Mott, Sir Nevill, 1905–96, British physicist. A professor at the Univ. of Bristol (1933–54) and the Univ. of Cambridge (1954–71), Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for a lifetime of research into the magnetic and electrical properties of noncrystalline solids. He shared the award with P. W. Anderson and J. H. Van Vleck, who had pursued independent research. Mott's accomplishments include explaining theoretically the effect of light on a photographic emulsion and outlining the transition of substances from metallic to nonmetallic states. He wrote A Life in Science (1995).
See E. A. Davis, ed., Nevill Mott: Reminiscenses and Appreciations (1998).
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