Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties PDF Author: Gennady E. Gorelik
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3034884885
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol ofhis time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak oftheir careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in theGreaterSovietEncyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "an exceptionally brilliant and promising" theoretician [268].

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties PDF Author: Gennady E. Gorelik
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3034884885
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol ofhis time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak oftheir careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in theGreaterSovietEncyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "an exceptionally brilliant and promising" theoretician [268].

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties PDF Author: Gennady Gorelik
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 9783034884891
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol ofhis time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak oftheir careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in theGreaterSovietEncyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "an exceptionally brilliant and promising" theoretician [268].

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties PDF Author: Геннадий Ефимович Горелик
Publisher: Birkhauser
ISBN: 9780817627522
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The short life and tragic death of Matvei Petrovich Bronstein (1906-1938) may be seen as a symbol of the man's time and his country. One of the most remarkable features of Soviet history was the impressive advance of its physical sciences against the brutal and violent background of totalitarianism. Soviet advances in nuclear and space technology form an important part of world history. These achievements had their roots in the 30s, when Bronstein's generation entered science. Among his friends were the famous physicists Lev Landau and George Gamow. Bronstein worked in the vast field of theoretical physics, ranging from nuclear physics to astrophysics and from relativistic quantum theory to cosmology. His pioneering work on quantizing gravitation goes beyond the history of physics, because today the quantum theory of gravitation occupies a special place in fundamental physics. Bronstein was also a master of scientific explanation thanks to his profound knowledge, enthusiasm as a teacher and a gift for literature. This enabled him to write popular science for children, the widest and most responsive group of readers. He became a writer with the help of his wife Lidiya Chukovskaya, known now as an outstanding writer and fighter for human rights. Bronstein's life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of one of the most tragic and intriguing periods of Russian history.

Advances in the Interplay Between Quantum and Gravity Physics

Advances in the Interplay Between Quantum and Gravity Physics PDF Author: Peter G. Bergmann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9781402005930
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
In this XVII Course of the International School of Cosmology and Gravitation devoted to "ADVANCES IN THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN QUANTUM AND GRAVITY PHYSICS" we have considered different aspects of the influence of gravity on quantum systems. In order to achieve this aim, in many lectures, seminars and discussions we have strengthened the interplay between gravity and quantum systems starting from the situation in the early universe based on astrophysical observations, up to the earthly based experiments with atom interferometry for probing the structure of space-time. Thus we have had timely lectures on the quantum field and horizon of a black hole including reviews of the problem of black holes thermodynamics and entropy, quantum information, quantum black holes, quantum evaporation and Hawking radiation, recent advances in stockastic gravity. We have also discussed quantum fluctuations in inflationary universe, quantum effects and reheating after inflation, and superplanckian energies in Hawking radiation. In this regard the subject of spinors in purely affine space-time and Dirac matter according to Weyl in the generalized theory of gravitation were developed . The dualism between space-time and matter has been deeply analyzed in order to see why, for general relativity, this is an obstacle for quantization of the theory. Also canonical Gravity and Mach's principle, torsion and curvature as commutator for Quantum Gravity and Dirac Geometry of real space-time were analysed, together with the problem of 5-Dimensional Projective Unified Field theory and Multidimensional Gravity and Cosmology.

Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity

Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity PDF Author: Carlo Rovelli
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107069629
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
A comprehensible introduction to the most fascinating research in theoretical physics: advanced quantum gravity. Ideal for researchers and graduate students.

Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences

Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences PDF Author: Ari Ben-Menahem
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540688315
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 6070

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Book Description
This 5,800-page encyclopedia surveys 100 generations of great thinkers, offering more than 2,000 detailed biographies of scientists, engineers, explorers and inventors who left their mark on the history of science and technology. This six-volume masterwork also includes 380 articles summarizing the time-line of ideas in the leading fields of science, technology, mathematics and philosophy.

Physics In A Mad World

Physics In A Mad World PDF Author: Misha Shifman
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814619310
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 555

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Book Description
This book tells captivating stories of misadventures of two renowned theoretical physicists in the Soviet Union. The first part is devoted to Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans, an outstanding Dutch-Austrian-German physicist who was the first to suggest that the source of stars' energy is thermonuclear fusion, and also made a number of other important contributions to cosmochemistry and geochemistry. In 1935, Houtermans, a German communist, in an attempt to save his life from Hilter's Gestapo, fled to the Soviet Union. He took up an appointment at the Kharkov Physico-Technical Institute, working there for two years with the Russian physicist Valentin P Fomin. In the Great Purge of 1937, Houtermans was arrested in December by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police, KGB's predecessor). He was tortured, and confessed to being a Trotskyist plotter and German spy, out of fear of threats against his wife Charlotte. However, Charlotte had already escaped from the Soviet Union to Denmark, after which she went to England and finally the USA. As a result of the Hilter-Stalin Pact of 1939, Houtermans was turned over to the Gestapo in May 1940 and imprisoned in Berlin.The second part consists of two essays that narrate the life story of Yuri Golfand, one of the codiscoverers of supersymmetry, a major discovery in theoretical physics in the 20th century. In 1973, just two years after the publication of his seminal paper, he was fired from the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. Because of his Jewish origin he could find no job. Under such circumstances, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, but his application was denied. Yuri Golfand became a refusnik and joined the Human rights movement, along with two other prominent physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov. To earn his living, he had to do manual work, repeatedly being intimidated by KGB. Only 18 years later, shortly before the demise of the Soviet Union, did he obtain permission to leave the country, emigrating to Israel in 1990.These personal life stories of two outstanding theorists are interwined with the tragedies of the 20th century and make for compelling reading.

The Trouble with Physics

The Trouble with Physics PDF Author: Lee Smolin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618551057
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Sample Text

Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Field Theory

Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Field Theory PDF Author: Tian Yu Cao
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521602723
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Multi-author volume on the history and philosophy of physics.

Discrete or Continuous?

Discrete or Continuous? PDF Author: Amit Hagar
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107062802
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Novel conceptual analysis, fresh historical perspectives, and concrete physical examples illuminate one of the most thought-provoking topics in physics.