Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich
Encyclopedia
Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich (8 March 1914 – 2 December 1987) was a prolific Soviet physicist
born in Belarus
. He played an important role in the development of Soviet nuclear and thermonuclear weapons
, and made important contributions to the fields of adsorption
and catalysis
, shock wave
s, nuclear physics
, particle physics
, astrophysics
, physical cosmology
, and general relativity
.
(now Belarus
). Four months later his family moved to Saint Petersburg
. They remained in that city (known as Leningrad from 1924–1991) until August 1941, when together with the institute where Zel'dovich worked, they were evacuated to Kazan
to avoid the Axis Invasion of the Soviet Union
. They remained in Kazan until the summer of 1943, when Zel'dovich moved to Moscow
.
In May 1931, at age seventeen, Zel'dovich became a laboratory assistant at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was associated with the Institute until the end of his life. In 1936 he defended his dissertation, which was on the adsorption
and catalysis
on heterogeneous surfaces, for his Candidate of Science (equal to PhD
). The most important point of it was the research on the Freundlich (or classical) adsorption isotherm. Zel'dovich discovered the theoretical foundation of this empirical observation. In 1939 he received the degree of Doctor of Science (Physics and Mathematics), the doctor dissertation being on the oxidation of nitrogen
. Zel'dovich discovered its mechanism, known in physical chemistry
as Thermal NO Mechanism or Zel'dovich Mechanism.
and detonation
. From 1939–1940 together with Julii Khariton Zel'dovich achieved important results in the Theory of Nuclear Chain Reactions. In 1943 he began his participation in the Soviet Atomic Project
, working along with Igor Kurchatov
. His work on nuclear weapons continued until October 1963.
of a pi meson
. Together with S. Gershtein he noticed the analogy between the weak
and electromagnetic interactions, and in 1960 predicted the muon
catalysis
(more precisely, the muon-catalysed dt-fusion) phenomenon. In 1977 Zel'dovich together with Fyodor Shapiro was awarded the Kurchatov Medal
, the highest award in nuclear physics
of the USSR. The citation was "for prediction of characteristics of ultracold neutron
s, their detection and investigation". He was elected academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences on 20 June 1958. He was a head of division at the Institute of the Applied Mathematics
of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1965 until January 1983.
he started working in astrophysics
and physical cosmology
. In 1964, he and independently Edwin Salpeter
were the first to suggest that accretion disc
s around massive black hole
s are responsible for the huge amounts of energy radiated by quasars. Since 1965 he was also a professor at the Department of Physics of the Moscow State University
, and a head of the division of Relativistic
Astrophysics at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute
.
Zel'dovich worked on the theory of the evolution of the hot universe, the properties of the microwave background radiation
, the large-scale structure of the universe, and the theory of black hole
s. He predicted, with Rashid Sunyaev
, that the cosmic microwave background should undergo inverse Compton scattering
. This is called the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
, and measuring it is, at present (2005), one of the biggest observational efforts in cosmology. A preliminary interpretation of data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) by Benjamin Bernstein has confirmed this theory.
, where in his visit to Moscow
in 1973, Soviet scientists Zel'dovich and Alexander Starobinsky showed Hawking
that, according to the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle
, rotating black hole
s should create and emit particles.
called him a "genius" and Andrei Sakharov
named him "a man of universal scientific interests." Stephen W. Hawking
once said to Zel'dovich: "before I met you, I believed you to be a 'collective author', like Bourbaki
."
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...
born in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. He played an important role in the development of Soviet nuclear and thermonuclear weapons
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
, and made important contributions to the fields of adsorption
Adsorption
Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. It differs from absorption, in which a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid...
and catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
, shock wave
Shock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
s, 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...
, particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, physical cosmology
Physical cosmology
Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. For most of human history, it was a branch of metaphysics and religion...
, and general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
.
