Abram Ioffe
Encyclopedia
Abram Fedorovich Ioffe was a prominent Russian
/Soviet
physicist
. He received the Stalin Prize (1942), the Lenin Prize
(1960) (posthumously), and the Hero of Socialist Labor
(1955). Ioffe was an expert in electromagnetism
, radiology
, crystal
s, high-impact physics, thermoelectricity and photoelectricity. He established research laboratories for radioactivity, superconductivity
, and nuclear physics
, many of which became independent institutes.
Ioffe was born into a middle-class Jewish family in small town of Romny
, Russian Empire
(now in Sumy region, Ukraine
). After graduating from Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
in 1902, he spent two years as an assistant to Wilhelm Roentgen in his Munich
laboratory. Ioffe completed his Ph.D.
at Munich University in 1905.
After 1906, Ioffe worked in the Saint Petersburg
(from 1924 Leningrad) Polytechnical Institute
where he eventually became a professor. In 1911 he (independently of Millikan) determined the electron charge, using charged microparticles of metals balanced in electric field against gravity (published in 1913). In 1911 Ioffe converted to Lutheranism
and married a non-Jewish woman. In 1913 he attained the title of Magister of Philosophy, in 1915 - Doctor of Physics. In 1918 he became a head of Physics and Technology division in State Institute of Roentgenology and Radiology. This division became the Leningrad Physico-Technical Institute (LPTI) in 1917.
In the early 1930s, there was a critical need in the Air Defense Forces of the Red Army for means of detecting invading aircraft. A number of research institutes were involved with radiolokatory (radio-location) techniques. The Russian Academy of Sciences called a conference in January 1934 to assess this technology. Ioffe organized this conference, then published a journal report, disclosing to researchers throughout the world the science and technology that would ultimately be called radar.
When the Soviet atomic bomb project
began in 1942, Ioffe was asked to lead the technical effort, but refused the job on the grounds that he was too old. He saw great promise in the young Igor Kurchatov
, and placed him in charge of the first nuclear laboratory. During Joseph Stalin
's campaign against the so-called "rootless cosmopolitan
s" (Jews), in 1950 Ioffe was made redundant from his position of the Director of LPTI and from the Board of Directors. In 1952-1954 he headed the Laboratory of Semiconductors of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which in 1954 was reorganized into Institute of Semiconductors. Following Ioffe's death, in 1960 the LPTI was renamed the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute
and remains one of Russia's leading research centers.
Ioffe's students include Aleksandr Aleksandrov
, Pyotr Kapitsa
, Isaak Kikoin
, Igor Kurchatov
, Yakov Frenkel
, Nikolay Semyonov
, Léon Theremin
and Lev Artsimovich
.
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
/Soviet
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....
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...
. He received the Stalin Prize (1942), the Lenin Prize
Lenin Prize
The 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...
(1960) (posthumously), and the Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero 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...
(1955). Ioffe was an expert in electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
, radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s, high-impact physics, thermoelectricity and photoelectricity. He established research laboratories for radioactivity, superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
, and 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...
, many of which became independent institutes.
Biography
Romny
Romny is a city in the northern Ukrainian Oblast of Sumy. It is located on the Romen River and is the administrative center of the Romny Raion...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now in Sumy region, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). After graduating from Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia , it currently trains around 5000 students.-History:...
in 1902, he spent two years as an assistant to Wilhelm Roentgen in his 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...
laboratory. Ioffe completed his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at Munich University in 1905.
After 1906, Ioffe worked in the 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...
(from 1924 Leningrad) Polytechnical Institute
Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Peter the Great Polytechnical Institute and Kalinin Polytechnical Institute .-Imperial Russia:...
where he eventually became a professor. In 1911 he (independently of Millikan) determined the electron charge, using charged microparticles of metals balanced in electric field against gravity (published in 1913). In 1911 Ioffe converted to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and married a non-Jewish woman. In 1913 he attained the title of Magister of Philosophy, in 1915 - Doctor of Physics. In 1918 he became a head of Physics and Technology division in State Institute of Roentgenology and Radiology. This division became the Leningrad Physico-Technical Institute (LPTI) in 1917.
In the early 1930s, there was a critical need in the Air Defense Forces of the Red Army for means of detecting invading aircraft. A number of research institutes were involved with radiolokatory (radio-location) techniques. The Russian Academy of Sciences called a conference in January 1934 to assess this technology. Ioffe organized this conference, then published a journal report, disclosing to researchers throughout the world the science and technology that would ultimately be called radar.
When the Soviet atomic bomb 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...
began in 1942, Ioffe was asked to lead the technical effort, but refused the job on the grounds that he was too old. He saw great promise in the young 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...
, and placed him in charge of the first nuclear laboratory. During Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's campaign against the so-called "rootless cosmopolitan
Rootless cosmopolitan
Rootless cosmopolitan was a Soviet euphemism widely used during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the "exposure" of the alleged Doctors' plot...
s" (Jews), in 1950 Ioffe was made redundant from his position of the Director of LPTI and from the Board of Directors. In 1952-1954 he headed the Laboratory of Semiconductors of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which in 1954 was reorganized into Institute of Semiconductors. Following Ioffe's death, in 1960 the LPTI was renamed the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute
Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute
Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences is one of Russia's largest research centers specialized in physics and technology. The institute was established in 1918 in Petrograd and run for several decades by Abram Fedorovich Ioffe...
and remains one of Russia's leading research centers.
Ioffe's students include Aleksandr Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov , and Alexandrov ) , was a Soviet/Russian mathematician, physicist, philosopher and mountaineer.- Scientific career :...
, Pyotr Kapitsa
Pyotr Kapitsa
Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa was a prominent Soviet/Russian physicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Kapitsa was born in the city of Kronstadt and graduated from the Petrograd Polytechnical Institute in 1918. He worked for over ten years with Ernest Rutherford in the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge...
, Isaak Kikoin
Isaak Kikoin
Isaak Konstantinovich Kikoin was a Soviet physicist and academic. He was awarded the Stalin/Lenin Prize six times , named a Hero of Socialist Labor , and was a recipient of the Kurchatov Medal .Kikoin was with Igor Kurchatov as one of the founders of the Kurchatov...
, 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...
, Yakov Frenkel
Yakov Frenkel
Yakov Il'ich Frenkel, was a Soviet physicist renowned for his works in the field of solid-state physics. He is also known as Jacov Frenkel....
, Nikolay Semyonov
Nikolay Semyonov
Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov was a Russian/Soviet physicist and chemist. Semyonov was awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the mechanism of chemical transformation.-Life:...
, Léon Theremin
Léon Theremin
Léon Theremin was a Russian and Soviet inventor. He is most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. He is also the inventor of interlace, a technique of improving the picture quality of a video signal, widely used in video and television technology...
and Lev Artsimovich
Lev Artsimovich
Lev Andreevich Artsimovich was a Soviet physicist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences , member of the Presidium of the Soviet Academy of Sciences , and Hero of Socialist Labor .- Academic research :Artsimovich worked on the...
.
Commemoration
- The crater IoffeIoffe (crater)Ioffe is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south of the walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the southwestern outer rim of Fridman. Only a short stretch of terrain separates Ioffe from Belopol'skiy to the southeast....
on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is named after him. - Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute carries his name
- The Russian oceanographic and Polar research vessel Akademik Ioffe is named after him.