Editing Hendrik Lorentz (section)

===Professor in Leiden===
On 17 November 1877, only 24 years of age, Lorentz was appointed to the newly established chair in theoretical physics at the [[University of Leiden]]. The position had initially been offered to [[Johannes Diderik van der Waals|Johan van der Waals]], but he accepted a position at the [[Universiteit van Amsterdam]].<ref name="NtvN2011"/> On 25 January 1878, Lorentz delivered his inaugural lecture on ''"{{lang|nl|De moleculaire theoriën in de natuurkunde}}"'' (The molecular theories in physics). In 1881, he became member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00001670 |title=Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853–1928) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref>

During the first twenty years in Leiden, Lorentz was primarily interested in the electromagnetic theory of electricity, magnetism, and light. After that, he extended his research to a much wider area while still focusing on theoretical physics. Lorentz made significant contributions to fields ranging from [[hydrodynamics]] to [[general relativity]]. His most important contributions were in the area of electromagnetism, the electron theory, and relativity.<ref name="NtvN2011"/>

Lorentz theorized that [[atom]]s might consist of charged particles and suggested that the oscillations of these charged particles were the source of light. When a colleague and former student of Lorentz's, [[Pieter Zeeman]], discovered the [[Zeeman effect]] in 1896, Lorentz supplied its theoretical interpretation. The experimental and theoretical work was honored with the Nobel prize in physics in 1902. Lorentz' name is now associated with the [[Lorentz–Lorenz equation]], the [[Lorentz force]], the [[Lorentzian distribution]], the [[Lorentz oscillator model]] and the [[Lorentz transformation]].