Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa: biography, photo, quote

From low temperatures, close to absolute zero, to the high indices necessary for the synthesis of atomic nuclei, this is the range of many years of activity of Academician Kapitsa. He twice became the hero of Socialist Labor, and also received the Stalin and Nobel Prizes.

Childhood

Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa, whose biography will be presented in this article, was born in Kronstadt in 1894. His father Leonid Petrovich was a military engineer and was engaged in the construction of the Kronstadt fortifications. Mom - Olga Ieronimovna - was a specialist in folklore and children's literature.

In 1905, Petya was sent to study at the gymnasium, but because of poor progress (bad Latin is given), the boy leaves her in a year. The future academician continues his studies at the Kronstadt College. He graduated with honors in 1912.

Studying at the University

Initially, Peter Kapitsa (photo below) planned to study at the Physics and Mathematics Department of St. Petersburg University, but he was not taken there. The young man decided to try his luck at the "polytech", and luck smiled at him. Petra enrolled in the electromechanical faculty. Already in the first year, a talented young man drew the attention of Professor AF Ioffe and attracted the young man to research in his own laboratory.

Army and wedding

In 1914, Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa went to Scotland for the summer holidays. There he planned to practice in English. But the First World War started, and the young man could not return home in August. He got to Petrograd only in November.

In early 1915 Peter volunteered for the Western Front. He was appointed to the position of the driver of the ambulance. He also transported the wounded on his truck.

In 1916, he was demobilized, and Peter returned to the institute. Ioffe immediately loaded the young man with experimental work in the physical laboratory and attracted to participate in his own physical seminar (the first in Russia). In the same year, Kapitsa published his first article. He also married Nadezhda Chernosvitova, a daughter of one of the members of the Central Committee of the Cadet Party.

Work in the new physical institute

In 1918 AF Ioffe organized the first in Russia scientific research physical institute. Peter Kapitsa, whose quotes can be read below, graduated this year Polytechnic and immediately settled there as a teacher.

Complex post-revolutionary situation did not promise science anything good. Ioffe helped keep the seminars for his own students, among whom was Peter. He urged Kapitza to leave Russia, but the government did not give permission to do so. Maxim Gorky, who was then considered the most influential writer, helped. Peter was allowed to leave for England. Shortly before Kapitza's departure, an epidemic of influenza broke out in St. Petersburg. For a month the young scientist lost his wife, newborn daughter, son and father.

Work in England

In May 1921, Peter came to England as part of the Russian commission from the Academy of Sciences. The main goal of scientists was the restoration of scientific ties, torn by war and revolution. Two months later the physicist Pyotr Kapitsa settled in the Cavendish Laboratory, headed by Rutherford. He took a young man for a short-term internship. Over time, the engineering grasp and research skills of the Russian scientist made a strong impression on Rutherford.

In 1922, Kapitsa defended his doctoral dissertation at Cambridge University. His scientific authority grew exponentially. In 1923 he was awarded a Maxwell scholarship. A year later, the scientist became deputy director of the laboratory.

New marriage

In 1925, Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa visited Paris in Academician A. N. Krylov, who introduced him to his daughter Anna. Two years later she became the wife of a scientist. After the wedding, Peter bought a plot of land on Huntington Road and built a house. Soon his sons Andrei and Sergei will be born here.

Magnetic World Champion

Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa, whose biography is known to all physicists, is actively continuing to study the processes of nuclear transformation and radioactive decay. He comes up with a new installation to generate stronger magnetic fields and gets record results, 6-7 thousand times higher than the previous ones. Then Landau christened him "the magnetic world champion."

Return to the USSR

Investigating the properties of metals in magnetic fields, Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa realized the need to change the conditions of experiments. Lower (gel) temperatures were required. It was in the field of low temperature physics that the scientist achieved the greatest success. But research on this topic, Petr Leonidovich spent already at home.

Officials of the Soviet government regularly offered him a permanent place of residence in the USSR. The scientist was interested in such proposals, but he always exhibited a number of conditions, most important of which - travel to the West at will. The government did not meet.

In the summer of 1934, Kapitsa and his wife visited the USSR, but when they were going to leave for England, it became clear that their visas had been canceled. Later, Anna was allowed to return for the children and take them to Moscow. Rutherford and friends of Peter Alekseevich asked the Soviet government to allow Kapitsa to return to England to continue work. Everything was in vain.

In 1935, Peter Kapitsa, whose brief biography is known to all scientists, headed the Institute of Physical Problems at the Academy of Sciences. But before agreeing to this position, he demanded the purchase of equipment, which he worked abroad. By that time, Rutherford had already accepted the loss of a valuable employee and sold the equipment from the laboratory.

