Gaja Alaga
Encyclopedia
Gaja Alaga was a Croatia
n theoretical physicist
who specialised in nuclear physics
.
He was born in noble family of Bunjevac Croats
in the village of Lemeš (today called Svetozar Miletić) in northwestern Bačka
in Kingdom of SHS (today in autonomous province Vojvodina
, Serbia
).
He was an academician
of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
since 1968 and a professor at the University of Zagreb
Faculty of Science . He worked in the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb
(the capital city of Croatia
), the Niels Bohr Institute
in Copenhagen
, the University of California, Berkeley
, and Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich
.
In 1955, cooperating with Kurt Alder
and Ben Roy Mottelson
, Alaga discovered the K-selection rules and intensity rules for beta and gamma transitions in deformed atom nuclei. This discovery was key to the development of new nuclei models which confirmed that subatomic particles can distort the shape of the nucleus
. These models challenged Aage Bohr, Ben Roy Mottelson
and James Rainwater
's earlier (1975 Nobel Prize
-winning) theory that the nucleus has a perfect spherical shape.
Also in 1955, the journal Physical Review published Alaga's rules for beta and gamma transitions for heavily damaged atomic orbit
s. Both discoveries are known as Alaga rules, and are now in everyday use among nuclear scientists and in scientific literature.
He was the editor of the scientific magazine Fizika from 1978 until his death in 1988.
He died in Zagreb in 1988. Today, a street in the Trnje
city district of Zagreb bears his name.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n theoretical 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...
who specialised in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
.
He was born in noble family of Bunjevac Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
in the village of Lemeš (today called Svetozar Miletić) in northwestern Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
in Kingdom of SHS (today in autonomous province Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
).
He was an academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Croatia. It was founded in 1866 as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts , and was known by that name for most of its existence.- History :...
since 1968 and a professor at the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
Faculty of Science . He worked in the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
(the capital city of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
), the Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
In 1955, cooperating with Kurt Alder
Kurt Alder
Kurt Alder was a German chemist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Alder was born in the industrial area of Königshütte, Silesia , where he received his early schooling...
and Ben Roy Mottelson
Ben Roy Mottelson
Benjamin Roy Mottelson is an American-born Danish nuclear physicist. He won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the non-spherical geometry of atomic nuclei....
, Alaga discovered the K-selection rules and intensity rules for beta and gamma transitions in deformed atom nuclei. This discovery was key to the development of new nuclei models which confirmed that subatomic particles can distort the shape of the nucleus
Atomic nucleus
The nucleus is the very dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom. It was discovered in 1911, as a result of Ernest Rutherford's interpretation of the famous 1909 Rutherford experiment performed by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, under the direction of Rutherford. The...
. These models challenged Aage Bohr, Ben Roy Mottelson
Ben Roy Mottelson
Benjamin Roy Mottelson is an American-born Danish nuclear physicist. He won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the non-spherical geometry of atomic nuclei....
and James Rainwater
James Rainwater
Leo James Rainwater was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei.-Biography:...
's earlier (1975 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning) theory that the nucleus has a perfect spherical shape.
Also in 1955, the journal Physical Review published Alaga's rules for beta and gamma transitions for heavily damaged atomic orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
s. Both discoveries are known as Alaga rules, and are now in everyday use among nuclear scientists and in scientific literature.
He was the editor of the scientific magazine Fizika from 1978 until his death in 1988.
He died in Zagreb in 1988. Today, a street in the Trnje
Trnje
Trnje is a district in the City of Zagreb, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, the district had 45,267 residents. It is located in the central part of the city, south of Donji grad across the railway , east of Trešnjevka , west of Pešćenica , and north of the river Sava...
city district of Zagreb bears his name.
External links
Institute Ruđer Bošković Središnja knjižnica za fiziku Biografije- History of Croatian science
- Exhibition: Centuries of Natural Science in Croatia The development of Croatian physics since 1874