Pierre Victor Auger
Pierre Victor Auger | |
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Académie des sciences (France) |
Pierre Victor Auger (French pronunciation: [oʒe]; 14 May 1899 – 24 December 1993) was a French physicist, born in Paris. He worked in the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and cosmic ray physics.[1] He is famous for being one of the discoverers of the Auger effect, named after him.
Early life
Pierre's father was chemistry professor Victor Auger. Pierre Auger was a student at the
Career
In 1926 he obtained his doctorate in physics from the University of Paris. In 1927, he was named assistant to the faculté des sciences of Paris and, at the same time, adjoint chief of service to l'Institut de biologie physico-chimique. Chief of work to faculty in 1934 and general secretary of the annual tables of the constants in 1936, he was named university lecturer in physics to the faculty on the first of November 1937. He was charged with, until 1940, the course on the experimental bases of the quantum theory within the chair of theoretical physics and astrophysics. He was also adjoint director of the laboratory of physical chemistry. He then occupied the chair of quantum physics and relativity of the faculté des sciences of Paris.
At the end of World War II, he was named director of higher education from 1945 to 1948, which permitted him to introduce the first chair of genetics at the Sorbonne, conferred upon Boris Ephrussi.
The process where
Findings
In his work with cosmic rays, he found that the cosmic radiation events were coincident in time meaning that they were associated with a single event, an air shower. He estimated that the energy of the incoming particle that creates large air showers must be at least 1015 electronvolts (eV) = 106 particles of 108 eV (critical energy in air) and a factor of ten for energy loss from traversing the atmosphere.[1][4]
Honors and achievements
- He was European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) first Director General and one of the forefathers for the CERN foundation.[1]
- He was president of the Centre international de calcul (Rome). From 1948 to 1959, he directed at UNESCO the department of mathematical and natural sciences.
- He was elected a member of the Académie des sciencesin 1977.
- He hosted a broadcast of popularization of exacting science on Friday evenings on the public radio station France Culture from September 1969 to June 1986, entitled Les Grandes Avenues de la science moderne.
- The world's largest cosmic ray detector, the Pierre Auger Observatory, is named after him.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ PMID 9004753.
- .
- ISSN 2195-8556.
- .
- ^ Watson, Alan (July 2006). "The future's bright for the Pierre Auger Observatory". CERN Courier. 46 (6): 12–14.
- ^ "Auger observatorycelebrates progress". CERN Courier. 46 (1): 8. February 2006.
External links
- Private papers and an interview with Pierre Auger are consultable at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence
- Pierre Auger: The Pioneering Work
- (in French) Entretien du 23 avril 1986 avec Pierre Auger