Edward Teller: biography and photo physics

Today we will talk about the life of Edward Teller. You have hardly heard this name before, if your professional life is not related to physics. However, E. Teller is an amazing person who lived a full and active life and introduced something new into society. His contribution to science is invaluable, since the ideas, researches and works of this man constitute to this day the basis for many questions in physics. The life of this person is contradictory, like himself. Not everyone accepts his desire to support military projects aimed at nurturing nuclear power, but this does not deprive Teller of talent and an outstanding mind.

Who are we talking about?

Edward Teller, whose biography will be presented below, is a well-known theoretical physicist. He is also called the "father of a hydrogen bomb". This scientist made a huge contribution to spectroscopy, molecular and nuclear physics. It was he who described the effects of Renner-Teller and Jan-Teller. The theory of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller still remains the basis for physics. Also, the man expanded the theory of Enrico Fermi, concerning the beta decay of particles. Together with N. Metropolis and M. Rosenbluth, in 1953 he wrote an article that served as an impetus for using the Monte Carlo method in statistical mechanics.

Beginning of biography

Edward Teller was born in the winter of 1908 in Budapest. The boy was born into a Jewish family. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a pianist. In the family, the boy was not alone, but with his older sister Emma. After a while, the family became Christian, like most Jewish families at that time. From this it becomes clear that the boy's kin was very religious. Despite this, in his adult independent life he became an agnostic. Teller started talking late, but he had excellent figures and could even count the number of seconds in a year.

Students

As the guy grew up in the atmosphere of the post-war uprising in Hungary and the general tension, he for the rest of his life became imbued with aversion to fascism and communism. To go to a higher educational institution in Budapest, the guy could not because of the introduction of the restriction of Horthy Miklós. In 1926, a young man entered the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany for engineering chemistry. Two years later, he moved to live in Munich, is fond of quantum mechanics. Because Teller was a thoughtful student, he accidentally fell under a tram and lost his right foot. Because of this, he limped his whole life and wore a prosthesis. By 1930, he had a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, which he received at the University of Leipzig. His thesis he devoted to describing the molecular ion of hydrogen.

At this time he met with the famous Russian physicists L. Landau and G. Gamow. The development of Teller in the mainstream of physics and philosophy was greatly influenced by his lifelong friendship with G. Plachek. It was he who helped Teller to live in Rome with E. Fermi. This determined the future scientific career of the man.

Adulthood

Edward Teller, whose photo we see in the article, devoted two years of his life to the University of Goettingen. However, in 1933, with the assistance of people from the International Rescue Committee, Teller left Germany. About a year he spent in England, another year - in Copenhagen, where, by the way, he worked under the clear leadership of N. Bora. By 1934 he had a family, taking his sister's childhood friend - Augustus Maria.

Just a year later the young family moved, as Edward Teller received an offer from Gamow. He had a good position at the University of Washington. In the USA, Teller became a professor. Together with Gamow, they dealt with nuclear, quantum, and molecular physics. Edward Teller, whose nuclear reactions are known throughout the world, opened them in 1939. Shortly before that, he managed to open the effect, after being called the "Jan-Teller effect." It consisted in the fact that molecules tend to change their form in some reactions. This, in turn, affects the course of the chemical reaction.

The creator of the bomb

In 1941, Teller obtained the citizenship of America. At this time he was very interested in atomic nuclear and thermonuclear energy issues. All this only increased when the Second World War began, and the scientist became one of a group of researchers to develop an atomic bomb. T. von Karman, a friend of our hero, advised him to work with H. Bethe. Together they initiated the development of the theory of propagation of a shock wave. Many years later, it was their research that served to study questions regarding the entry of missiles into the atmosphere.

Continuation of career

What did Edward Teller do? The biography briefly provides the following chronology of events:

• From 1946 to 1952 he taught at the University of Chicago. At the same time he became deputy director of the Los Alamos Laboratory.
• From 1953 to 1975 he continued his teaching career at the University of California at Berkeley.
• In 1954 he became head of the Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory. In 1952 he became the head of the research on the development of the hydrogen bomb. In November he conducts the first test.
• From 1957 to 1973 he was in charge of an operation called the "Plauscher". It concerned the use of peaceful nuclei in the United States. Under the leadership of our hero, 27 explosions took place.

It is worth saying that Teller was not a moralist. He believed that the US should have an advantage in nuclear weapons. He actively opposed the ban on the use of nuclear weapons, initiated the creation of effective and inexpensive weapons.

Research

In addition to issues of nuclear weapons, Edward Teller dealt with a number of other problems. So, he investigated quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, physical chemistry, physics of cosmic rays. Together with G. Gamov, who is already familiar to us, formulated in 1936 the rule of selecting particles for β decay. In 1947 he independently proved the existence of mesic atoms.

He was awarded the E. Fermi Prize "For Contribution to Nuclear and Chemical Physics" in 1962. In 1975, Teller left the post of professor at the University of California.

In the role of advisor

The next 30 years of his life, the hero of the article devoted his work to the role of adviser. He advised the government on nuclear weapons. In 1980 he supported the program of President Reagan called "Star Wars." It concerned the strategic defense initiative.

In 1979, there was a catastrophe at a nuclear power plant in the United States. At the same time, Teller experienced a heart attack. A little earlier on the television screen came a movie called "Chinese Syndrome." The main role in it was played by J. Fund, which was an ardent opponent of US nuclear weapons. Later, Teller called her guilty in her attack.

In 1994, Teller visited the Russian Federal Nuclear Center at a conference.

For 20 years, the scientist advised the politicians of Israel. For three years he visited this country six times, lectured there on theoretical physics there. Teller needed a whole year to prove to the CIA that Israel has a huge nuclear potential. Finally, in 1976, a CIA spokesman reported that he had received information from reliable sources about Israel's nuclear capabilities.

Quotes and books

Edward Teller, whose quotes are very deep, was a versatile clever man. Many of his statements have been used so far. His most popular expression is: "What science is today, is technology tomorrow."

In his quotations, Teller stressed that neither the mind, nor the memory, nor the estimates are important for the child to become a scientist, it is enough for him to have a huge interest in science.

What else did Edward Teller do? His books are still in high demand. He wrote a number of works on theoretical physics. His books are distinguished by a clear presentation and clarity of thought.

Summing up the article, I want to say that the scientist Edward Teller made a huge contribution to the development of science. His research and books are an invaluable gift for all physicists. The last years of his life the man devoted to the support of the project, which was to create a harbor in Alaska with the help of thermonuclear weapons.

Throughout his life, our hero became famous not only as an excellent scientist with outstanding abilities, but also as a man with an unpredictable character. Interpersonal relations were given to him hard, as it often happens with talented people. It is believed that he is the prototype of the protagonist from the film "Doctor Strangelove", which was released in 1964.