Hannes Alfvén
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Hannes Alfvén | |
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University of Uppsala | |
Known for |
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Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Electrical engineering and Plasma physics |
Institutions |
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Doctoral advisor | Manne Siegbahn Carl Wilhelm Oseen |
Doctoral students |
Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (Swedish:
Education
Alfvén received his PhD from the
Early years
In 1934, Alfvén taught
Later years
In 1991, Alfvén retired as professor of electrical engineering at the
Alfvén spent his later adult life alternating between California and Sweden. He died at the age of 86.[4]
Research
In 1937, Alfvén argued that if plasma pervaded the universe, it could then carry electric currents capable of generating a galactic magnetic field.[5] After winning the Nobel Prize for his works in magnetohydrodynamics, he emphasized that:
In order to understand the phenomena in a certain plasma region, it is necessary to map not only the magnetic but also the electric field and the electric currents. Space is filled with a network of currents which transfer energy and momentum over large or very large distances. The currents often pinch to filamentary or surface currents. The latter are likely to give space, as also interstellar and intergalactic space, a cellular structure.[6]
His theoretical work on field-aligned electric currents in the aurora (based on earlier work by Kristian Birkeland) was confirmed in 1967,[7] these currents now being known as Birkeland currents.
British scientist
When I describe [plasma phenomena] according to this formalism most referees do not understand what I say and turn down my papers. With the referee system which rules US science today, this means that my papers are rarely accepted by the leading US journals.[11]
Alfvén played a central role in the development of:
- Plasma physics
- Charged particle beams
- Interplanetary medium
- Magnetospheric physics
- Magnetohydrodynamics
- Solar phenomena investigation (such as the solar wind)
- Aurorae science
In 1939, Alfvén proposed the theory of magnetic storms and auroras and the theory of plasma dynamics in the Earth's magnetosphere. This was the paper rejected by the U.S. journal Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity.
Applications of Alfvén's research in space science include:
- Van Allen radiation belt theory
- Reduction of the magnetic storms
- Magnetosphere (protective plasma covering the Earth)
- Formation of comet tails
- Formation of the Solar System
- Dynamics of plasmas in the galaxy
- Physical cosmology
Alfvén's views followed those of the founder of magnetospheric physics, Kristian Birkeland. At the end of the nineteenth century, Birkeland proposed (backed by extensive data) that electric currents flowing down along the Earth's magnetic fields into the atmosphere caused the aurora and polar magnetic disturbances.
Areas of technology benefiting from Alfvén's contributions include:
- Particle accelerators
- Controlled thermonuclear fusion
- Hypersonic flight
- Rocket propulsion
- Reentry braking of space vehicles
Contributions to astrophysics:
- Galactic magnetic field (1937)
- Identified nonthermal synchrotron radiation from astronomical sources (1950)
A study of how a number of the most used textbooks in astrophysics treat important concepts such as
pinch effects, and circuits is made. It is found that students using these textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of these concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been well known for half a century (e.g, double layers, Langmuir, 1929; pinch effect, Bennet, 1934).[12]
Alfvén reported that of 17 of the most used textbooks on astrophysics, none mention the pinch effect, none mentioned critical ionization velocity, only two mentioned circuits, and three mentioned double layers.
Alfvén believed the problem with the
Personal life
Alfvén was married for 67 years to his wife Kerstin (1910–1992). They raised five children, one boy and four girls. Their son became a physician, while one daughter became a writer and another a lawyer in Sweden. The writer was Inger Alfvén and is well known for her work in Sweden. The composer Hugo Alfvén was Hannes Alfvén's uncle.
Alfvén studied the
Alfvén died on 2 April, 1995 at Djursholm aged 86.
Awards and honours
The Hannes Alfvén Prize, awarded annually by the European Physical Society for outstanding contributions in plasma physics, is named after him. The asteroid 1778 Alfvén is named in his honour.
Awards
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1967)[citation needed]
- Nobel Prize in Physics (1970) for his work on magnetohydrodynamics[20]
- Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute (1971)[citation needed]
- USSR Academy of Sciences (1971)[21]
- Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1980[22]
- William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1988) for his work on comets and plasmas in the Solar System
- Member of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences[citation needed]
- Member of Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences[citation needed]
- Life fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers[23]
- Member of European Physical Society[24]
- Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1962)[25]
- Member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences[citation needed]
- Contributor to the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs[26]
- Member of the International Academy of Science[27]
- Member of the Indian National Science Academy[citation needed][when?]Elected member of the American Philosophical Society (1971) [28]
Alfvén was one of the few scientists who was a foreign member of both the
Selected bibliography
For full list of publications see.[30]
- Books
- Cosmical Electrodynamics, International Series of Monographs on Physics, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950. (See also 2nd Ed. 1963, co-authored with Carl-Gunne Fälthammar.)
- Worlds-Antiworlds: Antimatter in Cosmology (1966).
- The Great Computer: A Vision (1968) (a political-scientific satire under the pen name Olof Johannesson; publ. Gollancz, ISBN 0-575-00059-7).
- Atom, Man, and the Universe: A Long Chain of Complications, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1969.
- Living on the Third Planet, authored with Kerstin Alfvén, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1972. ISBN 0-7167-0340-8.
- Cosmic Plasma, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 82 (1981) Springer Verlag. ISBN 90-277-1151-8
- Schröder, Wilfried, and Hans Jürgen Treder. 2007. Theoretical physics and geophysics: Recollections of Hans-Jürgen Treder (1928–2006). Potsdam: Science Editions.
