Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bonch-Bruevich
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bonch-Bruevich (Feb. 22, 1888 - March 7, 1940), sometimes spelled Bonch-Bruyevich, was a Russian engineer, scientist, and professor. Generally considered the leading authority on radio in Russia in the first decades of the 20th century, he greatly influenced the pre-radar development of radio-location in that nation.
, a town in Oryol Oblast
in Central Russia. The family, which was of royal Polish
origin, moved to Kiev
in 1896. Bonch-Bruevich attended the Nikolaevsky Engineering School in St. Petersburg, completing undergraduate studies in 1909. He then entered the Imperial Russian Army
and did graduate study and performed research at the Imperial Institute of Electrical Engineering (IIEE, also called the Military Electrotechnical School) in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). He completed a dissertation in 1914, and was awarded the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Science, C.Sc. – approximately the same as a Ph.D. degree).
(valve) development. As a part of this, he set up one of the first radio tube manufacturing facilities in Russia, becoming the operations director in 1917.
In this period, Bonch-Bruevich also continued teaching and studying at the Leningrad Electro-Technical Institute (LETI – formerly IIEE). (During the turbulent times of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, names of many schools and institutions continually changed.) He completed his second dissertation and was awarded the higher Doctor Nauk (Doctor of Science
, D.Sc.) degree by the LETI. With the receipt of the D.Sc. degree, he also earned the rank of Professor
.
In 1918, Bonch-Bruevich went to Nizhny Novgorod
in the Volga Federal District
and began an affiliation with a prestigious private Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory. There he continued with research in vacuum tubes, and developed a 40-kilowatt, water-cooled tube that he used to build Komintern
Radio in Moscow, one of the most powerful radio station in the world. He became the national proponent of radio broadcasting, building 27 stations in various cities. Vladimir Lenin
, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, personally sought him out for advice on radio and its uses. On February 5, 1920, he wrote to Bonch-Bruevich as follows:
With the formation of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1922, all research institutes were nationalized and the Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory became the first of many State research centers. Bonch-Bruevich was named the Technical Director, and over the next several years gained world acclaim for his work on radio equipment. He conducted extensive experiments on high-frequency communications, and, in one project, used pulsed transmission to analyze the nature of the ionosphere
. In 1931, this research center was moved to Leningrad and enlarged to become the Tsentral’naya radiolaboratoriya (TsRL, Central Radio Laboratory); Bonch-Bruevich remained the Technical Director.
When Bonch-Bruevich returned to Leningrad with the TsRL, he also resumed his affiliation with the Leningrad Electro-Technical Institute. He was named Head of the Radio Technology Department, and eventually became Dean of the School of Radio as well as the Institute's Deputy Director for Academic Affairs. Bonch-Bruevich remained on the LETI faculty until his death.
had been seeking means of detecting enemy aircraft at night or above the clouds. In 1933, they approached the TsRL asking for the development of a radiolokatory (radio-location) device (their early name for what ultimately became radar). Bonch-Bruevich quickly accepted this task.
The TsRL was already conducting research on VHF communications, and had built a set operating at 50-cm (600-MHz). The transmitting and receiving antennas were arranged to aim along the flight path of an aircraft, and on January 3, 1934, a Doppler
signal was received by reflections
from the aircraft at some 600-m distance, showing that detection by radio was possible. Work immediately started on a practical apparatus.
The GAU was also sponsoring radio-location experiments at the Leningradskii Elektrofizicheskii Institut, (Leningrad Electro-Physics Institute, LEPI). In mid-January 1934, the Russian Academy of Sciences
held a major conference in Leningrad to discuss this work at LEPI and TsRL as well as similar activities elsewhere. The conference proceedings were published in a journal, available (in the Russian language) for researchers worldwide to learn of this technology in the USSR.
In 1935, both LEPI and TsRL were made a part of Nauchno-issledovatel institut-9 (NII-9, Scientific Research Institute #9), a new GAU organization opened in Leningrad. Bonch-Bruevich was named the NII-9 Scientific Director. In addition to radio-location, NII-9 was engaged in projects involving a wide range of disciplines, including military television.
Research on cavity magnetron
s was conducted by another institute at Kharkov in Ukraine
. In 1936, one of these magnetrons was used by the NII-9 in building a radioiskatel (radio-seeker) called Burya (Storm). Although he had earlier used pulsed transmission in ionospheres experiments, Bonch-Bruevich strongly believed in the potential of continuous-wave (CW) transmission for radio-location, and led the use of this technology in Burya.
