Gennady E. Gorelik and Victor Ya. Frenkel Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties Translated by Valentina M. Levina

The short life and tragic death of Matvei Petrovich Bronstein (1906-1938) may be seen as a symbol of the man's time and his country. One of the most remarkable features of Soviet history was the impressive advance of its physical sciences against the brutal and violent background of totalitarianism. Soviet advances in nuclear and space technology form an important part of world history. These achievements had their roots in the 1930s, when Bronstein's generation entered science. Among his friends were the famous physicists Lev Landau and George Gamow. Bronstein worked in the vast field of theoretical physics, ranging from nuclear physics to astrophysics and from relativistic quantum theory to cosmology. His pioneering work on quantizing gravitation goes beyond the history of physics, because today the quantum theory of gravitation occupies a special place in fundamental physics. Bronstein was also a master of scientific explanation thanks to his profound knowledge, enthusiasm as a teacher and a gift for literature. This enabled him to write popular science for children, the widest and most responsive group of readers. He became a writer with the help of his wife Lidiya Chukovskaya, known now as an outstanding writer and fighter for human rights. Bronstein's life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of one of the most tragic and intriguing periods of Russian history.

Bronstein's biography is well balanced between his personality, the institutional context, the scientific and ideological debates in the Soviet Union, and his scientific works. Most of all, the book gives interesting details on the politico-scientific context of the late 20ies and the 30ies.

(Arch. Int. Hist.Sci.)

The book includes much information about theoretical physics and the relation between science and society in the Soviet Union during the thirties.

(Zentralblatt MATH)

Autorentext

Gennady E. Gorelik is Professor at the Boston University USA. Victor Ya. Frenkel was Professor at the A.E.Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute in St.Petersburg, Russia.

Klappentext

The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro­ physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol of his time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak of their careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in the Greater Soviet Encyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "an exceptionally brilliant and promising" theoretician [268].

Inhalt

Foreword.- Chapter 1 Childhood and Youth. Road to Science.- Chapter 2 In the Leningrad University (1926-1932).- Chapter 3 At the Leningrad Physicotechnical Institute.- Chapter 4 Hard Times for the Laws of Conservation and for Theoreticians.- Chapter 5 cGh-Physics in Bronstein's Life.- Chapter 6 Creative Personality.- Afterword.- Chronology.- Notes.- Bibliography.- Appendix 1.- Appendix 2. Photographs.- Index.