Scientists are the founders of physics. The most outstanding discoveries of mankind in the field of physics

Man has been studying the laws of nature for thousands of years. The lack of necessary instruments, times of religious dictatorship, difficult access to education for people without a significant fortune - all this could not stop the progress of scientific thought. Famous physicists from around the world were able to learn how to transmit information over long distances, receive electricity and much, much more. What are the most significant names in history? Let's list some of the most prominent specialists.

Albert Einstein

The future scientist was born in March 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Albert's ancestors lived in Swabia for several hundred years, and he himself retained the memory of their heritage until the very last days - he spoke with a slight South German accent. He was educated at a folk school, and then at a gymnasium, where from the very beginning he preferred natural science and the exact sciences. By the age of 16, he had mastered everything that was necessary for admission to the university, but he failed the language exam. Nevertheless, he soon became a student at the Polytechnic University in Zurich.

His teachers were well-known physicists and mathematicians of that time, for example, Hermann Minkowski, who in the future would come up with an excellent formula for expressing the theory of relativity. Einstein spent most of his time in the laboratory or reading the works of Maxwell, Kirchhoff, and other leading experts in the field. After studying, Albert was a teacher for some time, and then became a technical expert at the patent office, during the years of work in which he published many of his famous works, which glorified him throughout the world. He changed people's ideas about space, made a formula that turns mass into a form of energy, and deeply studied molecular physics. His success was soon awarded the Nobel Prize, and the scientist himself moved to the United States, where he worked until the end of his days.

Nikola Tesla

This inventor from Austria-Hungary is perhaps the most famous physicist in the world.

His eccentric nature and revolutionary discoveries made him famous and inspired several writers and directors to use his image in their work. He was born in July 1856 and from an early age, like many other well-known physicists, began to show his penchant for the exact sciences. Over the years of his work, he discovered the phenomenon of alternating current, fluorescent light and the transmission of energy without wires, developed remote control and a method of treating current, created an electric clock, a solar engine and many other unique devices, for which he received more than three hundred patents. In addition, it is believed that the famous physicists Popov and Marconi invented the radio, but Tesla was the first. The modern electric power industry is completely based on his personal achievements and discoveries. One of the most striking experiments of Nikola was the transmission of current for fifty kilometers. He managed to light two hundred electric light bulbs without any wires, building a huge tower from which lightning flew out, and thunder was heard throughout the area. Spectacular and risky venture became his By the way, this experience is often demonstrated in films.

Isaac Newton

Many famous physicists have made significant contributions, but Newton was something of a pioneer.

Its laws are the basis of many modern ideas, and at the time of their discovery it was a truly revolutionary achievement. The famous Englishman was born in 1643. Since childhood, he was interested in physics, and over the years he also wrote works on mathematics, astronomy, and optics. He was the first to formulate the elementary laws of nature, which greatly influenced the works of his contemporaries. Not surprisingly, he was admitted to the Royal Society of London, and for some time was its president.

Lev Landau

Like many other well-known physicists, Landau most clearly showed himself in the theoretical field. The legendary Soviet scientist was born in January 1908, in the family of an engineer and a doctor. He studied brilliantly at school and entered the Baku university, where he studied physics and chemistry. By the age of nineteen he had already published four scientific papers. A brilliant career was devoted to the study of quantum states and density matrices, as well as electrodynamics. Landau's achievements were awarded the Nobel Prize, in addition, the Soviet scientist received several titles of the Hero of Socialist Labor, was an honorary member of the Royal Society of London and several foreign Academies of Sciences. Collaborated with Heisenberg, Pauli and Bohr. The latter influenced Landau especially strongly - his ideas manifested themselves in theories about the magnetic properties of free electrons.

James Maxwell

When compiling a list that would include the most famous physicists in the world, one cannot fail to mention this Clerk Maxwell was a British scientist who developed classical electrodynamics. He was born in June 1831, and by 1860 he had become a member of the Royal Society of London. Maxwell created the country's first physical laboratory with professional equipment. There he studied electromagnetism, the kinetic theory of gases, optics, elasticity and other topics. He was one of the first to create a device for the quantitative measurement of colors, later called the Maxwell disk.

In his theories, he summarized all the known facts of electrodynamics and introduced the concept of displacement current, which generates a magnetic field. Maxwell expressed all laws in four equations. Their analysis allows us to visually demonstrate patterns that were previously unknown.

Igor Kurchatov

A well-known nuclear physicist from the USSR also deserves a mention. Igor Kurchatov grew up in the Crimea, where he graduated from high school and university. In 1924 he began the department of physics at the Polytechnic Institute of Azerbaijan, and a year later he was hired in Leningrad. For the successful study of dielectrics, he was awarded a doctorate.

Under his leadership, already in 1939, the cyclotron was put into operation. conducted work on nuclear reactions and headed the Soviet atomic project. Under his leadership, the first nuclear power plant was opened. Kurchatov created the first Soviet atomic and thermonuclear bomb. He received several state awards and medals for his achievements.

Ministry of Education of the Republic of Bashkortostan

MOU secondary school No. 1 with. Askino

Abstract on the topic:

Great scientists.

Completed by: student of grade 10 A

Ziyazov Almaz

Supervisor : Khakimova F.M.

Askino - 2007

PLAN

1. Amedeo Avogadro
2. Niels Bohr
3. André Marie Ampère
4. Daniel Bernoulli
5. Ludwig Boltzmann
6. Alexander Volt
7. Galileo Galilei
8. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
9. Robert Hooke
10. Nikolai Egorovich Zhukovsky
11. Charles Augustin Coulomb
12. Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov
13. Lev Davidovich Landau
14. Petr Nikolaevich Lebedev
15. Emil Khristianovich Lenz
16. Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov
17. James Clerk Maxwell
18. Isaac Newton
19. Georg Simon Ohm
20. Blaise Pascal
21. Carl Ernst Ludwig Planck
22. Ernest Rutherford
23. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
24. Alexander Grigorievich Stoletov
25. Michael Faraday
26. Benjamin Franklin
27. Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky
28. Albert Einstein
29. Hans Christian Oersted

Talent is the ability to find one's own destiny.

