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Dirk Coster | |
|---|---|
 Coster in 1930. | |
| Born | (1889-10-05)October 5, 1889 |
| Died | February 12, 1950(1950-02-12) (aged 60) |
| Alma mater | Leiden University |
| Known for | Discovery ofhafnium Coster–Kronig transition |
| Children | 4 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics X-ray spectroscopy |
| Institutions | University of Groningen |
| Thesis | Röntgenspectra en de atoomtheorie van Bohr (1922) |
| Doctoral advisor | Paul Ehrenfest |
| Notable students | Aldert van der Ziel Hessel de Vries |
Dirk Coster (5 October 1889 – 12 February 1950) was a Dutchphysicist. He was a professor ofphysics andmeteorology at theUniversity of Groningen.
Coster is known as the co-discoverer ofhafnium (element 72) in 1923, along withGeorge de Hevesy, by means ofX-rayspectroscopic analysis ofzirconium ore. Its name is derived fromHafnia, the Latin name forCopenhagen, as the discovery took place in that city.
He helpedLise Meitner escape fromNazi Germany.
Coster was born inAmsterdam. Coster grew up in a large working-class family; he was the third child of Barend Coster, ablacksmith, and Aafje van der Mik. The Coster family valued education. Ten of their children survived to adulthood and all received enough education to go onto middle-class professions. From 1904 to 1908 Dirk went to the Teacher's College inHaarlem, then was a teacher until 1913. With the aid of private support he was able to studymathematics andphysics at theUniversity of Leiden, first having passed the exams required for students who had nogymnasium education. In Leiden he was influenced by the inspiring lectures ofPaul Ehrenfest, and in 1916 he obtained hisM.Sc. degree. From 1916 to 1920 Coster was assistant ofLodewijk Siertsema andWander de Haas at theDelft University of Technology, where in 1919 he obtained anEngineer's degree inelectrical engineering. In 1920 and 1921 he did research atLund University underManne Siegbahn, onX-ray spectroscopy of differentelements. Coster's thesis was on this subject, and he obtained hisPh.D. degree in 1922 in Leiden underPaul Ehrenfest; his thesis was entitled"Röntgenspectra en de atoomtheorie van Bohr" (X-ray spectra and Bohr's atomic theory).[1]
From August 1922 until the summer of 1923, Coster worked inNiels Bohr'sInstitute inCopenhagen. Within a few months he co-authored a landmark publication with Bohr, on X-ray spectroscopy and theperiodic system of the elements. In addition he worked withchemist George de Hevesy on the identification of element number 72. Element 72 had been known to be a gap in the sequence of elements since 1914, whenHenry Moseley created an experimental technique for placing the elements in a definite sequence. RadiochemistFritz Paneth suggested that element 72 might be found in ores ofzirconium.Niels Bohr published a prediction of the electronic configuration of element 72 in 1923. von Hevesy had been working with Bohr at the time.
After Coster returned from Copenhagen he becameHendrik Lorentz' assistant at theTeylers Museum inHaarlem, where he developed an X-ray spectrometer. In 1924 he was appointed at the University of Groningen, where he was the successor of Wander de Haas. At Groningen he started an active research program in X-ray spectroscopy.
In 1934 Coster became member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.[2]
On 26 February 1919 he marriedLina Maria "Miep" Wijsman, who held a degree inOriental languages. Eventually, she was one of the first women to obtain a doctorate degree in this field from theUniversity of Leiden. Dirk and Miep had two sons and two daughters (Hendrik, Ada, Els, and Herman).[citation needed]
Coster was politically involved. In 1938 he traveled toBerlin to convinceLise Meitner that she had to leaveGermany to escape[1] thepersecution of the Jews. Together they went by train to Groningen; at the Dutch border, Coster persuaded German immigration officers that she had permission to travel to the Netherlands. From there she went on toSweden by way of Copenhagen. During the German occupation of Holland, Coster also helped Jews hide from the Nazis and listened to the BBC on a daily basis using a bicycle-powered radio.
Dirk Coster died inGroningen in 1950.
The asteroid10445 Coster[2] is named after Dirk Coster.
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