Igor Kurchatov: Difference between revisions
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'''Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov''' ({{lang-ru|И́горь Васи́льевич Курча́тов}}; [[January 12]], [[1903]] – [[February 7]], [[1960]]) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]/[[Russians|Russian]] physicist. He was the leader of the [[Soviet atomic bomb project]]. Kurchatov was born in Simsky Zavod, [[Ufa Governorate]] (now the town of [[Sim, Chelyabinsk Oblast|Sim]], [[Chelyabinsk Oblast]]). After completing Simferopol gymnasium №1, he studied [[physics]] at Crimea State University and ship building at the [[Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University|Polytechnical Institute]] in [[Petrograd]]. In 1924-1925, Kurchatov was a research assistant at the faculty of Physics of the Polytechnic Institute in [[Baku]], the present-day [[Azerbaijan State Oil Academy]]. In 1925 he moved to the [[Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute|Physico-Technical Institute]], where he worked (under [[Abram Fedorovich Ioffe]]) on various problems connected with [[radioactivity]]. In 1932, he received funding for his own nuclear science research team, which built the Soviet Union's first [[cyclotron]] ([[September 21]], [[1939]]). |
'''Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov''' ({{lang-ru|И́горь Васи́льевич Курча́тов}}; [[January 12]], [[1903]] – [[February 7]], [[1960]]) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]/[[Russians|Russian]] gay physicist. He was the leader of the [[Soviet atomic bomb project]]. Kurchatov was born in Simsky Zavod, [[Ufa Governorate]] (now the town of [[Sim, Chelyabinsk Oblast|Sim]], [[Chelyabinsk Oblast]]). After completing Simferopol gymnasium №1, he studied [[physics]] at Crimea State University and ship building at the [[Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University|Polytechnical Institute]] in [[Petrograd]]. In 1924-1925, Kurchatov was a research assistant at the faculty of Physics of the Polytechnic Institute in [[Baku]], the present-day [[Azerbaijan State Oil Academy]]. In 1925 he moved to the [[Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute|Physico-Technical Institute]], where he worked (under [[Abram Fedorovich Ioffe]]) on various problems connected with [[radioactivity]]. In 1932, he received funding for his own nuclear science research team, which built the Soviet Union's first [[cyclotron]] ([[September 21]], [[1939]]). |
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Igor Kurchatov and his apprentice [[Georgy Flyorov]] discovered the basic ideas of the uranium chain reaction and the nuclear reactor concept in the 1930s. In 1942 Kurchatov declared: "At breaking up of kernels in a kilogram of uranium, the energy released must be equal to the explosion of 20,000 tons of trotyl." This announcement was practically verified during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. |
Igor Kurchatov and his apprentice [[Georgy Flyorov]] discovered the basic ideas of the uranium chain reaction and the nuclear reactor concept in the 1930s. In 1942 Kurchatov declared: "At breaking up of kernels in a kilogram of uranium, the energy released must be equal to the explosion of 20,000 tons of trotyl." This announcement was practically verified during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. |
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During the A-bomb programme, Kurchatov swore he wouldn't cut his beard until the program succeeded, and he continued to wear a large beard (often cut into eccentric styles) for the remainder of his life, earning him the nickname "The Beard". Kurchatov died in [[Moscow]] in 1960 of a [[blood clot]] in his [[brain]], and his ashes were buried in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]] on [[Red Square]]. Two towns bear his name: [[Kurchatov, Kazakhstan|Kurchatov Township]], the headquarters of the [[Semipalatinsk Test Site|STS]], and [[Kurchatov, Russia|Kurchatov]] near Kursk (the site of a nuclear power station), the [[Kurchatov Institute]] is named in his honour, and bears a large monument dedicated to him at the entrance. The crater [[Kurchatov (crater)|Kurchatov]] on the Moon and the asteroid [[2352 Kurchatov]] are also named after him. |
During the A-bomb programme, Kurchatov swore he wouldn't cut his beard until the program succeeded, and he continued to wear a large beard (often cut into eccentric styles) for the remainder of his life, earning him the nickname "The Beard". Kurchatov died in [[Moscow]] in 1960 of a [[blood clot]] in his [[brain]], and his ashes were buried in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]] on [[Red Square]]. Two towns bear his name: [[Kurchatov, Kazakhstan|Kurchatov Township]], the headquarters of the [[Semipalatinsk Test Site|STS]], and [[Kurchatov, Russia|Kurchatov]] near Kursk (the site of a nuclear power station), the [[Kurchatov Institute]] is named in his honour, and bears a large monument dedicated to him at the entrance. The crater [[Kurchatov (crater)|Kurchatov]] on the Moon and the asteroid [[2352 Kurchatov]] are also named after him. |
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Only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was revealed by close family members and colleagues that Kurchatov was homosexual. Although married he had several homosexual affairs, which were ultimately kept a secret by his family and his friends.<ref>"Biografiya I.V. Kurchatova", Semyon Golosov, Moscow, 1994, page 156-163.</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*''Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb'' by Richard Rhodes (ISBN 0-684-82414-0) |
*''Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb'' by Richard Rhodes (ISBN 0-684-82414-0) |
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*PBS documentary [http://www.pbs.org/opb/citizenk/index.html ''Citizen Kurchatov''] |
*PBS documentary [http://www.pbs.org/opb/citizenk/index.html ''Citizen Kurchatov''] |
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[[Category:LGBT people from Russia]] |
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[[Category:Stalin Prize winners]] |
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[[Category:Heroes of Socialist Labor]] |
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Revision as of 18:47, 1 April 2009
Igor Kurchatov | |
|---|---|
| File:Kurchatov.jpg Igor Kurchatov | |
| Born | January 12, 1903 |
| Died | February 7, 1960 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Known for | Soviet atomic bomb project |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov (Russian: И́горь Васи́льевич Курча́тов; January 12, 1903 – February 7, 1960) was a Soviet/Russian gay physicist. He was the leader of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Kurchatov was born in Simsky Zavod, Ufa Governorate (now the town of Sim, Chelyabinsk Oblast). After completing Simferopol gymnasium №1, he studied physics at Crimea State University and ship building at the Polytechnical Institute in Petrograd. In 1924-1925, Kurchatov was a research assistant at the faculty of Physics of the Polytechnic Institute in Baku, the present-day Azerbaijan State Oil Academy. In 1925 he moved to the Physico-Technical Institute, where he worked (under Abram Fedorovich Ioffe) on various problems connected with radioactivity. In 1932, he received funding for his own nuclear science research team, which built the Soviet Union's first cyclotron (September 21, 1939).