Early life and education
He was born Jewish in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
(now Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
). Four months later his family moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. They remained in that city (known as Leningrad from 1924–1991) until August 1941, when together with the institute where Zel'dovich worked, they were evacuated to Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
to avoid the Axis Invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. They remained in Kazan until the summer of 1943, when Zel'dovich moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
In May 1931, at age seventeen, Zel'dovich became a laboratory assistant at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was associated with the Institute until the end of his life. In 1936 he defended his dissertation, which was on the adsorption
Adsorption
Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. It differs from absorption, in which a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid...
and catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
on heterogeneous surfaces, for his Candidate of Science (equal to PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
). The most important point of it was the research on the Freundlich (or classical) adsorption isotherm. Zel'dovich discovered the theoretical foundation of this empirical observation. In 1939 he received the degree of Doctor of Science (Physics and Mathematics), the doctor dissertation being on the oxidation of nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
. Zel'dovich discovered its mechanism, known in physical chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
as Thermal NO Mechanism or Zel'dovich Mechanism.
Soviet nuclear Project
Between 1937 and 1948 he worked on the theory of ignition, combustionCombustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
and detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
. From 1939–1940 together with Julii Khariton Zel'dovich achieved important results in the Theory of Nuclear Chain Reactions. In 1943 he began his participation in the Soviet Atomic Project
Soviet atomic bomb project
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb , was a clandestine research and development program began during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project...
, working along with Igor Kurchatov
Igor Kurchatov
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov , was a Soviet nuclear physicist who is widely known as the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Along with Georgy Flyorov and Andrei Sakharov, Kurchatov is widely remembered and dubbed as the "father of the Soviet atomic bomb" for his directorial role in the...
. His work on nuclear weapons continued until October 1963.
Contribution in Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics
In 1952 he began work in the field of elementary particles and their transformations. He predicted the beta decayBeta decay
In nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle is emitted from an atom. There are two types of beta decay: beta minus and beta plus. In the case of beta decay that produces an electron emission, it is referred to as beta minus , while in the case of a...
of a pi meson
Pion
In particle physics, a pion is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Pions are the lightest mesons and they play an important role in explaining the low-energy properties of the strong nuclear force....
. Together with S. Gershtein he noticed the analogy between the weak
Weak interaction
Weak interaction , is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, alongside the strong nuclear force, electromagnetism, and gravity. It is responsible for the radioactive decay of subatomic particles and initiates the process known as hydrogen fusion in stars...
and electromagnetic interactions, and in 1960 predicted the muon
Muon
The muon |mu]] used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with a unitary negative electric charge and a spin of ½. Together with the electron, the tau, and the three neutrinos, it is classified as a lepton...
catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
(more precisely, the muon-catalysed dt-fusion) phenomenon. In 1977 Zel'dovich together with Fyodor Shapiro was awarded the Kurchatov Medal
Kurchatov Medal
The Kurchatov Medal, or the Gold Medal in honour of Igor Kurchatov is an award given for outstanding achievements in nuclear physics and in the field of nuclear energy...
, the highest award 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...
of the USSR. The citation was "for prediction of characteristics of ultracold neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
s, their detection and investigation". He was elected academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences on 20 June 1958. He was a head of division at the Institute of the Applied Mathematics
Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics
The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a research institute specializing in computational mathematics....
of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1965 until January 1983.
Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology
In early 1960s1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
he started working in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
and physical cosmology
Physical cosmology
Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. For most of human history, it was a branch of metaphysics and religion...
. In 1964, he and independently Edwin Salpeter
Edwin Ernest Salpeter
Edwin Ernest Salpeter FRS was an Austrian-Australian-American astrophysicist. Born to a Jewish family, he emigrated from Austria to Australia while in his teens to escape the Nazis. He attended Sydney University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1944 and his master's degree in 1945...
were the first to suggest that accretion disc
Accretion disc
An accretion disc is a structure formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a central body. The central body is typically a star. Gravity causes material in the disc to spiral inward towards the central body. Gravitational forces compress the material causing the emission of...
s around massive black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s are responsible for the huge amounts of energy radiated by quasars. Since 1965 he was also a professor at the Department of Physics of the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
, and a head of the division of Relativistic
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
Astrophysics at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute
Sternberg Astronomical Institute
The Sternberg Astronomical Institute , also known as GAISh , is a research institution in Moscow, Russia, a division of Moscow State University. The institute is named after astronomer Pavel Karlovich Shternberg.The asteroid 14789 GAISH was named in its honour.-External links:*...