Thomas Mann. What were they like, looking at us now from portraits?

· Minions of fate?

· Fighters in the name of science?

· Scientists "crackers"? All knowing and understanding sages?

· Did you make your discoveries in spite of or because of circumstances?

· Did you show your abilities for science in early childhood, did you think of yourself as nothing more than a physicist?

· Did you show no hope in your childhood, rather, on the contrary, were you closed, uncommunicative, living in your own world?

· Did you begin to deal with issues related to physics far from being young?

· They devoted only a few years of their lives to physics, was it not their main occupation?

· The selection below can serve as material for conferences, extracurricular activities, can be used by the way, to the place in a regular lesson, if the teacher feels that what has been said will be important for one of his students.

Amedeo AVOGADRO (1776-1856)

His full name is Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogad-ro di Quaregna e di Cerreto. The third of eight children of an employee of the judiciary, whose ancestors from the XII century. were in the service of the Catholic Church. The position was hereditary. At the age of twenty, Amedeo received a doctorate in ecclesiastical law. The twenty-five-year-old lawyer began to devote all his free time to physical and mathematical sciences.

Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

From the family of a professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen. Among the friends of the parents were musicians, writers, artists. It was an open house where Nils and his brother Harold (a year younger) tried to develop self-confidence, instill respect for knowledge, work, and other people. At school, Niels was considered a capable student, at the university - a capable student. Participated in a circle to discuss scientific and philosophical problems, was fond of football. The brothers were even part of the national team of Denmark and became famous throughout the country before gaining scientific fame. When Niels Bohr became a Nobel laureate, the Danish sports papers came out with headlines: "Our goalkeeper has been given a Nobel Prize."

André Marie AMPER (1775-1836)

He was, as they say, a late child in the family of a Lyon silk merchant. Exceptional abilities manifested at an early age. He quickly learned reading and arithmetic. I read everything (my father had a good library). Once he was caught reading an encyclopedia.

What are you reading, Andre? the father asked.

I'm reading an article on aberration, answered the eleven-year-old child. And he outlined the essence of this difficult phenomenon.

Never went to school, did not pass the classical course of study. He taught himself Latin, because that was the only way he could read the things that interested him. "Do you know how roots are calculated?" the visiting math teacher asked. “No, but I can integrate!” - answered the boy. The heyday of Ampère as a scientist fell on 1814-1824, i.e. by the age of forty.

Daniel BERNULLI (1700-1782)

At the age of sixteen he received a master's degree in philosophy. Around the same time, he began to study mathematics under the guidance of his older brother (Daniel is a representative of the famous Bernoulli dynasty of scientists). At the age of twenty-one, he was awarded the degree of licentiate of medicine. He began to study hydrodynamics, which brought him fame, already closer to forty years.

Ludwig BOLTZMANN (1844-1906)

Born in Vienna. Father - an official of the Imperial Ministry of Finance. From childhood he was interested in mathematics and natural science. In the gymnasium he was considered capable and hardworking. Enjoyed making music. His favorite composer was Beethoven, his favorite poet was Schiller. At the age of nineteen he entered the University of Vienna. From that moment began his active scientific and teaching activities.

Alexander Volt (1745-1827)

Born in a family estate where his ancestors lived for many centuries. Parents believed that the child was developing abnormally: small in stature, did not speak. He was considered dumb until, at the age of four, he spoke his first word: “No!” He studied at the school of the Jesuit order. As an eighteen-year-old youth, he already briskly corresponded with the most prominent electrical physicist of that time - the Reverend Abbot Nollet. Volt's heyday as a scientist falls on the age of forty-five to fifty years.

Galileo GALILEI (1564-1642)

The father wanted the boy to become a doctor, for which he sent him to study at the University of Pisa. However, the seventeen-year-old Galileo did not particularly like medicine. He left the university and began to seriously study mathematics and mechanics. At twenty-two, he was writing serious scientific papers, for example, on the center of gravity of bodies. At twenty-five, he is a lecturer at the University of Pisa. The position of professor of mathematics was honorary, but poorly paid.

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894)

He studied well in high school. He adored all subjects without exception - equally physics and the Arabic language. He loved to write poetry and carve figurines on a lathe. It is said that when Hertz became a famous scientist, his turning mentor remarked with regret: “It's a pity. He could make an excellent turner." Whatever he undertook, everything turned out. Heinrich Hertz was the son of a senator. When he was born, the doctors unanimously stated that he was not a tenant in this world. Illness haunted him all thirty years of his life.

Robert Hooke (1635-1703)

Born in the family of the rector of the church on the Isle of Wight (England). The father wanted his son to become a priest too. But the boy was in such poor health that he could not even go to elementary school with his peers. He devoted his leisure time to the design of various mechanisms. Such a serene life was cut short at the age of thirteen - his father died. Hooke became an apprentice to a London painter. Soon he decided that even without special training he draws quite well, and the smell of paint caused him a headache. He left painting and went to school to prepare for the university. Studied Greek, Latin, Euclid's geometry. At eighteen, he is a student at Oxford University. He earned a living as a chorister in the church, an assistant to a chemist, who recommended him to one young aristocrat, passionate about science, Robert Boyle.

Unfortunately, there is no portrait of Hooke, not only at an early age, but not a single one at all: in a fit of jealousy, I. Newton after the death of Hooke ordered the destruction of all his portraits (he considered Hooke his rival in science). The given portrait is a reconstruction of the appearance of the scientist according to the descriptions of his contemporaries.

