Isidor Isaac Rabi Biography

Isidor Isaac Rabi was a Poland-born American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics for the development of a method by which the magnetic moments, namely the spin and magnetic characteristics of atomic nuclei, could be measured. This measurement technique became a basis for subsequent experiments on atomic beams which lead to the development of a body scanning method used in medical practice known as ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging’ or MRI. The method was also used for experiments on the guidance systems of missiles and satellites. His experiments on ‘Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)’ became an indispensable tool for chemists while ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)’ became an indispensable tool for physicians. He also proposed the construction of the first atomic clock in history. Isidor was destined to become a tailor like his father had he stayed back in Europe but was able to earn a degree in chemistry after coming to America. He worked for many years in an industrial laboratory after which he joined college to study physics as chemistry did not seem interesting to him. He also studied books on various topics which widened the horizon of his knowledge helping him suggest new ways of carrying out experiments which benefited both chemists and physicists.