Van der Meer (Hans van der Meer)

Hans van der Meer was a Dutch physicist renowned for pioneering a technique called stochastic cooling. This method involves reducing the random motion of charged particles, such as protons or antiprotons, in a particle accelerator. By carefully measuring the particles' positions and velocities, and then applying small corrective signals, scientists can cool and stabilize the particle beams. This advancement made it possible to accelerate and collide particles with greater precision, enabling significant discoveries in particle physics. Van der Meer’s work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 alongside Carlo Rubbia.