Nikolai Egorovich ZHUKOVSKY (1847-1921)

At the age of eleven, he was sent from the Vladimir estate of his parents to study at the 4th Moscow gymnasium. Starting from the 3rd grade, he stood out as the best student in algebra, geometry and natural sciences. It was difficult for him to learn foreign languages, especially Latin and German. He loved experiments in physics. He made various models and devices. At the end of the gymnasium, he was going to enter the St. Petersburg Institute of Railway Engineers, following in the footsteps of his father. Education there was expensive - the family could not afford such expenses. My father advises me to enter Moscow University, the Faculty of Mathematics. Sixteen-year-old Nikolai was very difficult. From a letter to his mother at that time: “... And it’s time to think, and seriously, about myself, I’m no longer a child. Graduating from the university, there is no other goal than to become a great person, and it is so difficult: there are so many candidates for the name of the great ... ”Zhukovsky’s dream of becoming an engineer came true in adulthood.

Charles Augustin PENDANT (1736-1806)

He enlisted in the military right after graduating from high school. Completed engineering training. He built fortifications on the island of Martinique. Simultaneously with the military service, he conducted scientific research. His name gained fame in the scientific world by the age of forty.

Igor Vasilyevich KURCHATOV (1903-1960)

Youth fell on the years of revolution and civil war. He studied at the gymnasium of the city of Simferopol. He played the mandolin in the orchestra. The family was more than average. He worked part-time while studying in a mouthpiece workshop, mastered plumbing. The mathematics teacher at the gymnasium prophesied a great future for him, as did the literature teacher. He entered the Tauride University, graduating from the gymnasium with a gold medal. True, they could not give him a medal: there was a war going on. A student, a seventeen-eighteen-year-old boy, wherever he worked in order to survive in these hungry years: on the construction of a railway line, a watchman, even a teacher.

Lev Davidovich LANDAU (1908-1968)

He became a gymnasium student at the age of eight, at twelve he entered the Baku Economic College, two years later he graduated from it. At the age of fourteen he was a student at Baku University. Many modern schoolchildren at this age are just beginning to get acquainted with physics.

He learned to differentiate at the age of twelve, to integrate at the age of thirteen, spoke German and French quite fluently, and learned English by the age of twenty. He loved to read, but hated to write essays. There were constant problems with the teacher of literature. Somehow I got a unit for an essay about Eugene Onegin and wrote without a single mistake: "Tatyana was a rather boring person."

Pyotr Nikolaevich LEBEDEV (1866-1912)

Born in Moscow, in the family of an employee of a tea trading company. His father decided to send him to a commercial school, saying: "I would rather see my son as a sensible person in China than a sluggard in Moscow." The son, on the other hand, reads popular scientific and technical literature, helps a physics teacher with a demonstration of experiments, and persuades his father (a wealthy man) to purchase some electrical appliances. He installs an electric bell in the apartment. Then it was considered a miracle of technology! The father's hopes to make his son his worthy business heir were shattered. The fourteen-year-old boy was allowed to enter a real school, and then to the Moscow Technical School (now the Bauman Technical University). Lebedev always studied average. Experiments and various inventions at home took a lot of time and effort. The father encouraged romantic hobbies for girls, bought him a boat, a racehorse. But the desire to become an engineer was overpowering. At the age of seventeen, he writes: “I will not fall in love, otherwise everything will go to dust and I will have to go to the office” (ie, become a business person).

Emily Khristianovich LENTS (1804-1865)

Russian physicist from the city of Dorpat (Tartu). Then it was the Russian Empire. Dropped out of university to go on a three-year trip around the world. Conducted geographical research. According to their results, at the age of twenty-four he became an adjunct of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and at the age of twenty-six - an academician. He took up the reorganization of the physical laboratory and his own physical research.

Mikhail Vasilyevich LOMONOSOV (1711-1765)

Born near the town of Kholmogory, in a peasant family. Almost all local residents were engaged in sea fishing. From the age of ten, together with his father, Mikhail began to participate in voyages. He learned to read at the age of twelve - from a local deacon. I have read every book available to him. The craving for knowledge turned out to be so strong that already quite an adult, nineteen years old (and he had been working since the age of ten!), went to Moscow to study. The twenty-year-old "uncle" was sitting at a desk with schoolchildren, students of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. He lived in dire need: “Having an altyn on a pay day, it was impossible to have more money for food per day than for bread money and kvass money, other things for paper, for shoes and other needs.” Education at the academy was designed for 13 years. In the first year, Lomonosov managed to complete three classes, and in 5 years - the entire course.

James Clerk MAXWELL (1831-1879)

His childhood was happy. A three-year-old child explored everything around. How can the ringing of the servants' bell be carried by wire to other rooms? Riddle! He had extremely kind, wise and attentive parents. In one of the letters, the boy's mother writes that the words: "Show me how it's done," constantly accompany him. His mother passed away when James was eight years old. At school, he did not show much success at first. He was only interested in the geometry of oval lines with the help of two needles and thread. The method was reported at a meeting of the Royal Scientific Society and approved by the most famous scientists. At the age of sixteen he entered the University of Edinburgh, and at nineteen he moved to Cambridge.

Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

He was born small and frail, but he lived for eighty-five years, ill no more than usual. The child was considered capable, had an excellent memory. He loved to craft. For example, he made a mill, the wheel of which was set in motion by a mouse; lanterns, sun and water clocks. With kites lit up in the air, he frightened the neighbors. I read a lot. Relatives wanted to see him as a farmer, perhaps a priest. But, since childhood, an unsociable, touchy, young man who loved solitude decided to seriously engage in science. At eighteen he was a student at Cambridge, at twenty-two (unusually early!) He received a bachelor's degree. He did his most significant work at a relatively young age. Never left England, never traveled more than 200 km from Cambridge.

