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 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

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: Геннадий Ефимович Горелик
Publisher: Birkhauser
ISBN: 9780817627522
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

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

Get Book Here

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.

Boris Hessen and Philosophy

Boris Hessen and Philosophy PDF Author: Sean Winkler
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538147599
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1931, Soviet philosopher, Boris Hessen presented a paper at the Second International Congress of the History of Science and Technology in London, England. It was a watershed moment, marking the founding of the ‘externalist’ approach to the history and philosophy of science. Five years after this talk, however, Hessen was executed in what became Joseph Stalin’s Great Purge of the 1930s. Nearly a century after his death, we still know all too little about this pioneering figure and his expansive oeuvre. In this book, Sean Winkler provides a reading of Hessen’s philosophy and its unique approach to understanding the relationship between socioeconomic development, technological progress and natural scientific theory. To further encourage the study of Hessen, the book also includes first-time translations of his contributions to the Soviet Encyclopedia. Through a systematic analysis, Winkler reflects upon Hessen’s contribution to the history and philosophy of science of the past and his possible significance in the world today.

Physics, Theoretical and Descriptive

Physics, Theoretical and Descriptive PDF Author: Henry Clifford Cheston
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 526

Get Book Here

Book Description


Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity

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

Get Book Here

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

The Intersection of History and Mathematics

The Intersection of History and Mathematics PDF Author: Sasaki Chikara
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3034875215
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description


Leon Rosenfeld: Physics, Philosophy, And Politics In The Twentieth Century

Leon Rosenfeld: Physics, Philosophy, And Politics In The Twentieth Century PDF Author: Anja Skaar Jacobsen
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814452084
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

Get Book Here

Book Description
Léon Rosenfeld (1904-1974) was a remarkable, many-sided physicist of exceptional erudition. He was at the center of modern physics and was well-known as Niels Bohr's close collaborator and spokesman. Besides he reflected deeply on the history and philosophy of science and its social role from a leftist perspective. As both actor and acute spectator of modern physics and as a polyglot cosmopolitan whose life crossed those of many important people in both the East and West, as well as by virtue of his close collaboration and friendship with Bohr, Rosenfeld was an important figure in twentieth century physics. His biography illuminates the development, popularization, and reception of quantum physics and its interpretation in addition to the development of the political Left. The book draws extensively from previously untapped, unpublished sources in more than five languages.

The World of Andrei Sakharov

The World of Andrei Sakharov PDF Author: Gennady Gorelik
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195343743
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 457

Get Book Here

Book Description
How did Andrei Sakharov, a theoretical physicist and the acknowledged father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, become a human rights activist and the first Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize? In his later years, Sakharov noted in his diary that he was "simply a man with an unusual fate." To understand this deceptively straightforward statement by an extraordinary man, The World of Andrei Sakharov, the first authoritative study of Andrei Sakharov as a scientist as well as a public figure, relies on previously inaccessible documents, recently declassified archives, and personal accounts by Sakharov's friends and colleagues to examine the real context of Sakharov's life. In the course of doing so, Gennady Gorelik answers a fascinating question, whether the Soviet hydrogen bomb was really fathered by Sakharov, or whether it was based on stolen American secrets. Gorelik concludes that while espionage did initiate the Soviet effort, the Russian hydrogen bomb was invented independently. Gorelik also elucidates the reasons that brought about the seemingly sudden transformation of the top-secret physicist into a public figure in 1968, when Sakharov's famous essay "Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, and Intellectual Freedom" was distributed in samizdat in the USSR and smuggled out to the West. Recently declassified documents show that Sakharov's metamorphosis was caused by professional concerns, particularly regarding the development of an anti-ballistic missile defense. An insider's view of how the upper echelons of the Soviet regime functioned had led Sakharov to the conclusion that the goals of peace, progress, and human rights were inextricably linked. His free thinking and free feeling were manifested in his hope that scientific thought and religious perception would find a profound synthesis in the future.