Nobel Prize winners in physics: list. Russian physicists - Nobel Prize laureates

The Nobel Prize was awarded for the first time in 1901. Since the beginning of the century, the commission annually selects the best specialist who made an important discovery or created an invention to honor his honorable award. The list of Nobel Prize laureates slightly exceeds the number of years of the award ceremony, since sometimes two or three people were marked simultaneously. Nevertheless, some are worth mentioning separately.

Igor Tamm

Russian physicist, Nobel Prize winner, was born in the city of Vladivostok in the family of a civil engineer. In 1901 the family moved to Ukraine, where Igor Tamm graduated from the gymnasium, after which he went to study in Edinburgh. In 1918 he received a diploma of the Physics Department of Moscow State University.

After that he began to teach, first in Simferopol, then in Odessa, and then in Moscow. In 1934 he received the post of head of the sector of theoretical physics at the Lebedev Institute, where he worked for the rest of his life. Igor Evgenevich Tamm studied the electrodynamics of solids, as well as the optical properties of crystals. In his works he first expressed the idea of quanta of sound waves. Relativistic mechanics in those days was extremely relevant, and Tamm managed to experimentally confirm the ideas that had not been proven before. His discoveries were very significant. In 1958, the work was recognized at the world level: together with colleagues Cherenkov and Frank, he received the Nobel Prize.

Otto Stern

It is worth noting yet another theorist who showed outstanding abilities and experiments. The German-American physicist, Nobel Prize winner Otto Stern, was born in February 1888 in Sorau (now the Polish city of Zori). I graduated from Stern School in Breslau, and then for several years studied natural sciences at German universities. In 1912, he defended his doctoral dissertation, the head of his graduate work became Einstein.

During the First World Otto Stern was mobilized in the army, but there he continued theoretical studies in the field of quantum theory. From 1914 to 1921 he worked at Frankfurt University, where he was engaged in experimental confirmation of the molecular motion. It was then that he managed to develop a method of atomic beams, the so-called Stern experiment. In 1923 he became a professor at the University of Hamburg. In 1933, he opposed anti-Semitism and was forced to move from Germany to the United States, where he obtained citizenship. In 1943, he enlarged the list of Nobel Prize laureates for his serious contribution to the development of the molecular-beam method and the discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton. Since 1945 - a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Since 1946 he lived in Berkeley, where he finished his days in 1969.

O. Chamberlain

American physicist Owen Chamberlain was born on July 10, 1920 in San Francisco. Together with Emilio Segre, he worked in the field of quantum physics. Colleagues managed to achieve significant success and make a discovery: they discovered antiprotons. In 1959, they were seen at the international level and awarded as Nobel Prize laureates in physics. Since 1960, Chamberlain was admitted to the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. He worked at Harvard as a professor, finished his days at Berkeley in February 2006.

Niels Bohr

Few Nobel laureates in physics are so famous as this Danish scientist. In a sense, it can be called the creator of modern science. In addition, Niels Bohr founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. He belongs to the theory of the atom, based on the planetary model, as well as postulates. He created the most important works on the theory of the atomic nucleus and nuclear reactions, on the philosophy of natural science. Despite the interest in the structure of particles, he opposed using them for military purposes. Education the future physicist received in the grammar school, where he became famous as an inveterate football player. The reputation of the gifted researcher was twenty-three years old, having graduated from Copenhagen University. His thesis project was awarded a gold medal. Niels Bohr proposed to determine the surface tension of water over the vibrations of the jet. From 1908 to 1911 he worked in his native university. Then he moved to England, where he worked with Joseph John Thomson, and then with Ernest Rutherford. Here he conducted his most important experiments, which led him to receive the award in 1922. After that he returned to Copenhagen, where he lived until his death in 1962.

Lev Landau

Soviet physicist, Nobel laureate, was born in 1908. Landau created amazing works in many areas: he studied magnetism, superconductivity, atomic nuclei, elementary particles, electrodynamics and much more. Together with Eugene Lifshitz, he created a classical course in theoretical physics. His biography is interested in an unusually rapid development: already at thirteen years Landau entered the university. For a while he studied chemistry, but later decided to study physics. Since 1927 he was a graduate student of the Leningrad Ioffe Institute. Contemporaries remembered him as an enthusiastic, sharp man, prone to critical assessments. The strict self-discipline allowed Landau to succeed. He worked on formulas so much that he saw them even at night in a dream. Strongly influenced by him and scientific trips abroad. Particularly important was the visit of the Institute of Theoretical Physics Niels Bohr, when the scientist was able to discuss the problems of interest to him at the highest level. Landau considered himself a disciple of a famous Dane.

In the late thirties, the scientist had to face Stalin's repression. Physics had to flee from Kharkov, where he lived with his family. This did not help, and in 1938 he was arrested. Leading scientists of the world turned to Stalin, and in 1939 Landau was released. After that, for many years he was engaged in scientific work. In 1962 he was enrolled in the Nobel Prize laureates in physics. The committee chose him for an innovative approach to the study of condensed matter, especially liquid helium. In the same year, I suffered a tragic accident when I encountered a truck. After that, he lived for six years. Russian physicists, Nobel laureates rarely achieved such recognition as Lev Landau had. Despite the difficult fate, he embodied all his dreams and formulated a completely new approach to science.