Georg Simon OM (1787-1854)

Born in the family of a locksmith. The father attached great importance to the education of children. Although the family was in constant need, Georg studied - first at the gymnasium, and then at the university. However, at the behest of his father, who believed that his son paid too much attention to entertainment, Ohm had to interrupt his studies and start teaching mathematics in a private school in Switzerland. Only at the age of twenty-four did he manage to pass the exams for the university. Georg Ohm became interested in physics later.

Blaise PASCAL (1623-1662)

The father developed a system for raising children (in addition to Blaise, there were two more daughters in the family), which excluded the exact sciences. He was afraid that early enthusiasm for mathematics and natural sciences would interfere with harmonious development. For example, the boy learned about the "forbidden" geometry at the age of twelve. Physics entered the field of his interests by the age of thirty.

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig PLANK (1858-1947)

Born in the family of a professor of civil law. The boy studied at the Munich Gymnasium, was going to become a musician or a linguist. Subsequently, he played a duet (piano part) with Einstein, who played the violin part. Physics attracted his attention in the senior classes of the gymnasium.

One of the teachers at the University of Munich dissuaded Planck from linking his interests precisely with theoretical physics. There, they say, everything is already known, it remains to clarify the details.

Ernest RUTHERFORD (1871-1937)

The fourth child of a New Zealand small farmer who had eight more children. The father could not afford to educate all the children, and Rutherford, from childhood to higher education, studied all the time on scholarships. Lively, active, cheerful, he loved hunting and sports. At school and university he played forward in the football team. Loved to read. As a boy, he made himself a camera, which at that time was quite difficult.

In 1891, as a twenty-year-old student, at a meeting of the Scientific Society he made a report "On the Evolution of Matter", where he expressed completely revolutionary thoughts: all atoms consist of the same particles. The report was received very disapprovingly. He had to apologize to the Scientific Society.

Wilhelm Conrad RENTGEN (1845-1923)

The scientist who received the first Nobel Prize did not have a high school diploma. He was expelled from school. Someone drew a caricature of the teacher on the blackboard, and he thought that this was the work of Roentgen. He did not receive a certificate and when he tried to pass the exams as an external student, the same teacher turned out to be his examiner. It was now impossible to dream of entering a higher educational institution. By chance, a twenty-year-old young man learns that a new Polytechnic Institute has opened in the Swiss city of Zurich, where volunteers are accepted (that is, a certificate is not required). It was there that he entered the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Alexander Grigorievich Stoletov (1839-1896)

Born in the family of a poor Vladimir merchant - the owner of a grocery store. Learned to read at the age of four. From the age of five, reading is a favorite pastime. He wrote poetry, in the gymnasium with his comrades he published a handwritten magazine. He studied music, even wanted to become a professional musician at one time. In the last years of study at the gymnasium, physics and mathematics became my favorite subjects. They determined the future. A seventeen-year-old boy became a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University (at public expense, that is, after graduation he had to work for six years "in the educational part of the Ministry of Public Education").

Michael FARADEUS (1791-1867)

Born in London, in the family of a blacksmith. He received only primary education. From the age of twelve he began working as a newspaper peddler, an apprentice in a bookbinding workshop. Self-taught, read a lot.

Benjamin FRANKLIN (1706-1790)

Political figure. In America, to this day, he is one of the most revered people in the history of the United States. His works on electricity were done in a short period of time, from 1747 to 1753. That is, he devoted seven years to physics, being already in adulthood. Thanks to him, we now use a lightning rod, the concepts of "positive" and "negative" charges. Everyone can see Franklin's portrait on a hundred dollar bill.

Konstantin Eduardovich TSIOLKOVSKY (1857-1935)

Born in the family of a forester. In addition to him, there are twelve more children. At the age of nine, he fell ill with scarlet fever and, as a result of a complication, partially lost his hearing. This affected the rest of his life. He was isolated from other children, he was teased, he could not study at school (did not hear the teacher). Two years later, the mother dies. From now on, his world is books. From the age of fourteen or fifteen, he became interested in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and astronomy. At the age of sixteen he left for Moscow, where he lived for three years, spending very little money that he received from home, mainly on books. Then, returning home, he earned money by tutoring. At twenty-two, he passed the exams for the title of teacher as an external student. The brilliant self-taught scientist, who was much ahead of his time, later recalled that deafness always made his pride suffer, alienated him from people, left him alone with his thoughts.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

As a child, he learned to speak so slowly that he was almost considered mentally retarded. Yet his mother made ambitious plans for his future. She was neither gentle nor tolerant, and Einstein's childhood was marked by her domineering nature. He himself recalled that he was a lonely and dreamy child, had difficulty communicating with peers, and avoided noisy games. He liked to build complex structures from cubes and card houses up to fourteen floors high. He was prone to fits of rage, in his usual state he was almost inhibited. His apathy worried his parents. He began learning to play the violin at the age of five. Music became his spiritual need for life. I encountered anti-Semitism at school. At the age of eleven, he experienced a period of ardent religious faith, which was replaced by a period of passion for scientific and technical literature. Although he learned new information rather slowly in childhood, he did not have any particularly serious problems at school. The weak point was only physical education. His Greek teacher made history by saying that nothing would ever come of Einstein.

He really did not become a specialist in ancient languages. All his life he did not tolerate militarism. Renounced German citizenship to avoid being drafted into the army at the age of seventeen.

According to his own recollections, at the age of sixteen he thought about how it was possible (and whether it was possible at all) to catch up with a beam of light moving across the sky.

Hans Christian OERSTED (1777-1851)

Born into the family of a poor pharmacist. There was not much money for education, so together with his brother Anders he studied wherever he could: with a hairdresser - German, with a hairdresser's wife - Danish, with a pastor - grammar, history and literature, with a land surveyor - mathematics. A visiting student once spoke about the properties of minerals. At the age of twelve, he was already behind the counter of his father's pharmacy. Yet, once at the University of Copenhagen, he undertook to study everything at once: medicine, physics, astronomy, philosophy, poetry. At the age of twenty, he received a gold medal for his essay "The Borders of Poetry and Prose." Oersted came to physics later.

