Bruno Touschek
Encyclopedia
Bruno Touschek was an Austria
n physicist
, a survivor of the Holocaust, and initiator of research on electron-positron colliders.
. In 1937, he was not allowed to finish high school since his mother was Jewish. He passed the final year exam in a different school as an external pupil. Shortly after he started studying physics and mathematics at the University in Vienna, he again had to quit for racial reasons. Thanks to a couple of friends, he could keep on studying in Hamburg
, where nobody knew of his origins. In order to make a living, he took up several jobs at the same time.
During this period, he worked at the Studiengesellschaft für Elektronengeräte, a company affiliated to Philips
, where "drift tubes" - the forerunners of the klystron
- were being developed at that time. In 1943, he asked Rolf Wideröe
to cooperate with him in building a betatron
. When Touschek was arrested by the Gestapo
in 1945, Wideroë visited him in prison, and during these meetings they continued to talk about the betatron. In particular, they conceived the idea of radiation damping
for electron
s circulating in a betatron.
Touschek escaped the concentration camp he was held in largely by chance. After the war, he graduated from the University of Göttingen
in 1946 and began to work at the Max Planck Institute. In 1947, he left for Glasgow
on a fellowship. He was subsequently appointed an Official lecturer in Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, a position he kept until he left for Rome in 1952. He decided to stay in Rome permanently, receiving the position of researcher at the National laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
in Frascati
, near Rome. He was also appointed as a part-time lecturer at the University of Rome-La Sapienza, where he eventually became a full professor in 1978. He did, however, return to Glasgow briefly in 1955 where he married artist Elspeth Yonge, the daughter of an eminent Scottish zoologist. A son, Francis, was born in 1958 and brother Steven followed in 1961.
On 7 March 1960, Touschek gave a talk in Frascati where he proposed the idea of a collider: a particle accelerator where a particle and its antiparticle circulate the same orbit in opposite direction. When bunches of opposite-moving particles and antiparticles collide, they annihilate and produce new particles depending on the collision energy. This concept is at the base of all present-day very high energy particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider
(LHC). The first electron-positron storage ring, called ADA (Anello di Accumulazione), was constructed in Frascati under Touschek's supervision in the early sixties.
Touscheck died in Innsbruck
in 1978.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, a survivor of the Holocaust, and initiator of research on electron-positron colliders.
Biography
Touschek was born and attended school in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. In 1937, he was not allowed to finish high school since his mother was Jewish. He passed the final year exam in a different school as an external pupil. Shortly after he started studying physics and mathematics at the University in Vienna, he again had to quit for racial reasons. Thanks to a couple of friends, he could keep on studying in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, where nobody knew of his origins. In order to make a living, he took up several jobs at the same time.
During this period, he worked at the Studiengesellschaft für Elektronengeräte, a company affiliated to Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, where "drift tubes" - the forerunners of the klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
- were being developed at that time. In 1943, he asked Rolf Wideröe
Rolf Wideröe
Rolf Widerøe , was a Norwegian particle physicist who was the originator of many particle acceleration concepts, including the resonance accelerator, the betatron accelerator.-Early life:...
to cooperate with him in building a betatron
Betatron
A betatron is a cyclotron developed by Donald Kerst at the University of Illinois in 1940 to accelerate electrons, but the concepts ultimately originate from Rolf Widerøe and previous development occurred in Germany through Max Steenbeck in the 1930s. The betatron is essentially a transformer with...
. When Touschek was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1945, Wideroë visited him in prison, and during these meetings they continued to talk about the betatron. In particular, they conceived the idea of radiation damping
Radiation damping
Radiation damping in accelerator physics is a way of reducing the beam emittance of a high-velocity beam of charged particles.There are two main ways of using radiation damping to reduce the emittance of a particle beam—damping rings and undulators—and both rely on the same principle...
for electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
s circulating in a betatron.
Touschek escaped the concentration camp he was held in largely by chance. After the war, he graduated from the University of Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
in 1946 and began to work at the Max Planck Institute. In 1947, he left for Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
on a fellowship. He was subsequently appointed an Official lecturer in Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, a position he kept until he left for Rome in 1952. He decided to stay in Rome permanently, receiving the position of researcher at the National laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
The Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare is the coordinating institution for nuclear, particle and astroparticle physics in Italy. It was founded on the 8th of August 1951, to further the nuclear physics research tradition initiated by Enrico Fermi in Rome, in the 1930s...
in Frascati
Frascati
Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...
, near Rome. He was also appointed as a part-time lecturer at the University of Rome-La Sapienza, where he eventually became a full professor in 1978. He did, however, return to Glasgow briefly in 1955 where he married artist Elspeth Yonge, the daughter of an eminent Scottish zoologist. A son, Francis, was born in 1958 and brother Steven followed in 1961.
On 7 March 1960, Touschek gave a talk in Frascati where he proposed the idea of a collider: a particle accelerator where a particle and its antiparticle circulate the same orbit in opposite direction. When bunches of opposite-moving particles and antiparticles collide, they annihilate and produce new particles depending on the collision energy. This concept is at the base of all present-day very high energy particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
(LHC). The first electron-positron storage ring, called ADA (Anello di Accumulazione), was constructed in Frascati under Touschek's supervision in the early sixties.
Touscheck died in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
in 1978.