Max Born

German physicist, Nobel laureate, theoretician and creator of quantum mechanics was born in 1882. The future author of the most important works on the theory of relativity, electrodynamics, philosophical questions, fluid kinetics and many others worked in Britain and at home. The first training was in the gymnasium with a language slant. After school I entered the University of Breslau. During the study he attended lectures of famous mathematicians of that time - Felix Klein, David Hilbert and Herman Minkowski. In 1912, Gottingen was given the place of privat-docent, and in 1914 went to Berlin. Since 1919 he worked in Frankfurt as a professor. Among his colleagues was Otto Stern, the future Nobel Prize laureate, which we already talked about. In his works, Born described rigid bodies and quantum theory. I came to the need for a special interpretation of the particle-wave nature of matter. He proved that the laws of physics of the microworld can be called statistical and that the wave function must be interpreted as a complex quantity. After coming to power, the fascists moved to Cambridge. He returned to Germany only in 1953, and received the Nobel Prize in 1954. He remained forever in the history of physics as one of the most influential theorists of the twentieth century.

Enrico Fermi

Not many Nobel Prize winners in physics were from Italy. However, it was there that Enrico Fermi, the most important specialist of the twentieth century, was born. He became the creator of nuclear and neutron physics, founded several scientific schools and was a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. In addition, Fermi owns a large number of theoretical papers in the sphere of elementary particles. In 1938, he moved to the United States, where he discovered artificial radioactivity and built the first nuclear reactor in the history of mankind. In the same year he received the Nobel Prize. It is interesting that Fermi was distinguished by phenomenal memory, thanks to which he not only turned out to be an incredibly capable physicist, but also quickly learned foreign languages with the help of independent studies, which he approached disciplined, according to his own system. Such abilities were singled out by him at the university.

Immediately after training, he began to give lectures on quantum theory, which at that time in Italy had not been studied. His first research in the field of electrodynamics also deserved universal attention. On the Fermi path to success is worth noting Professor Mario Corbino, who appreciated the talents of the scientist and became his patron at the University of Rome, providing the young man a wonderful career. After moving to America he worked in Las Alamos and in Chicago, where he died in 1954.

Erwin Schrödinger

The Austrian theoretical physicist was born in 1887 in Vienna, in the family of a manufacturer. The wealthy father was the vice-president of the local botanico-zoological society and, from an early age, instilled in his son an interest in science. Prior to eleven years, Ervin studied at home, and in 1898 he entered the academic gymnasium. Brilliantly graduating from it, entered the University of Vienna. Despite the fact that the physical specialty was chosen, Schroedinger also showed humanitarian talents: he knew six foreign languages, wrote poems and understood the literature. Achievements in the exact sciences were inspired by Fritz Gazenrol, Erwin's talented teacher. It was he who helped the student understand that physics is his main interest. For his doctoral dissertation, Schroedinger chose an experimental work, which he managed to brilliantly defend. Work began at the university, during which the scientist was engaged in atmospheric electricity, optics, acoustics, color theory and quantum physics. Already in 1914 he was confirmed as an assistant professor, which enabled him to give lectures. After the war, in 1918, he began working at the Jena Physical Institute, where he worked with Max Planck and Einstein. In 1921 he began to teach in Stuttgart, but after one semester moved to Breslau. After some time I received an invitation from the Polytechnic in Zurich. In the period from 1925 to 1926 he performed several revolutionary experiments, publishing a paper entitled "Quantization as a problem of eigenvalues". He created the most important equation, which is also relevant for modern science. In 1933 he received the Nobel Prize, after which he was forced to leave the country: the Nazis came to power. After the war he returned to Austria, where he lived all the remaining years and died in 1961 in his native Vienna.

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

A well-known German experimental physicist was born in Lennep, near Düsseldorf, in 1845. Having graduated from the Zurich Polytechnic, he planned to become an engineer, but realized that he was interested in theoretical physics. He became an assistant chair in his native university, then moved to Giessen. From 1871 to 1873 he worked in Würzburg. In 1895 he discovered x-rays and carefully studied their properties. He was the author of the most important works on the pyro- and piezoelectric properties of crystals and on magnetism. He became the first Nobel laureate in physics in the world, having received it in 1901 for his outstanding contribution to science. In addition, it was Roentgen who worked at Kundt's school, becoming a sort of founder of a whole scientific trend, collaborating with contemporaries - Helmholtz, Kirchhoff, Lorentz. Despite the glory of a successful experimenter, he led a rather closed way of life and communicated exclusively with assistants. Therefore, the impact of his ideas on those physicists who were not his students was not very significant. A modest scientist refused to name the rays in his honor, calling them X-rays all his life. He gave his income to the state and lived in very cramped circumstances. Wilhelm Roentgen died on February 10, 1923 in Munich.

Albert Einstein

A world-famous physicist was born in Germany. He became the creator of the theory of relativity and wrote the most important works on quantum theory, was a foreign correspondent member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 1893 he lived in Switzerland, and in 1933 moved to the United States. It was Einstein who introduced the concept of a photon, established the laws of the photoelectric effect, and predicted the discovery of induced radiation. He developed the theory of Brownian motion and fluctuations, and also created quantum statistics. He worked on the problems of cosmology. In 1921 he received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the laws of photoelectric effect. In addition, Albert Einstein is one of the main initiators of the founding of the State of Israel. In the thirties, he spoke out against fascist Germany and tried to keep politicians from mad actions. His opinion about the atomic problem was not heard, which became the main tragedy of the scientist's life. In 1955, he died in Princeton from an aortic aneurysm.