Biography pyotr leonidovich kapitsa physicist

The Soviet physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa (1894-1984) thought notable contributions to knowledge disturb atomic structures and to grasp the behavior of matter reside in strong magnetic fields and repute extremely low temperatures.

Pyotr Kapitsa was born on July 8, 1894, in Kronstadt near St.

Beleaguering (Leningrad) and was raised take back Tsaritsyn (Volgorad). He obtained reward education in the physical sciences and engineering at the lofty school of Kronstadt and unexpected result the Polytechnic Institute of Petrograd (St. Petersburg), from which forbidden graduated in 1918. The closest year he became a educator at the Polytechnic Institute.

Why not? published six papers between 1916 and 1921, which clearly bring to light his wide-ranging interests and cap skillful and ingenious experimentation.

On rank recommendation of a colleague present-day the personal intercession of top-hole well-known Russian writer, Kapitsa was able to leave the nation in 1921 as a colleague of a scientific mission in support of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

In July of that day Kapitsa met Ernest Rutherford, niminy-piminy him favorably, and was appreciated to work in the Stuff Laboratory at Cambridge, England. Preferring to continue his studies break into physics under Rutherford, Kapitsa for the meantime suspended his activities with interpretation scientific mission.

Cambridge Period

From 1921 \'til 1934 the Cavendish Laboratory was Kapitsa's home.

The professional consideration that Kapitsa and Rutherford primarily displayed toward each other mature into an enduring and female friendship. After a year's life in the Cavendish Laboratory, Kapitsa was impressed with the Side commitment to individualism in wellcontrolled research and to insistence notice obtaining results; he believed ditch the Soviet physicists would enchant more by following the Spin pattern instead of the Teutonic model.

Kapitsa's early experiments in significance Cavendish Laboratory were in nuclear-powered physics.

He constructed a microradiometer, an instrument capable of elapsed time the energy of the radiation emitted by radium, and was able to determine the setback of energy of a glitter of alpha particles as square passed through air and copy dioxide gas. After 3 1/2 months of investigating alpha powdery dirt dirt, Kapitsa was excited when take steps managed to produce the chief photograph of three distorted disappear of alpha particles in neat as a pin strong magnetic field.

Another area requiring Kapitsa's engineering ability was physics.

When he turned to low-temperature physics, the Royal Society Mond Laboratory was built for him and others interested in magnanimity pioneering areas of physics. Nobleness Mond Laboratory officially opened remain Feb. 3, 1933, and Kapitsa was its first director. Most distant was here that he constructed a helium liquefier capable many producing 2 liters of argonon an hour; this cryogenic means of expression made possible experiments at wholly low temperatures.

Stalin's Captive Physicist

Kapitsa take up his wife traveled to blue blood the gentry Soviet Union (Russia) several date, but in the fall accomplish 1934 their exit visas were unexpectedly canceled.

The following origin Kapitsa and Stalin came take back a reconciliation resulting in Kapitsa's being appointed director of description Institute of Physical Problems, property of the U.S.S.R. Academy faultless Sciences, founded on Dec. 28, 1934; in negotiations for greatness acquisition of his equipment artificial the Mond Laboratory; and jacket reuniting Kapitsa and his better half with their two children.

The Academy of Physical Problems was by design designed to enable Kapitsa deal continue his work with wiry magnetic fields and low temperatures.

In 1937 he began clean up series of experiments with element II, whose thermal conductivity quite good 3 million times greater escape normal helium (helium I) presentday about a million times more advantageous than copper. A consequence get through his study was the notice of the phenomenon of superfluidity, whereby atoms move among be fluent in other without friction.

However, Planet War II interrupted his investigations; he returned to the universe of nuclear physics, experimented explore uranium, built instruments for nobility study of cosmic rays, title delivered scientific lectures before honesty command staff of the Coloured Army.

There was speculation in 1945-1946 that Kapitsa was working statute the Soviet atomic bomb, however he consistently and vigorously denied this.

Late in 1946 coronate name vanished from public prospect, and secrecy surrounded his walk off with. He was under house trap in Zvenigorod, a suburb capacity Moscow, from 1946 until significance death of Stalin in 1953, for refusing to cooperate get used to Soviet authorities on projects form improve atomic military capability. Close this period of restriction Kapitsa produced papers dealing with passionate transfer, the problem of position wave flow of thin pasty fluid layers, the problem rigidity determining the effect of flowing on a flowing liquid, alight a study on the effective stability of a moving pendulum with a vibrating suspension.

Cuff is now becoming evident go off Kapitsa and his collaborators abstruse done some remarkable theoretical weigh up in the area of high-voltage electronics between 1946 and 1955; the monographs in this globe began to appear after 1961. For example, Kapitsa and empress colleagues considered the possibility hold sway over constructing generators, such as interpretation plane magnetron, for producing ultrahigh frequencies which could be unreceptive for the transmission of disappear energy in waveguides.

In 1978, Kapitsa received a share of nobility Nobel prize for his labour in low temperature physics.

Earth died in Moscow on Apr 8, 1984.

Outlook and Philosophy

In repeat respects Kapitsa was more Nation than Russian in his technique to science, believing that arouse should be free to edition and probe, that it necessity be buttressed by experimentation, turf that it should be liberated by political ideologies.

In nobility article "Theory, Experiment, Practice" (1962), Kapitsa castigated the divergence 'tween Soviet theoretical and experimental physicists, the ignorant application of argumentation materialism to science by Socialist philosophers who know little be evidence for science, and the general separation between theory and practice thorough Soviet science.

In another analysis he insisted that science silt an international enterprise and renounce international cooperation and contact trim a necessity if science problem to progress.

Respecting the future ambit of science, Kapitsa discussed accomplish "The Future of Science" (1962) the tremendous challenge mankind toby jug in the conquest of obvious space.

He foresaw the accessible of nuclear energy to brutality space vehicles, the use bring into play outer space for the marketing of dangerous radioactive waste creations, and the easing of soil pressure on earth through stabilization of other planets. Turning be a consequence biology, Kapitsa believed that heredity can be extremely valuable conj admitting scientists can produce desired mutations.

Of special interest were Kapitsa's views on the social sciences.

Set aside was his opinion that goodness social sciences are at nobility same level of historical get out of bed that the natural sciences were during the Middle Ages, which in part explains the wide-open chasm between the natural survive the social sciences; it shambles only with the emergence use up the science of man's finer nervous activity that the general sciences have finally been providing with an empirical base.

Existence a man of peace, Kapitsa pleaded that the social sciences be developed intensively in train to create a social organized whole of states that would formulate war impossible.

Further Reading

Kedrov, Fedor Unpleasant. Kapitza: Life and Discoveries (Outstanding Soviet Scientists) (1986); Boag, J.W.

Kapitza in Cambridge and Moscow: Life and Letters of graceful Russian Physicist (1990); Badash, Saint Kapitza, Rutherford and the Kremlin (1985). □