Literature

1. Azernikov V.Z. Physics. Great discoveries. - M.: OLMA-press, 2000.

2. Golin G.M., Filonovich SR. Classics of physical science. - M.: Higher school, 1989.

3. Remarkable scientists. - Library "Quantum". 1980.

4. Lishevsky V.P. Truth hunters. - M.: Nauka, 1990.

5. They created physics. - M.; Bureau "Quantum", 1998.

6. Khramov Yu.A. Physics. -M.: Nauka, 1983.

MURRY GELL-MANN (b. 1929)

Murray Gell-Mann was born on September 15, 1929 in New York and was the youngest son of emigrants from Austria Arthur and Pauline (Reichstein) Gell-Mann. At the age of fifteen, Murry entered Yale University. He graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He spent the following years as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here, in 1951, Gell-Mann received his Ph.D. in physics.

LEV DAVIDOVICH LANDAU (1908-1968)

Lev Davidovich Landau was born on January 22, 1908 in the family of David Lyubov Landau in Baku. His father was a famous petroleum engineer! who worked in the local oil fields, and his mother was a doctor. She was engaged in physiological research. Landau's older sister became a chemical engineer.

IGOR VASILIEVICH KURCHATOV (1903-1960)

Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov was born on January 12, 1903 in the family of an assistant forester in Bashkiria. In 1909, the family moved to Simbirsk. In 1912, the Kurchatovs moved to Simferopol. Here the boy enters the first grade of the gymnasium.

PAUL DIRAC (1902-1984)

English physicist Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was born on August 8, 1902 in Bristol, in the family of Charles Adrien Ladislav Dirac, a native of Sweden, a French teacher in a private school, and an Englishwoman, Florence Hannah (Holten) Dirac.

WERNER HEISENBERG (1901-1976)

Werner Heisenberg was one of the youngest scientists to win the Nobel Prize. Purposefulness and a strong competitive spirit inspired him to discover one of the most famous principles of science - the uncertainty principle.

ENRICO FERMI (1901-1954)

“The great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi,” wrote Bruno Pontecorvo, “occupies a special place among modern scientists: in our time, when narrow specialization in scientific research has become typical, it is difficult to point to such a universal physicist who was Fermi. It can even be said that the appearance on the scientific arena of the 20th century of a person who made such a huge contribution to the development of theoretical physics, and experimental physics, and astronomy, and technical physics, is a rather unique phenomenon than a rare one.

NIKOLAY NIKOLAEVICH SEMENOV (1896-1986)

Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov was born on April 15, 1896 in Saratov, in the family of Nikolai Alexandrovich and Elena Dmitrievna Semenov. After graduating from a real school in Samara in 1913, he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, where, studying with the famous Russian physicist Abram Ioffe, he proved to be an active student.

IGOR EVGENIEVICH TAMM (1895-1971)

Igor Evgenievich was born on July 8, 1895 in Vladivostok in the family of Olga (née Davydova) Tamm and Evgeny Tamm, a civil engineer. Evgeny Fedorovich worked on the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Igor's father was not only a versatile engineer, but also an exceptionally courageous person. During the Jewish pogrom in Elizavetgrad, he alone went to the crowd of Black Hundreds with a cane and dispersed it. Returning from distant lands with three-year-old Igor, the family traveled by sea through Japan to Odessa.

Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa (1894-1984)

Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa was born on July 9, 1894 in Kronstadt in the family of a military engineer, General Leonid Petrovich Kapitsa, builder of the Kronstadt fortifications. He was an educated, intelligent man, a gifted engineer who played an important role in the development of the Russian armed forces. Mother, Olga Ieronimovna, nee Stebnitskaya, was an educated woman. She was engaged in literature, pedagogical and social activities, leaving a mark on the history of Russian culture.

ERWIN SCHROEDINGER (1887-1961)

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger was born on August 12, 1887 in Vienna His father, Rudolf Schrödinger, was the owner of an oilcloth factory, was fond of painting and had an interest in botany The only child in the family, Erwin received his primary education at home His first teacher was his father, about whom he later Schrödinger spoke of "a friend, a teacher and an interlocutor who does not know fatigue." In 1898, Schrödinger entered the Academic Gymnasium, where he was the first student in Greek, Latin, classical literature, mathematics and physics. In his gymnasium years, Schrödinger developed a love for the theater.

NIELS BOHR (1885-1962)

Einstein once said: “What is surprisingly attractive about Bohr as a scientist-thinker is a rare fusion of courage and caution; few people had such an ability to intuitively grasp the essence of hidden things, combining this with heightened criticism. He is without a doubt one of the greatest scientific minds of our age."

MAX BORN (1882-1970)

His name is put on a par with such names as Planck and Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg. Born is rightfully considered one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He owns many fundamental works in the field of the theory of the structure of the atom, quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.

ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879-1955)

His name is often heard in the most common vernacular. “There is no smell of Einstein here”; "Wow Einstein"; "Yes, it's definitely not Einstein!" In his age, when science dominated as never before, he stands apart, like a symbol of intellectual power. Sometimes the thought even seems to arise: "humanity is divided into two parts - Albert Einstein and the rest of the world.

ERNEST RUTHERFORD (1871-1937)

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 near the town of Nelson (New Zealand) in the family of a migrant from Scotland. Ernest was the fourth of twelve children. His mother worked as a rural teacher. The father of the future scientist organized a woodworking enterprise. Under the guidance of his father, the boy received good training for work in the workshop, which subsequently helped him in the design and construction of scientific equipment.