In June 1937, all of the work on radio-location in the Soviet Union suddenly stopped. The infamous Great Purge
of Joseph Stalin
swept over the military high commands and the supporting scientific community. The PVO chief was executed, as were many other military officials at his level. The director of the NII-9 was arrested. Through the influence of Bonch-Bruevich, who had been a favorite of Lenin in the prior decade, NII-9 as an organization was saved, and Bonch-Bruyevich was named the new director.
As work on radio-location gradually returned, a mobile system began development in 1938. Initially called Radio Ulavlivatel Samoletov (RUS, Radio Catcher of Aircraft),it was soon designated as RUS-1. This CW system operated at 4.7 m (64 MHz) and had a truck-mounted transmitter and two truck-mounted receivers. The two receivers, separately located some distance from the transmitter, allowed an estimation of range by using triangulation
.
Under Bonch-Bruevich's direction, scientists at NII-9 developed two types of very advanced microwave generators. In 1938, a linear-beam, velocity-modulated vacuum tube (a klystron
) was developed, followed the next year by a simpler, single-resonator device (a reflex klystron).
During his careet, Bonch-Bruevich wrote and published over 80 scientific papers and books, and patented and transferred to industry about 60 inventions. He died in Leningrad on March 7, 1940. With this loss, there was no strong leader to push the radio-location projects at the NII-9. Also, the next year Germany invaded the USSR, resulting in the evacuation to the east of all critical activities in Leningrad.
In 1988, Mikhail Alexandrovich Bonch-Bruevich, Radio Engineer, was honored by a postage stamp in the USSR.
Erickson, John; "Radio-location and the air defense problem: The design and development of Soviet Radar 1934-40", Social Studies of Science, Vol. 2, p. 241, 1972
Watson, Raymond C., Jr.; Radar Origins Worldwide, Trafford Publishers, 2009
Career and accomplishments
M. A. Bonch-Bruevich was born in OryolOryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
, a town in Oryol Oblast
Oryol Oblast
Oryol Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: -Geography:It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Mid-Russian Highlands. Kaluga and Tula Oblasts border it in the north, Bryansk Oblast is located to...
in Central Russia. The family, which was of royal Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
origin, moved to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 1896. Bonch-Bruevich attended the Nikolaevsky Engineering School in St. Petersburg, completing undergraduate studies in 1909. He then entered the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
and did graduate study and performed research at the Imperial Institute of Electrical Engineering (IIEE, also called the Military Electrotechnical School) in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). He completed a dissertation in 1914, and was awarded the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Science, C.Sc. – approximately the same as a Ph.D. degree).
Radio research
Still in the military, Bonch-Bruevich was assigned to the Central Laboratory of the War Department. There he continued research in radio, with an emphasis on vacuum tubeVacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
(valve) development. As a part of this, he set up one of the first radio tube manufacturing facilities in Russia, becoming the operations director in 1917.
In this period, Bonch-Bruevich also continued teaching and studying at the Leningrad Electro-Technical Institute (LETI – formerly IIEE). (During the turbulent times of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, names of many schools and institutions continually changed.) He completed his second dissertation and was awarded the higher Doctor Nauk (Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
, D.Sc.) degree by the LETI. With the receipt of the D.Sc. degree, he also earned the rank of Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
In 1918, Bonch-Bruevich went to Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
in the Volga Federal District
Volga Federal District
Volga Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It forms the southeastern part of European Russia. Its population was 29,900,400 according to the 2010 Census, living on an area of...
and began an affiliation with a prestigious private Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory. There he continued with research in vacuum tubes, and developed a 40-kilowatt, water-cooled tube that he used to build Komintern
Komintern
Komintern may refer to:*Comintern, the Communist International*Komintern artillery tractor*Soviet_cruiser_Komintern - Soviet cruiser of the Black Sea Fleet*Malyshev Factory...
Radio in Moscow, one of the most powerful radio station in the world. He became the national proponent of radio broadcasting, building 27 stations in various cities. Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, personally sought him out for advice on radio and its uses. On February 5, 1920, he wrote to Bonch-Bruevich as follows:
- "I take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude and sympathy for the great work radioizobreteny you do. Newspaper without paper and without distance that you create will be a great thing. Fully and I promise you all possible assistance to this and similar works. With best wishes." Ulyanov (Lenin).
With the formation of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1922, all research institutes were nationalized and the Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory became the first of many State research centers. Bonch-Bruevich was named the Technical Director, and over the next several years gained world acclaim for his work on radio equipment. He conducted extensive experiments on high-frequency communications, and, in one project, used pulsed transmission to analyze the nature of the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
. In 1931, this research center was moved to Leningrad and enlarged to become the Tsentral’naya radiolaboratoriya (TsRL, Central Radio Laboratory); Bonch-Bruevich remained the Technical Director.