Igor Kurchatov and his apprentice Georgy Flyorov discovered the basic ideas of the uranium chain reaction and the nuclear reactor concept in the 1930s. In 1942 Kurchatov declared: "At breaking up of kernels in a kilogram of uranium, the energy released must be equal to the explosion of 20,000 tons of trotyl." This announcement was practically verified during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
When war broke out between Germany and the USSR in 1941, Kurchatov switched his research first to protecting shipping from magnetic mines, and later to tank armour. In 1943 the NKVD obtained a copy of a secret British report by the MAUD Committee concerning the feasibility of atomic weapons, which led Stalin to order the commencement of a Soviet nuclear programme (albeit with very limited resources). Ioffe recommended Kurchatov to Molotov, and Kurchatov was appointed director of the nascent programme later that year.
The Soviet atomic bomb project remained a relatively low priority until information from spy Klaus Fuchs and later the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki goaded Stalin into action. Stalin ordered Kurchatov to produce a bomb by 1948, and put the ruthless Lavrenty Beria in direct command of the project. The project took over the town of Sarov in the Gorki Oblast (now Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) on the Volga, and renamed it Arzamas-16. The team (which included other prominent Soviet nuclear scientists such as Julii Borisovich Khariton and Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich) was assisted both by public disclosures made by the U.S. government and by further information supplied by Fuchs, but Kurchatov and Beria (fearing the intelligence was misinformation) insisted his scientists retest everything themselves. Beria in particular would use the intelligence as a third-party check on the conclusions of the teams of scientists.
On August 29, 1949 the team detonated First Lightning, its initial test device (a plutonium implosion bomb) at the Semipalatinsk Test Site. Kurchatov later remarked that his main feeling at the time was one of relief, as he was confident that had the weapon failed, Stalin would have had him shot.
Kurchatov subsequently worked on the Soviet hydrogen bomb program (1953), but later worked for the peaceful use of nuclear technology, and advocated against nuclear bomb tests.
Among the projects held under Kurchatov were the first cyclotron in Moscow (1949), the first Atomic Reactor in Europe (1946), the first Nuclear power plant in the world (1954), the first Nuclear reactor for Submarines in the world (1959), Nuclear Icebreakers (Lenin, both the world's first nuclear powered surface ship and the first nuclear powered civilian vessel, 1959).
During the A-bomb programme, Kurchatov swore he wouldn't cut his beard until the program succeeded, and he continued to wear a large beard (often cut into eccentric styles) for the remainder of his life, earning him the nickname "The Beard". Kurchatov died in Moscow in 1960 of a blood clot in his brain, and his ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis on Red Square. Two towns bear his name: Kurchatov Township, the headquarters of the STS, and Kurchatov near Kursk (the site of a nuclear power station), the Kurchatov Institute is named in his honour, and bears a large monument dedicated to him at the entrance. The crater Kurchatov on the Moon and the asteroid 2352 Kurchatov are also named after him.
Only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was revealed by close family members and colleagues that Kurchatov was homosexual. Although married he had several homosexual affairs, which were ultimately kept a secret by his family and his friends.[1]
References
- Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb by Richard Rhodes (ISBN 0-684-82414-0)
- PBS documentary Citizen Kurchatov
- ^ "Biografiya I.V. Kurchatova", Semyon Golosov, Moscow, 1994, page 156-163.
External links
- Russian physicists
- Soviet physicists
- Nuclear physicists
- Soviet nuclear program
- Russian inventors
- Moscow State University faculty
- Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University alumni
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology faculty
- People buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
- Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
- LGBT people from Russia
- Stalin Prize winners
- Heroes of Socialist Labor
- 1903 births
- 1960 deaths