Letters to the Government

Kapitsa Petr Leonidovich (photo attached to the article) returned to his homeland with the beginning of Stalin's purges. Even in this difficult time, he vigorously defended his views. Knowing that everything in the country is decided by top management, he regularly wrote letters, trying to conduct a frank and direct conversation. From 1934 to 1983, the scientist sent more than 300 letters to the Kremlin. Thanks to the intervention of Petr Leonidovich, many scientists were released from prisons and camps.

Further work and discovery

Whatever happened around, the physicist always found time for scientific work. On the installation delivered from England, he continued research in the field of strong magnetic fields. Employees from Cambridge participated in the experiments. These experiments lasted several years and were extremely important.

The scientist managed to improve the turbine of the device, and it became more efficient to liquefy the air. The installation did not require pre-cooling helium. It was automatically cooled by expansion in a special datender. Similar gel devices are now used in almost all countries.

In 1937, after much research in this direction, Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa (Nobel Prize will be awarded to the scientist 30 years later) made a fundamental discovery. He discovered the phenomenon of superfluidity of helium. The main conclusion of the study: at a temperature below 2.19 ° K there is no viscosity. In subsequent years, Petr Leonidovich discovered other anomalous phenomena occurring in helium. For example, the spread of heat in it. Thanks to these studies, a new direction appeared in science - the physics of quantum liquids.

Refusal to create an atomic bomb

In 1945, the Soviet Union launched a program to develop nuclear weapons. Petr Kapitsa, whose books were popular in scientific circles, refused to take part in it. For this he was removed from scientific work and put under house arrest for eight years. Also, the scientist was deprived of the opportunity to communicate with his colleagues. But Petr Leonidovich did not lose heart and decided to organize a laboratory at his dacha for further research.

It was there, in handicraft conditions, that electronics of large capacities were born, which became the first stage on the way of subordination of thermonuclear energy. But the scientist was able to return to full-fledged experiments only after his release in 1955. He began by studying high-temperature plasma. The discoveries made at that time formed the basis for the scheme of a thermonuclear reactor of constant action.

Some of his experiments gave a new impetus to the creativity of science fiction writers. Each writer tried to express his thoughts on this matter. At that time, Kapitsa also studied ball lightning and hydrodynamics of thin layers of liquid. But the burning interest in him appealed to the properties of plasma and microwave generators.

Departure abroad and the Nobel Prize

In 1965, Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa received a government permit to travel to Denmark. There he was awarded the gold medal of Niels Bohr. The physicist inspected the local laboratories and gave a lecture on high energies. In 1969, the scientist together with his wife visited the United States for the first time.

In mid-October 1978, the scientist received a telegram from the Swedish Academy of Sciences. In the title there was an inscription: "Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa. Nobel Prize". The physicist received it for fundamental research in the field of low temperatures. This joyful news "overtook" the scientist during the rest in Barvikha near Moscow.

The journalists who interviewed him asked: "Which of the personal scientific achievements do you consider to be the most significant?" Petr Leonidovich said that the most important for the scientist is his current work. "Personally, I am now engaged in thermonuclear fusion," he added.

Lecture Kapitza in Stockholm at the award ceremony was unusual. Contrary to the statute, he gave a lecture not on the physics of low temperatures, but about plasma and a controlled thermonuclear reaction. Petr Leonidovich explained the reason for this liberties. The scientist said: "It was difficult for me to choose a topic for a Nobel lecture. I received an award for research in the field of low temperatures, but I have not studied them for more than 30 years. In my institute, of course, continue to explore this topic, but I myself completely switched to studying the processes necessary for the implementation of a thermonuclear reaction. I believe that at present this sphere is more interesting and relevant, as it will help in solving the problem of the impending energy crisis. "

The scientist died in 1984, a little before he reached the 90th jubilee. In conclusion, we quote his most famous statements.

Quotes

"Human freedom can be limited in two ways: by violence or by the education of conditioned reflexes."

"A person is young until he does stupid things."

"You can not consider mistakes as pseudoscience. But their non-recognition is really pseudoscience. "

"The one who knows what he wants is talented."

"Geniuses do not give birth to an era, but are born an era."

"To become happy, a person needs to imagine himself free."

"The one who has endurance wins. Only endurance is not for a couple of hours, but for many years. "

"Do not cover, but emphasize contradictions. They contribute to the development of science. "

"Science should be simple, fun and exciting. The same applies to scientists. "

"Deception is an indispensable element of the democratic system, since the progressive beginning is held by a small number of people. The wishes of the majority simply stop progress. "

"Life is like a card game, in which you participate, not knowing the rules."