In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 28 February 1939
- Birthplace
- Henan, China
- Country
- United States
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Discovering the fractional quantum Hall effect with Horst Störmer and Arthur Gossard
Why this life matters
Discovering the fractional quantum Hall effect with Horst Störmer and Arthur Gossard
Timeline
Key moments
Birth
Daniel Tsui was born in Henan, China.
Fractional Hall observation
Reported the fractional quantum Hall transport result with Störmer and Gossard.
Nobel recognition
Received Nobel recognition for the work described in the official award record.
From Henan to experimental physics
Daniel Tsui was born in Henan, China, in 1939. His education took him to Hong Kong and then to Augustana College in the United States. Graduate study at the University of Chicago placed him in Royal Stark’s laboratory, where he learned apparatus design and construction as well as measurement. His autobiography emphasises the attraction of hands-on experiments. That training prepared him for condensed-matter questions in which a carefully fabricated sample and reliable low-temperature measurement could expose unexpected electronic behaviour.
A niche at Bell Laboratories
Tsui joined Bell Laboratories in 1968 and developed research on electrons confined effectively to two dimensions in semiconductor structures. This was not simply the routine testing of an electronic product. It concerned how a restricted electron system behaves under conditions that make quantum effects observable. Working with Horst Störmer and using high-quality samples grown by Arthur Gossard connected transport measurement with specialised materials preparation. The collaboration’s different skills were integral to the result rather than interchangeable contributions to a finished commercial device.
The unexpected fractional plateau
Their 1982 paper reported a Hall plateau associated with fractional filling, together with a minimum in longitudinal resistance, in a high-mobility semiconductor electron system under strong magnetic field. The observation presented a theoretical challenge. The original paper did not already contain Laughlin’s later quantum-fluid explanation; it discussed possible interpretations within the knowledge then available. Distinguishing the measured transport pattern from its subsequent theoretical account preserves the discovery’s historical significance and the role of an unexpected experimental result in redirecting research.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Daniel Tsui
- Who grew the samples used in the discovery?
- Arthur Gossard, whose materials work was central to the collaboration.
- Did Tsui remain at Bell Labs after 1982?
- He moved to Princeton in 1982 and began teaching there.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Philip Anderson
Compare distinct questions about electronic behaviour in interacting or disordered materials.
- Robert Laughlin
Read the later correlated quantum-fluid explanation.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Tsui, Störmer and Gossard, Physical Review Letters, 1982Two-Dimensional Magnetotransport in the Extreme Quantum Limit
- 2. Störmer, Tsui and Gossard, Reviews of Modern Physics, 1999The fractional quantum Hall effect
- 3. Robert Laughlin, Physical Review Letters, 1983Anomalous Quantum Hall Effect: An Incompressible Quantum Fluid with Fractionally Charged Excitations
- 4. Nobel Prize OutreachDaniel Tsui — Facts
- 5. Nobel Prize OutreachDaniel Tsui — Biographical