MARIA CURIE-SKLODOWSKA (1867-1934)

Maria Skłodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw. She was the youngest of five children in the family of Władysław and Bronislaw Skłodowski. Maria was brought up in a family where science was respected. Her father taught physics at the gymnasium, and her mother, until she fell ill with tuberculosis, was the director of the gymnasium. Mary's mother died when the girl was eleven years old.

PETER NIKOLAEVICH LEBEDEV (1866-1912)
Petr Nikolaevich Lebedev was born on March 8, 1866 in Moscow, into a merchant family His father worked as a trusted clerk and treated his work with real enthusiasm In his eyes, the trading business was surrounded by a halo of significance and romance He instilled the same attitude in his only son, and at first successfully In the first letter, an eight-year-old boy writes to his father, “Dear dad, are you in good health and are you a good trader?”

MAX PLANK (1858-1947)

German physicist Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on April 23, 1858 in the Prussian city of Kiel, in the family of civil law professor Johann Julius Wilhelm von Planck, professor of civil law, and Emma (nee Patzig) Planck. As a child, the boy learned to play the piano and organ, revealing outstanding musical abilities. In 1867 the family moved to Munich, and there Planck entered the Royal Maximilian Classical Gymnasium, where an excellent teacher of mathematics first aroused in him an interest in the natural and exact sciences.

HEINRICH RUDOLF HERZ (1857-1894)

In the history of science, there are not many discoveries that you have to come into contact with every day. But without what Heinrich Hertz did, it is already impossible to imagine modern life, since radio and television are a necessary part of our life, and he made a discovery in this area.

JOSEPH THOMSON (1856-1940)

The English physicist Joseph Thomson entered the history of science as the man who discovered the electron. He once said: "The discoveries are due to the sharpness and power of observation, intuition, unshakable enthusiasm until the final resolution of all the contradictions that accompany pioneer work."

GENDRIK LORENTZ (1853-1928)

Lorentz entered the history of physics as the creator of the electronic theory, in which he synthesized the ideas of field theory and atomism. Gendrik Anton Lorentz was born on July 15, 1853 in the Dutch city of Arnhem. He went to school for six years. In 1866, after graduating from school as the best student, Gendrik entered the third grade of a higher civilian school, roughly corresponding to a gymnasium. His favorite subjects were physics and mathematics, foreign languages. To study French and German, Lorenz went to churches and listened to sermons in these languages, although he did not believe in God since childhood.

WILHELM RENTGEN (1845-1923)

In January 1896, a typhoon of newspaper reports swept over Europe and America about the sensational discovery of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, professor at the University of Würzburg. It seemed that there was no newspaper that would not have printed a picture of the hand, which, as it turned out later, belonged to Bertha Roentgen, the professor's wife. And Professor Roentgen, having locked himself in his laboratory, continued to intensively study the properties of the rays he had discovered. The discovery of X-rays gave impetus to new research. Their study led to new discoveries, one of which was the discovery of radioactivity.

LUDWIG BOLTZMANN (1844-1906)

Ludwig Boltzmann was without a doubt the greatest scientist and thinker that Austria has given the world. Even during his lifetime, Boltzmann, despite the position of an outcast in scientific circles, was recognized as a great scientist, he was invited to lecture in many countries. And yet, some of his ideas remain a mystery even today. Boltzmann himself wrote about himself: "The idea that fills my mind and activity is the development of theory." And Max Laue later clarified this idea as follows: “His ideal was to combine all physical theories in a single picture of the world.”

ALEXANDER GRIGORYEVICH STOLETOV (1839-1896)

Alexander Grigoryevich Stoletov was born on August 10, 1839 in the family of a poor Vladimir merchant. His father, Grigory Mikhailovich, owned a small grocery store and a leather dressing workshop. The house had a good library, and Sasha, having learned to read at the age of four, began to use it early. At the age of five, he already read quite freely.

WILLARD GIBBS (1839-1903)

The mystery of Gibbs is not whether he was a misunderstood or unappreciated genius. The riddle of Gibbs lies elsewhere: how did it happen that pragmatic America, in the years of the reign of practicality, produced a great theoretician? Before him, there was not a single theorist in America. However, as there were almost no theorists after. The vast majority of American scientists are experimenters.

JAMES MAXWELL (1831-1879)

James Maxwell was born in Edinburgh on June 13, 1831. Shortly after the birth of the boy, his parents took him to their estate Glenlar. Since that time, the "lair in a narrow gorge" has firmly entered the life of Maxwell. Here his parents lived and died, here he himself lived and was buried for a long time.

HERMANN HELMHOLTZ (1821-1894)

Hermann Helmholtz is one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. Physics, physiology, anatomy, psychology, mathematics... In each of these sciences, he made brilliant discoveries that brought him worldwide fame.

EMILY KHRISTIANOVICH LENTS (1804-1865)

Fundamental discoveries in the field of electrodynamics are associated with the name of Lenz. Along with this, the scientist is rightfully considered one of the founders of Russian geography. Emil Khristianovich Lenz was born on February 24, 1804 in Dorpat (now Tartu). In 1820 he graduated from the gymnasium and entered the Dorpat University. Lenz began his independent scientific activity as a physicist in a round-the-world expedition on the sloop "Enterprise" (1823-1826), in which he was included on the recommendation of university professors. In a very short time, he, together with the rector E.I. Parrothom created unique instruments for deep-sea oceanographic observations - a winch-depth gauge and a bathometer. On the voyage, Lenz made oceanographic, meteorological, and geophysical observations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. In 1827, he processed the received data and analyzed them.

MICHAEL FARADEY (1791-1867)

only discoveries that a good dozen scientists would suffice to immortalize their name. Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 in London, in one of its poorest quarters. His father was a blacksmith, and his mother was the daughter of a tenant farmer. The apartment in which the great scientist was born and spent the first years of his life was in the backyard and was located above the stables.

