Sándor Szalay (physicist)
Encyclopedia
Sándor Szalay, Sr. was a pioneer of Hungarian
nuclear physics
.
He discovered a natural mechanism for uranium
enrichment, which led to the discovery of several uranium deposits including an enriched deposit in the Mecsek
Mountains of Hungary. In 1955 he collaborated with Gyula Csikai to discover the neutrino
, a weakly interactive particle. In a photograph of a cloud chamber, they found a nucleus changing direction, which they interpreted as the emission of a neutrino. (The antineutrino was detected by Frederick Reines
and Clyde Cowan
in 1953, a discovery for which Reines was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
.) Szalay also founded the Institute of Nuclear Research, a branch of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is considered the father of Hungarian nuclear physics.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
nuclear 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...
.
He discovered a natural mechanism for uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
enrichment, which led to the discovery of several uranium deposits including an enriched deposit in the Mecsek
Mecsek
Mecsek is a mountain range in southern Hungary. It is situated in the Baranya region, in the north of the city of Pécs.-Geography:The mountains cover an area of approximately 500 km². The highest peak in the mountain range is Zengő , which has an elevation of 682 metres...
Mountains of Hungary. In 1955 he collaborated with Gyula Csikai to discover the neutrino
Neutrino
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
, a weakly interactive particle. In a photograph of a cloud chamber, they found a nucleus changing direction, which they interpreted as the emission of a neutrino. (The antineutrino was detected by Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment, and may be the only scientist in history "so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the...
and Clyde Cowan
Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr was the co-discoverer of the neutrino, along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956, detected in the neutrino experiment....
in 1953, a discovery for which Reines was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
.) Szalay also founded the Institute of Nuclear Research, a branch of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is considered the father of Hungarian nuclear physics.