Soviet physicist Lev Nobel laureateLandau used a logarithmic scale to rank the best physicists of the 20th century according to their contributions to science. Lev Landau (1908-1968) was one of the best physicists in the Soviet Union, contributing to nuclear theory, quantum field theory and astrophysics, among others. In 1962 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for developing the mathematical theory of superfluidity. Landau also wrote an excellent physics textbook, teaching generations of scientists. A brilliant mind, Landau loved to classify everything in his life - he judged people by their intelligence, beauty (the physicist is known for his love of blondes), contribution to science, the way they dressed and even how they talked. In this article, you will find out who the outstanding Soviet scientist considered the best physicists in the history of mankind.
Superfluidity - the ability of a substance in a special state (quantum liquid), which occurs at temperatures close to absolute zero, to flow through narrow slits and capillaries without friction.
Content
- 1 Landau scale
- 1.1 Albert Einstein - Rank 0.5
- 1.2 Rank 1
- 1.3 Rank 2.5
Landau scale
One of the most famous Landau classifications isthis is his rating of the greatest physicists of the 20th century. This scale is logarithmic, that is, the contribution of scientists classified in the first class is ten times greater than the contribution of physicists classified in the second class, and so on. In other words, the larger the number, the less contribution, according to Landau, this or that physicist has made to science.
Albert Einstein - Rank 0.5
Einstein, creator of General Relativity,in the opinion of the Soviet scientist, belongs to its own class. Landau considered himself the greatest intelligence among a very impressive group of scientists who reimagined modern physics. Landau, however, believed that if this list were extended to scientists of previous centuries, Isaac Newton, the father of classical physics, would also join Einstein, occupying the honorable first line in this logarithmic scale.
You will be wondering: Why is quantum physics akin to magic?
Rank 1
The group in this class of the smartest physicists included the best minds who developed the theory of quantum mechanics.
Werner Heisenberg (1901 - 1976) - German theoretical physicist,made famous in pop culture for Walter White's alter ego in Breaking Bad. He is known for the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and his 1932 Nobel Prize categorically states that it was nothing more than "Creation of quantum mechanics".
Erwin Schrödinger (1887 - 1961) - Austrian-Irish physicist,who gave us the infamous thought experiment of Schrödinger's cat and other minds of quantum mechanics. The Nobel Prize-winning Schrödinger equation calculates the wave function of a system and how it changes over time.
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Paul Dirac (1902-1984) - Another giant of quantum mechanics, this English theoretical physicist shared the 1933 Nobel Prize with Erwin Schrödinger "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory."
Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962) - Danish physicist who made fundamental additions to what we know about atomic structure and quantum theory, leading to his 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Shatiendranath Bose (1894 - 1974) - Indian mathematician and physicist,known for his work on quantum mechanics. One of the founders of quantum statistics, the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate. Bosonic particles are named after him.
Eugene Wigner (1902 - 1995) - Hungarian-Americantheoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his work on the theory of the atomic nucleus and elementary particles. As you know, he took part in a meeting with Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein, which led to their writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which resulted in the creation of the Manhattan Project.
Louis de Broglie (1892-1987) - French theoretician who contributedkey contribution to quantum theory. He proposed the wave nature of electrons, suggesting that all matter has wave properties - an example of the concept of wave-particle dualism, central to the theory of quantum mechanics.
Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954) - American physicist whocalled "the architect of the nuclear age" and also "the architect of the atomic bomb." He also built the world's first nuclear reactor and won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity and for his discovery of transuranium elements.
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Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) - Austrian theoretical theorist,known as one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a new law of nature - the exclusion principle (aka Pauli's principle) and the development of the theory of spin.
Max Planck (1858-1947) - German theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 for energy quanta. He was the creator of quantum theory, the physics of atomic and subatomic processes.
Rank 2.5
Rank 2.5 - this is how Landau initially assessed himself. This modesty is due to the fact that Landau believed that he had not made any fundamental achievements. Later, as his own achievements grew, the Soviet scientist raised his rank to 1.5.