GEORGE OM (1787-1854)

Professor of physics at the University of Munich E. Lommel spoke well about the significance of Ohm's research at the opening of the monument to the scientist in 1895: “Ohm's discovery was a bright torch that illuminated the area of ​​electricity that had been shrouded in darkness before him. Om pointed out) the only correct way through the impenetrable forest of incomprehensible facts. Remarkable advances in the development of electrical engineering, which we have observed with surprise in recent decades, could be achieved! only on the basis of Ohm's discovery. Only he is able to dominate the forces of nature and control them, who will be able to unravel the laws of nature, Om wrested from nature the secret that she had been hiding for so long and handed it over to the hands of his contemporaries.

HANS OERSTED (1777-1851)

“The learned Danish physicist, professor,” Ampère wrote, “with his great discovery paved a new path for physicists to research. These studies have not remained fruitless; they attracted to the discovery of many facts worthy of the attention of all who are interested in progress.

AMEDEO AVOGADRO (1776-1856)

Avogadro entered the history of physics as the author of one of the most important laws of molecular physics. Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto was born on August 9, 1776 in Turin, the capital of the Italian province of Piedmont, in the family of Philippe Avogadro, an employee of the judicial department. Amedeo was the third of eight children. His ancestors from the XII century were in the service of the Catholic Church as lawyers and, according to the tradition of that time, their professions and positions were inherited. When the time came to choose a profession, Amedeo also took up law. In this science, he quickly succeeded and at the age of twenty he received the degree of Doctor of Church Law.

ANDRE MARIE AMPERE (1775-1836)

The French scientist Ampère is known in the history of science mainly as the founder of electrodynamics. Meanwhile, he was a universal scientist, having merits in the field of mathematics, chemistry, biology, and even in linguistics and philosophy. He was a brilliant mind, striking with his encyclopedic knowledge of all the people who knew him closely.

CHARLES PENDANT (1736-1806)
To measure the forces acting between electric charges. Coulomb used the torsion balance he invented. The French physicist and engineer Charles Coulomb achieved brilliant scientific results. The patterns of external friction, the law of torsion of elastic threads, the basic law of electrostatics, the law of interaction of magnetic poles - all this has entered the golden fund of science. "Coulomb field", "Coulomb potential", and finally, the name of the unit of electric charge "coulomb" is firmly entrenched in physical terminology.

ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1726)

Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day 1642 in the village of Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire His father died before the birth of his son Newton's mother, nee Eiskof, gave birth prematurely shortly after the death of her husband, and the newborn Isaac was strikingly small and frail They thought that the baby would not survive Newton, however, he lived to a ripe old age and always, with the exception of short-term disorders and one serious illness, was distinguished by good health.

CHRISTIAN HUYGENS (1629-1695)

The principle of operation of the anchor escapement mechanism. The running wheel (1) is untwisted by a spring (not shown in the figure). Anchor (2), connected to the pendulum (3), enters the left pallet (4) between the teeth of the wheel. The pendulum swings to the other side, the anchor releases the wheel. It manages to turn only one tooth, and the right flight (5) enters into engagement. Then everything is repeated in reverse order.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Blaise Pascal, son of Étienne Pascal and Antoinette née Begon, was born in Clermont on June 19, 1623. The entire Pascal family was distinguished by outstanding abilities. As for Blaise himself, from early childhood he showed signs of extraordinary mental development. In 1631, when little Pascal was eight years old, his father moved with all the children to Paris, selling his position according to the then custom and investing a significant part of his small capital in the Hotel de Bill.

ARCHIMEDES (287 - 212 BC)

Archimedes was born in 287 BC in the Greek city of Syracuse, where he lived almost his entire life. His father was Phidias, the court astronomer of the ruler of the city of Hieron. Archimedes, like many other ancient Greek scientists, studied in Alexandria, where the rulers of Egypt, the Ptolemies, gathered the best Greek scientists and thinkers, and also founded the famous, largest library in the world.

Where is my favorite scientist? He was way ahead of his time! He knew something that even Einstein did not know! Add Tesla!

Nikola Tesla (Serb. Nikola Tesla; July 10, 1856, Smilany, Austria-Hungary, now in Croatia - January 7, 1943, New York, USA) - American physicist, engineer, inventor in the field of electrical and radio engineering.

Widely known for his scientific and revolutionary contribution to the study of the properties of electricity and magnetism in the late XIX - early XX centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis for modern AC devices, polyphase systems, and the electric motor, enabling the second stage of the industrial revolution.

Contemporary biographers considered Tesla "the man who invented the 20th century" and "the 'patron saint' of modern electricity." After demonstrating radio and winning the "Current Wars," Tesla gained widespread recognition as America's preeminent electrical engineer. Tesla's early work paved the way for modern electrical engineering, and his early discoveries were innovative. In the US, Tesla could rival any inventor or scientist in history or popular culture in terms of fame.

Alternating current

Since 1889, Tesla began to study high-frequency currents and high voltages. He invented the first samples of electromechanical RF generators (including the inductor type) and a high-frequency transformer (Tesla's transformer, 1891), thereby creating the prerequisites for the development of a new branch of electrical engineering - RF technology.

In the course of research on high-frequency currents, Tesla paid attention to safety issues. Experimenting on his body, he studied the effect of alternating currents of various frequencies and strengths on the human body. Many of the rules first developed by Tesla are included in the modern basics of safety when working with high-frequency currents. He found that at a current frequency of more than 700 periods per second, the pain effect on the nerve endings ceases to be perceived. Electrical devices developed by Tesla for medical research are widely used in the world.

Experiments with high-frequency currents of high voltage (up to 2 million volts) led the inventor to the discovery of a method for cleaning contaminated surfaces. A similar effect of currents on the skin has shown that in this way it is possible to remove small rashes, cleanse pores and kill microbes. This method is used in modern electrotherapy.

