Martin Deutsch
Encyclopedia
Martin Deutsch was an Austria
n-American physicist, who was emeritus professor of physics
at MIT. He is best known for being the discoverer of positronium
.
during the First World War to a Jewish family. Both of his parents were physicians; his mother Helene Deutsch
was a professor of psychiatry
at the University of Vienna
and a student and colleague of Sigmund Freud
.
In 1934, after the Fascist seizure of power in Austria, Deutsch moved to Zürich, Switzerland. He completed secondary school there and attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
for one semester.
The following year, young Martin Deutsch accompanied his mother on a trip to the United States. During their outbound journey, the Italians invaded Ethiopia
; the family decided that it would be best to resettle in America. They moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where both parents became influential psychiatrists.
Deutsch enrolled at MIT, where he excelled at mathematics and physics. He received his BS degree in 1937, after two years of study. In 1939, he married Suzanne Zeitlin, a native Bostonian who had just graduated from Simmons College
with a Master's degree in Social Work
. They had two children, L. Peter Deutsch
and Nicholas Deutsch. Martin earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 1941, under Robley D. Evans leading to a thesis entitled: A Study of Nuclear Radiations by Means of a Magnetic Lens Beta Ray Spectrometer.
, Jews were stripped of their citizenship and considered "subjects" of the Reich
), he was classified by the U.S. Government as an enemy alien
. Deutsch was a committed anti-fascist, and wanted to help in the War Effort
, and so he had to wait for two years to receive a security clearance. During that time, he taught and did research at MIT.
Deutsch arrived at Los Alamos
in 1943, and began working closely with Emilio Segré on problems concerning fission physics. He also worked with his future colleague at MIT, Victor Weisskopf. As it turned out, they had attended the same high school in Vienna, but not at the same time: Weisskopf graduated the year that Deutsch entered the school.
. One of his students was Henry Kendall
, who won the Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1990. He also recruited Samuel C.C. Ting to the faculty; Ting was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1976.
In 1951, Deutsch measured and confirmed the existence of positronium
, a bound state
of electron
s and positron
s whirling about each other. The properties of positronium were predicted by Carl D. Anderson of Caltech in 1932.
The Martin Deutsch Student Award was created in 1987 to recognize outstanding experimental work by an MIT physics graduate student.
Deutsch died in 2002 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-American physicist, who was emeritus professor of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at MIT. He is best known for being the discoverer of positronium
Positronium
Positronium is a system consisting of an electron and its anti-particle, a positron, bound together into an "exotic atom". Being unstable, the two particles annihilate each other to produce two gamma ray photons after an average lifetime of 125 ps or three gamma ray photons after 142 ns in...
.
Early life
Deutsch was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
during the First World War to a Jewish family. Both of his parents were physicians; his mother Helene Deutsch
Helene Deutsch
Helene Deutsch was an Austrian-American psychoanalyst and colleague of Sigmund Freud. She was the first psychoanalyst to specialize in women.- Life :...
was a professor of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and a student and colleague of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
.
In 1934, after the Fascist seizure of power in Austria, Deutsch moved to Zürich, Switzerland. He completed secondary school there and attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
for one semester.
The following year, young Martin Deutsch accompanied his mother on a trip to the United States. During their outbound journey, the Italians invaded Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
; the family decided that it would be best to resettle in America. They moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where both parents became influential psychiatrists.
Deutsch enrolled at MIT, where he excelled at mathematics and physics. He received his BS degree in 1937, after two years of study. In 1939, he married Suzanne Zeitlin, a native Bostonian who had just graduated from Simmons College
Simmons College (Massachusetts)
Simmons College, established in 1899, is a private women's undergraduate college and private co-educational graduate school in Boston, Massachusetts.-History:Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston...
with a Master's degree in Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
. They had two children, L. Peter Deutsch
L. Peter Deutsch
L Peter Deutsch or Peter Deutsch is the founder of Aladdin Enterprises and creator of Ghostscript, a free software PostScript and PDF interpreter....
and Nicholas Deutsch. Martin earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 1941, under Robley D. Evans leading to a thesis entitled: A Study of Nuclear Radiations by Means of a Magnetic Lens Beta Ray Spectrometer.
Work on the Manhattan Project
Since Deutsch was still a German subject in 1941 (Germany annexed Austria in 1938; under the Nuremberg LawsNuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
, Jews were stripped of their citizenship and considered "subjects" of the Reich
Reich
Reich is a German word cognate with the English rich, but also used to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is " sovereign state." It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including Germany in many periods of its history...
), he was classified by the U.S. Government as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
. Deutsch was a committed anti-fascist, and wanted to help in the War Effort
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
, and so he had to wait for two years to receive a security clearance. During that time, he taught and did research at MIT.
Deutsch arrived at Los Alamos
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
in 1943, and began working closely with Emilio Segré on problems concerning fission physics. He also worked with his future colleague at MIT, Victor Weisskopf. As it turned out, they had attended the same high school in Vienna, but not at the same time: Weisskopf graduated the year that Deutsch entered the school.
Career at MIT
Deutsch returned to MIT in 1946, joining his Los Alamos colleagues Victor Weisskopf and Bruno RossiBruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi was a leading Italian-American experimental physicist. He made major contributions to cosmic ray and particle physics from 1930 through the 1950s, and pioneered X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics in the 1960s.-Biography:Rossi was born in Venice, Italy...
. One of his students was Henry Kendall
Henry Way Kendall
Henry Way Kendall was an American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 jointly with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E...
, who won the 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...
for Physics in 1990. He also recruited Samuel C.C. Ting to the faculty; Ting was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1976.
In 1951, Deutsch measured and confirmed the existence of positronium
Positronium
Positronium is a system consisting of an electron and its anti-particle, a positron, bound together into an "exotic atom". Being unstable, the two particles annihilate each other to produce two gamma ray photons after an average lifetime of 125 ps or three gamma ray photons after 142 ns in...
, a bound state
Bound state
In physics, a bound state describes a system where a particle is subject to a potential such that the particle has a tendency to remain localised in one or more regions of space...
of electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
s and positron
Positron
The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1e, a spin of ½, and has the same mass as an electron...
s whirling about each other. The properties of positronium were predicted by Carl D. Anderson of Caltech in 1932.
The Martin Deutsch Student Award was created in 1987 to recognize outstanding experimental work by an MIT physics graduate student.
Deutsch died in 2002 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.