.
Zel'dovich worked on the theory of the evolution of the hot universe, the properties of the microwave background radiation
Cosmic microwave background radiation
In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly....
, the large-scale structure of the universe, and the theory of black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s. He predicted, with Rashid Sunyaev
Rashid Sunyaev
Rashid Alievich Sunyaev was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, on March 1, 1943 to a Tatar family, and educated at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and Moscow State University . He became a professor at MIPT in 1974...
, that the cosmic microwave background should undergo inverse Compton scattering
Compton scattering
In physics, Compton scattering is a type of scattering that X-rays and gamma rays undergo in matter. The inelastic scattering of photons in matter results in a decrease in energy of an X-ray or gamma ray photon, called the Compton effect...
. This is called the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
The Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect is the result of high energy electrons distorting the cosmic microwave background radiation through inverse Compton scattering, in which the low energy CMB photons receive energy boost during collision with the high energy cluster electrons...
, and measuring it is, at present (2005), one of the biggest observational efforts in cosmology. A preliminary interpretation of data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) by Benjamin Bernstein has confirmed this theory.
Black hole thermodynamics
Zel'dovich played a key role in developing the theory of black hole evaporation due to Hawking radiationHawking radiation
Hawking radiation is a thermal radiation with a black body spectrum predicted to be emitted by black holes due to quantum effects. It is named after the physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided a theoretical argument for its existence in 1974, and sometimes also after the physicist Jacob Bekenstein...
, where in his visit to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1973, Soviet scientists Zel'dovich and Alexander Starobinsky showed Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
that, according to the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle
Uncertainty principle
In quantum mechanics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states a fundamental limit on the accuracy with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, such as position and momentum, can be simultaneously known...
, rotating black hole
Rotating black hole
A rotating black hole is a black hole that possesses spin angular momentum.-Types of black holes:There are four known, exact, black hole solutions to Einstein's equations, which describe gravity in General Relativity. Two of these rotate...
s should create and emit particles.
Honors and recognition
Igor KurchatovIgor Kurchatov
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov , was a Soviet nuclear physicist who is widely known as the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Along with Georgy Flyorov and Andrei Sakharov, Kurchatov is widely remembered and dubbed as the "father of the Soviet atomic bomb" for his directorial role in the...
called him a "genius" and Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
named him "a man of universal scientific interests." Stephen W. Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
once said to Zel'dovich: "before I met you, I believed you to be a 'collective author', like Bourbaki
Nicolas Bourbaki
Nicolas Bourbaki is the collective pseudonym under which a group of 20th-century mathematicians wrote a series of books presenting an exposition of modern advanced mathematics, beginning in 1935. With the goal of founding all of mathematics on set theory, the group strove for rigour and generality...
."
Awards and honors
- Bruce MedalBruce MedalThe Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was first awarded in 1898...
(1983) - Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
(1984). - Kurchatov MedalKurchatov MedalThe Kurchatov Medal, or the Gold Medal in honour of Igor Kurchatov is an award given for outstanding achievements in nuclear physics and in the field of nuclear energy...
(1977) - Three times Hero of Socialist LaborHero of Socialist LaborHero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
(1949, 1953, 1957) - Stalin Prize (1943, 1949, 1951, 1953)
- Lenin PrizeLenin PrizeThe Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
(1957) - Three Orders of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
(1949, 1962, 1974) - Two Orders of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
(1945,1964) - Order of the October RevolutionOrder of the October RevolutionThe Order of the October Revolution was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was awarded to individuals or groups for services furthering communism or the state, or in enhancing the defenses of the Soviet Union, military and civil...
(1962) - An asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
11438 Zel'dovich11438 Zeldovich11438 Zeldovich is a main-belt asteroid discovered on August 29, 1973 by T. M. Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.- External links :*...
was named in his honor in 2001 http://xray.sai.msu.ru/~mystery/html/Z/planet/planet.html
External links
- Annotated Bibgliography for Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
- Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich – page at the Moscow State UniversityMoscow State UniversityLomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
dedicated to Zel'dovich