When Bonch-Bruevich returned to Leningrad with the TsRL, he also resumed his affiliation with the Leningrad Electro-Technical Institute. He was named Head of the Radio Technology Department, and eventually became Dean of the School of Radio as well as the Institute's Deputy Director for Academic Affairs. Bonch-Bruevich remained on the LETI faculty until his death.
Radio-location (radar) research
For some time the Glavnoe artilkeriisko upravlenie (GAU, Main Artillery Administration) of the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had been seeking means of detecting enemy aircraft at night or above the clouds. In 1933, they approached the TsRL asking for the development of a radiolokatory (radio-location) device (their early name for what ultimately became radar). Bonch-Bruevich quickly accepted this task.
The TsRL was already conducting research on VHF communications, and had built a set operating at 50-cm (600-MHz). The transmitting and receiving antennas were arranged to aim along the flight path of an aircraft, and on January 3, 1934, a Doppler
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
signal was received by reflections
Reflections
Reflections may refer to:*Reflections, Lubbock Christian University's alumni publication*Reflections , a British drama film*Reflections , a Yugoslavian film*Reflections , a British documentary film...
from the aircraft at some 600-m distance, showing that detection by radio was possible. Work immediately started on a practical apparatus.
The GAU was also sponsoring radio-location experiments at the Leningradskii Elektrofizicheskii Institut, (Leningrad Electro-Physics Institute, LEPI). In mid-January 1934, the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
held a major conference in Leningrad to discuss this work at LEPI and TsRL as well as similar activities elsewhere. The conference proceedings were published in a journal, available (in the Russian language) for researchers worldwide to learn of this technology in the USSR.
In 1935, both LEPI and TsRL were made a part of Nauchno-issledovatel institut-9 (NII-9, Scientific Research Institute #9), a new GAU organization opened in Leningrad. Bonch-Bruevich was named the NII-9 Scientific Director. In addition to radio-location, NII-9 was engaged in projects involving a wide range of disciplines, including military television.
Research on cavity magnetron
Cavity magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
s was conducted by another institute at Kharkov in 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...
. In 1936, one of these magnetrons was used by the NII-9 in building a radioiskatel (radio-seeker) called Burya (Storm). Although he had earlier used pulsed transmission in ionospheres experiments, Bonch-Bruevich strongly believed in the potential of continuous-wave (CW) transmission for radio-location, and led the use of this technology in Burya.
In June 1937, all of the work on radio-location in the Soviet Union suddenly stopped. The infamous Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of 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...
swept over the military high commands and the supporting scientific community. The PVO chief was executed, as were many other military officials at his level. The director of the NII-9 was arrested. Through the influence of Bonch-Bruevich, who had been a favorite of Lenin in the prior decade, NII-9 as an organization was saved, and Bonch-Bruyevich was named the new director.
As work on radio-location gradually returned, a mobile system began development in 1938. Initially called Radio Ulavlivatel Samoletov (RUS, Radio Catcher of Aircraft),it was soon designated as RUS-1. This CW system operated at 4.7 m (64 MHz) and had a truck-mounted transmitter and two truck-mounted receivers. The two receivers, separately located some distance from the transmitter, allowed an estimation of range by using triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
.
Under Bonch-Bruevich's direction, scientists at NII-9 developed two types of very advanced microwave generators. In 1938, a linear-beam, velocity-modulated vacuum tube (a klystron
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube . Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern...
) was developed, followed the next year by a simpler, single-resonator device (a reflex klystron).
During his careet, Bonch-Bruevich wrote and published over 80 scientific papers and books, and patented and transferred to industry about 60 inventions. He died in Leningrad on March 7, 1940. With this loss, there was no strong leader to push the radio-location projects at the NII-9. Also, the next year Germany invaded the USSR, resulting in the evacuation to the east of all critical activities in Leningrad.
Recognition
In June 1940, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR immortalized the memory of this outstanding engineer, scientist, and teacher by renaming the Institute the M. A. Bonch-Bruevich Electro-Technical Institute of Communications. (In 1993, it was upgraded to university status and given the name Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications.)In 1988, Mikhail Alexandrovich Bonch-Bruevich, Radio Engineer, was honored by a postage stamp in the USSR.
General sources
Browm, Lewis; A Radar History of World War II – Technical and Military Imperatives, Inst. of Physics Pub., 1999Erickson, John; "Radio-location and the air defense problem: The design and development of Soviet Radar 1934-40", Social Studies of Science, Vol. 2, p. 241, 1972
Watson, Raymond C., Jr.; Radar Origins Worldwide, Trafford Publishers, 2009