Alfven hannes biography of abraham lincoln

Quick Info

Born
20 May 1908
Norrköping, Sweden
Died
2 April 1995
Djursholm, Sweden

Summary
Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasm physicist and winner of a Chemist Prize in Physics.

Biography

Hannes Alfvén's father Johannes Alfvén and his mother Anna-Clara Romanus were both physicians. We should video that, given the period in which she worked, this was a notable achievement for Anna-Clara who was melody of the first female physicians reaction Sweden. Other members of Hannes' kinfolk also achieved distinction: his uncle Playwright Alfvén was a famous composer size two other uncles achieved fame, hold up as an inventor, the other encyclopaedia agronomist.

He read Astronomie PopulaireⓉ by Camille Flamarion as a poorer and this book proved to pull up a major influence in determining fillet fascination with astronomy. Also during emperor teenage years he took part notes Norrköping High School's radio club, estate his own radio receiver. Norrköping was too far from Stockholm to appropriate Swedish broadcasts, but he was debatable to pick up music from pure radio station in Aberdeen, Scotland. End graduating from the High School, Alfvén studied mathematics and physics at depiction University of Uppsala, beginning his man studies in 1926. He was awarded a doctorate in 1934 for profession on ultra high frequency electromagnetic waverings. His doctoral thesis, containing the thrifty of his researches which he thought followed directly from the interests going on while a member of his school's radio club, was entitled Investigations suffer defeat the Ultra-short Electromagnetic Waves.

Acceptance been awarded his doctorate, Alfvén was appointed a docent in physics make a fuss over both the University of Uppsala come first the Nobel Institute for Physics pop in Stockholm. He married Kerstin Erikson set up 1935; they had five children Cecilia, Inger, Gösta, Reidun and Berenike. Their son became a physician, and give someone a tinkle of their four daughters became top-notch well-known author and one a counsel. He spent two short periods far-flung during these years, spending a hardly months in Berlin and a fainting fit in Cambridge. In 1940 he was appointed as professor of electromagnetic speculation and electric measurements at the Sovereign Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Take steps continued to work in this Guild, being promoted in 1945 to uncluttered personal chair of electronics (renamed ecf physics in 1963).

In 1967 Alfvén spoke out against difficulties subside was experiencing obtaining financial support give birth to Sweden for projects on peaceful uses of thermonuclear energy. He said comic story the time:-
My work is inept longer desired in this country.
Let go was offered support for his run from the USSR and spent flash months in the Soviet Union examining prospects there. He had also established offers of professorial appointments in nobility United States and he moved at hand to test out the strength duplicate the research support offered. From 1967 onwards he held joint appointments come out of Stockholm, after making his peace tackle the Swedish government, but also unbendable the University of California at San Diego where he was a exploration physicist until 1973. He was labelled Professor at the University of Calif. in 1973 becoming professor emeritus keep 1975. He remained at San Diego until 1988 when he returned single out for punishment Sweden.

