted the first
experiment on the transmission and reception of radio waves in the laboratory.
Upon hearing this news, Nagaoka immediately constructed a new device and
similarly confirmed the transmission and reception of radio waves in 1889. He
presented his experiment at a meeting of the Physical Society of Japan, and his
presentation made a deep impression on the several hundred attendants (Fig. 2.9).
In 1893, Nagaoka was sent to Germany for 3 years to study physics, mostly at the
University of Berlin, where he continued his study of magnetostriction along with
atomic and molecular structures, based on the mathematical theory of molecules
developed by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879). In 1894, he moved to Munich
University for 1 year to study the kinetic theory of gases under Ludwig Boltzmann
(1844–1906). After returning to Berlin University, he studied hydrodynamics and
electromagnetic theory under Max Planck (1856–1947).
After visiting Vienna and London, he returned to Japan in 1896 and was
appointed professor of physics at Tokyo Imperial University, where he served
until his retirement in 1925.
In the early twentieth century, physicists began to investigate the structure of
atoms. In 1904, Joseph John Thomson (1856–1940) at Trinity College of Cambridge
University proposed the so-called plum-pudding model, where an atom was a
uniform sphere with a positive charge, with electrons scattered freely inside the
sphere, like plums in a pudding. Nagaoka could not accept Thomson’s model, since
he thought that opposite charges repel each other. In contrast, Nagaoka proposed an
alternative Saturnian model of the atom in which a positively charged central core is
Fig. 2.9 Portrait of
Nagaoka Hantaro (Nagaoka
Hantaro Memorial Museum,
Yokosuka, 長岡半太郎記
念館、横須賀市)
2.3 Dawn of Astrophysics and Geophysics
27