Field theory

In 1888, Tesla (independently of G. Ferraris and somewhat earlier than him) gave a rigorous scientific description of the essence of the phenomenon of a rotating magnetic field. In the same year, Tesla received his main patents for the invention of multi-phase electrical machines (including an asynchronous electric motor) and a system for transmitting electricity through poly-phase alternating current. With the use of a two-phase system, which he considered the most economical, a number of industrial electrical installations were launched in the USA, including the Niagara hydroelectric power station (1895), the largest in those years.

Tesla was one of the first to patent a method for reliably obtaining currents that could be used in radio communications. U.S. Patent U.S. Patent 447,920, issued March 10, 1891, described a "Method of Operating Arc-Lamps" in which an alternator produced high-frequency (by the standards of the time) current oscillations of the order of 10,000 Hz. A patented innovation was a method of suppressing the sound produced by an arc lamp under the influence of alternating or pulsating current, for which Tesla came up with the use of frequencies that are beyond the range of human hearing. According to modern classification, the alternator operated in the range of very low radio frequencies.

Tesla demonstrating the principles of radio communication, 1891

In 1891, at a public lecture, he described and demonstrated the principles of radio communication. In 1893, he came to grips with wireless communications and invented the mast antenna.

Resonance

Tesla coils are still used here and there to produce artificial lightning. In 1998, Stanford engineer Greg Ley demonstrated the “lightning on demand” effect to the public by standing in a metal cage under a giant Tesla circuit and controlling lightning with a metal “magic wand.” He recently launched a fundraising campaign to build two more "Tesla Towers" somewhere in the southwestern United States. The project will cost $6 million. However, the lightning tamer hopes to recoup the costs by selling the unit to the Federal Aviation Administration. With it, aviators will be able to study what happens to aircraft caught in a thunderstorm.

Wireless power transmission

Our understanding of the world around us in the heyday of the technological era - all this, and much more, is the result of the work of numerous scientists. We live in a progressive world that is developing at a tremendous pace. This growth and progression is the product of science, numerous studies and experiments. Everything we use, including cars, electricity, health care and science, is the result of the inventions and discoveries of these intellectuals. Were it not for the greatest minds of mankind, we would still be living in the Middle Ages. People take everything for granted, but it is still worth paying tribute to those thanks to whom we have what we have. This list features ten of the greatest scientists in history whose inventions have changed our lives.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician, widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Newton's contribution to science is wide and unique, and the laws he derived are still taught in schools as the basis of scientific understanding. His genius is always mentioned along with a funny story - allegedly, Newton discovered the force of gravity thanks to an apple that fell from a tree on his head. Whether or not the apple story is true, Newton also established the heliocentric model of the cosmos, built the first telescope, formulated the empirical law of cooling, and studied the speed of sound. As a mathematician, Newton also made a lot of discoveries that influenced the further development of mankind.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein is a German-born physicist. In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the law of the photoelectric effect. But the most important achievement of the greatest scientist in history is the theory of relativity, which, along with quantum mechanics, forms the basis of modern physics. He also formulated the mass energy equivalence relation E=m, which is named as the most famous equation in the world. He also collaborated with other scientists on works such as Bose-Einstein Statistics. Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, alerting him to a possible nuclear weapon, is supposed to be a key impetus in the development of the US atomic bomb. Einstein believes that this is the biggest mistake of his life.

James Maxwell (1831-1879)

Maxwell - Scottish mathematician and physicist, introduced the concept of the electromagnetic field. He proved that light and electromagnetic field travel at the same speed. In 1861 Maxwell took the first color photograph after researching in the field of optics and colors. Maxwell's work on thermodynamics and kinetic theory also helped other scientists to make a number of important discoveries. The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution is another major contribution to the development of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist, whose main invention was the process of pasteurization. Pasteur made a number of discoveries in the field of vaccination, creating vaccines against rabies and anthrax. He also studied the causes and developed methods for preventing diseases, which saved many lives. All this made Pasteur the "father of microbiology". This great scientist founded the Pasteur Institute to continue scientific research in many fields.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Charles Darwin is one of the most influential figures in human history. Darwin, an English naturalist and zoologist, advanced the theory of evolution and evolutionism. He provided a basis for understanding the origin of human life. Darwin explained that all life arose from common ancestors and that development occurred through natural selection. This is one of the dominant scientific explanations for the diversity of life.

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). She became not only the first woman to win the award, but also the only woman to do so in two fields and the only person to achieve it across sciences. Its main field of research was radioactivity - methods for isolating radioactive isotopes and the discovery of the elements polonium and radium. During World War I, Curie opened the first radiology center in France and also developed a mobile field x-ray that helped save the lives of many soldiers. Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to radiation led to aplastic anemia, from which Curie died in 1934.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

Nikola Tesla, Serbian American, best known for his work in the modern electrical system and AC research. Tesla at the initial stage worked for Thomas Edison - he developed engines and generators, but later quit. In 1887 he built an induction motor. Tesla's experiments gave rise to the invention of radio communication, and Tesla's special nature gave him the nickname "mad scientist". In honor of this greatest scientist, in 1960, the unit of measurement of magnetic field induction was called "tesla".

Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

The Danish physicist Niels Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922 for his work on quantum theory and the structure of the atom. Bohr is famous for discovering the model of the atom. In honor of this greatest scientist, the element ‘Borium’, formerly known as hafnium, was even named. Bohr was also instrumental in founding CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Galileo Galilei is best known for his achievements in astronomy. An Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher, he improved the telescope and made important astronomical observations, among them the confirmation of the phases of Venus and the discovery of the moons of Jupiter. The frantic support of heliocentrism became the reason for the persecution of the scientist, Galileo was even subjected to house arrest. During this time he wrote The Two New Sciences, for which he was called the "Father of Modern Physics".