- Articles
- On the cosmogony of the solar system I (1942) | Part II | Part III
- Interplanetary Magnetic Field (1958)
- On the Origin of Cosmic Magnetic Fields (1961)
- On the Filamentary Structure of the Solar Corona (1963)
- Currents in the Solar Atmosphere and a Theory of Solar Flares (1967)
- On the Importance of Electric Fields in the Magnetosphere and Interplanetary Space (1967)
- Jet Streams in Space (1970)
- Evolution of the Solar System (1976) with Gustaf Arrhenius (NASA book)
- Double radio sources and the new approach to cosmical plasma physics (1978) (PDF)
- Interstellar clouds and the formation of stars with Per Carlqvist (1978) (PDF)
- Energy source of the solar wind with Per Carlqvist (1980) (PDF) A direct transfer of energy from photospheric activity to the solar wind by means of electric currents is discussed.
- Electromagnetic Effects and the Structure of the Saturnian Rings (1981) (PDF)
- A three-ring circuit model of the magnetosphere with Whipple, E. C. and Jr.; McIlwain (1981) (PDF)
- The Voyager 1/Saturn encounter and the cosmogonic shadow effect (1981) (PDF)
- Origin, evolution and present structure of the asteroid region (1983) (PDF)
- On hierarchical cosmology (1983) (PDF) Progress in lab studies of plasmas and on their methods of transferring the results to cosmic conditions.
- Solar system history as recorded in the Saturnian ring structure (1983) (PDF)
- Cosmology – Myth or science? (1984) (PDF)
- Cosmogony as an extrapolation of magnetospheric research (1984) (PDF)
See also
- Alfvén resonator
- Astrophysical plasma
- Heliospheric current sheet
- Magnetic reconnection
- Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
- Magnetosonic wave
- Marklund convection
- Plasma parameters
- Plasma stability
- Solar wind
- Spheromak
References
- ^ Walter Sullivan (April 5, 1995). "Hannes Alfven, 86, Founder Of Field in Physics, Is Dead". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-8379-0225-8.
- ^ "History". Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ Sullivan, Walter (5 April 1995). "Hannes Alfven, 86, Founder Of Field in Physics, Is Dead". New York Times.
- ^ Hannes Alfvén, 1937 "Cosmic Radiation as an Intra-galactic Phenomenon", Ark. f. mat., astr. o. fys. 25B, no. 29.
- ISSN 0093-3813.
- Bibcode:1990IAUS..140..143P.
- ^ S. Chapman and J. Bartels, Geomagnetism," Vol. 1 and 2, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940.
- ISBN 978-0-471-52068-9.
- .
- ISBN 1-56000-033-3
- ^ Hannes Alfvén, "Double layers and circuits in astrophysics" (1986) IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. PS-14, Dec. 1986, pp. 779–793.
- S2CID 122751100.
- ^ "Nuclear power is uniquely unforgiving: as Swedish Nobel physicist Hannes Alfvén said, "No acts of God can be permitted."" Amory Lovins, Inside NOVA – Nuclear After Japan: Amory Lovins, pbs.org.
- ISBN 978-1-86094-469-7.
Alfven dismissed in his address religion as a "myth," and passionately criticized the big-bang theory for being dogmatic and violating basic standards of science, to be no less mythical than religion.
- .
- ^ Schröder, Wilfried . 2000. The Aurora in time. (Das Phänomen des Polarlichts). Darmstadt: Reproduction.
- ^ Schröder, Wilfried, and Hans Jürgen Treder. 1998. From Newton to Einstein: A festschrift in honour of the 70th birthday of Hans-Jürgen Treder. Bremen: Rönnebeck; Arbeitskreis Geschichte der Geophysik in der Deutschen Geophysikalischen Gesellschaft.
- ^ Schröder, Wilfried, and Hans Jürgen Treder. 1993. The earth and the universe: A festschrift in honour of Hans-Jürgen Treder. Bremen-Rönnebeck: Science Editions.
- ^ Sullivan, Walter (5 April 1995). "Hannes Alfven, 86, Founder Of Field in Physics, Is Dead". New York Times.
- ^ Sullivan, Walter (5 April 1995). "Hannes Alfven, 86, Founder Of Field in Physics, Is Dead". New York Times.
- S2CID 70640855.
- ^
Fälthammer, C. G. (1997). "Plasma physics from laboratory to cosmos-the life and achievements of Hannes Alfven". S2CID 123514422.
- ^ European Physical Society Honors Hannes Alfvén
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ Background Notes on Presidents of Pugwash
- ^ LIST OF NOBEL LAUREATES WHO ARE ICSD/IAS MEMBERS
- ^ "APS Member History".
- ^ "Hannes Alfven". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
- ^ Full list of publications
External links
- Hannes Alfvén biography
- Hannes Alfvén on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1970 Plasma Physics, Space Research and the Origin of the Solar System
- Hannes Alfvén biography (Royal Institute of Technologyin Stockholm, Sweden)
- Hannes Alfvén Biographical Memoirs (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society)
- Papers of Hannes Olof Gosta Alfvén
- Hannes Alfvén Medal – awarded for outstanding scientific contributions towards the understanding of plasma processes in the Solar System and other cosmical plasma environments
- Timeline of Nobel Prize Winners: Hannes Olof Gosta Alfvén
- Hannes Alfvén Papers (1945–1991) in the Mandeville Special Collections Library.
- ScienceWorld.
- QJRAS Obituary 37 (1996) 259
- Hannes Alfvén Birth Centennial 30 May 2008 (2008)