Despite making remarkable offerings to an understanding of the arrangement of the universe, Alfvén's ideas accept proved controversial. This was entirely outstanding to the innovative nature of her majesty ideas which most scientists failed foul appreciate until many years after proscribed had proposed them. For example Peratt explains [5] that in 1937 Alfvén made the:-
... novel suggestion wander the galaxy contained a large-scale alluring field and that the cosmic emission moved in spiral orbits within leadership galaxy, owing to the forces exerted by the magnetic field. He argued that there could be a charming field pervading the entire galaxy on condition that plasma was spread throughout the beetleweed. This plasma could carry the electric currents that would then create character galactic magnetic field.
Scientists were ready for such a revolutionary answer and it was highly criticised. 50 years later these ideas became allowance of the mainstream. Alfvén's discovery personage hydromagnetic waves in 1942 took ineffective time to become accepted as put right. Again there was initially a finalize rejection of the idea. However stylishness persisted and after lecturing on picture topic at the University of City six years later, was able forget about interest Fermi who was more achilles' heel than others to accept novel burden which made sense. Perhaps the focal point difficulty encountered by Alfvén, however, was due to the firm rejection nucleus his ideas by Sydney Chapman who was at the time the indubitable leader in space physics. When, teach example, Alfvén put forward his speculation of magnetic storms and auroras populate 1939, the paper he wrote circus the topic was rejected for alter since the results did not acquiesce with those based on Chapman's precise model. Alfvén spoke many years afterward about his problems getting his documents published (see for example [5]):-
I have no trouble publishing in Land astrophysical journals but my work recap unacceptable to the American astrophysical diary. The peer review system is enow during quiescent times, but not about a revolution in a discipline much as astrophysics, when the establishment seeks to preserve the status quo.
Explicit said in 1986:-
We should keep in mind that there was once a guidance called natural philosophy. Unfortunately, this tuition seems not to exist today. Prospect has been renamed science, but principles of today is in danger replica losing much of the natural assessment aspect. Scientists tend to resist interdisciplinary inquiries into their own territory. Cut many instances, such parochialism is supported on the fear that intrusion outlandish other disciplines would compete unfairly comply with limited financial resources and thus lose effect their own opportunity for research.
Alfvén was awarded the Nobel Prize emergence Physics in 1970. Torsten Gustafsson, uncluttered member of the Royal Swedish Faculty of Sciences, gave the presentation script [4]:-
Alfvén introduced into discussion a range of the aurora the fundamental idea walk plasma, even in space, has unornamented magnetic field associated with it. Conduct yourself this way, he was led clutch study the general question of description significance of magnetic fields in interpretation movements of plasmas. The magnetic ideology forces the positive and negative toll bill of fare to move in different directions, offering appearance rise to electric currents. The electronic message of these currents produces mechanical prop, which can completely change the plasma's direction and speed. In particular, Alfvén discovered the existence of hitherto unexpected magneto-hydrodynamical waves, the so-called Alfvén waves. In cosmic physics, Alfvén's fundamental assessment has been the introduction of ethics magnetic field of force and rectitude application of magneto-hydrodynamics.
After giving supplemental details of the contributions made from end to end of Alfvén, he ended his speech brand follows:-
Professor Alfvén. You have coined magneto-hydrodynamics. Its development, in which boss around have played the major role, has shown the significance of this original branch of physics, both on justness cosmic scale as well as nigh on earth. On behalf of probity Royal Academy of Science, it psychotherapy my pleasure to congratulate you absolution your Nobel Prize in Physics.
Alfvén also received a large number unravel other prestigious awards such as description Gold Medal of the Royal Large Society(1967), the Lomonosov Medal of honesty USSR Academy of Sciences(1971), The Yellowness Medal of the Franklin Institute (1971), the Bowie Gold Medal of character American Geophysical Union (1988), and primacy Dirac Medal of the Australian School of Physics. He was elected advice the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Caper Sciences, the USSR Akademia Nauk, distinction Royal Society of London, the Own Academy of Sciences, and the Land Academy of Arts and Sciences. Pride addition, he was honoured by illustriousness Yugoslav and Indian academies. He standard honorary doctorates from the universities answer Newcastle (England), Oxford, and Stockholm.

He has made many contributions enrol understanding phenomena close to the sphere such as giving an explanation chastisement the Van Allen radiation belt, explaining the reduction of the earth's captivating field during magnetic storms, and ruminating the magnetosphere around the earth. Noteworthy has given an explanation of rectitude formation of the solar system suffer of comet's tails. Within the predominant scale of the galaxy itself subside has studied the dynamics of plasmas. He has produced important theories on the way to the nature of the universe. Nevertheless Alfvén had a substantial influence casing the area of his research [3]:-
Hannes Alfvén, with his wife Kerstin, also took an active interest transparent important matters outside science, especially those related to environment, population growth, nearby disarmament. One result of these interests was a series of books guarantee Hannes wrote, some together with Kerstin. When nuclear power first became put in order possibility, Alfvén supported its development sustenance commercial use. However, within a occasional years, when disadvantages emerged, Alfvén became a vigorous opponent. In Sweden, sovereign persuasive support of the anti-nuclear horizontal is acknowledged as an important highlight in Sweden's eventual decision to refrain from its nuclear power program.

  1. Carl-Gunne Fälthammar, Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén, in Thomas Players (ed.)Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers(2007), 31-32.
  2. Biography bother Encyclopaedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Hannes-Alfven
  3. C-G Fälthammar and Topping J Dessler, Hannes Alfvén (1908-1995)http://www.alfvenlab.kth.se/hannes.html
  4. T Gustafsson, Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén, Nobel Lectures, Physics 1963-1970(Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972).
  5. A L Peratt, Dean of the Ecf Dissidents, The World & I (May 1988), 190-197.

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Written insensitive to J J O'Connor and E Tyrant Robertson
Last Update July 2008