Konstantin Petrzhak

For other people of the same name, see Pietrzak.
Konstantin Petrzhak
Native name Константин Антонович Петржак
Born September 7, 1907
Łuków, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
(now Łuków, Poland)
Died October 10, 1998 (aged 91)
Russia
Residence
Nationality Pole
Fields Physics (nuclear)
Institutions
Alma mater Saint Petersburg State University
Doctoral advisor Igor Kurchatov
Other academic advisors Vitaly Khlopin
Known for
Discovery of spontaneous fission
Notable awards

Konstantin Petrzhak (or Konstantin Pietrzak;[1] Russian: Константи́н Анто́нович Петржак; IPA: [kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɐnˈtonəvʲɪtɕ pʲɛdʐak]; 1907-1998) was a Soviet physicist of Polish origin. He discovered spontaneous fission of uranium jointly with Georgy Flyorov in 1940.[2]

Biography

Konstantin Petrzhak was born on 3 September 1907 in Łuków (Congress Poland, Russian Empire, now in Poland). Antoni Petrzhak was his father. When Konstantin was 12 years old, he started working as a painter at a glass-making factory in Malaya Vishera (Russia). In 1928 he went to Saint-Petersburg to study at rabfak of Saint Petersburg State University (which was then called Leningrad State University). In 1931 he started studying in radiology group there.[3] In November 1936 Konstantin Petrzhak completed his diploma work under supervision of Igor Kurchatov[4] and graduated from Saint Petersburg State University.

In 1934 he started working at Khlopin Radium Institute in Saint Petersburg (which was named First Radium Institute at that time).[4] Igor Kurchatov was the head of laboratory where he started working. There Konstantin Petrzhak wrote Ph.D. thesis "study of thorium and samarium radioactivity".[5][6] Vitaly Khlopin and Igor Kurchatov were his scientific supervisors. In 1939 Igor Kurchatov asked him and Georgy Flyorov to study uranium fission induced by neutrons of different energies. Earlier Georgy Flyorov and Tatiana Nikitinskaya made a highly sensitive ionization chamber to detect heavy particles. They decided to use it in this new experiment. Kurchatov asked Georgy Flyorov, Nikitinskaya and Petrzhak to make the sensitivity of the chamber even higher.[7] In 1939 the experiments were carried out in Saint Petersburg.[8] They created a highly sensitive multilayer ionization chamber to detect daughter nuclei fragments which originate from fission of uranium.[9][10] The ionization chamber had electrodes in it with the total square of about 1000 cm2.[11] The plates of the chamber were covered with uranium oxide with approximate surface density of 10–20 mg/cm2.[9] The chamber consisted of 15 plates.[12] The detector was checked while measuring background.[13] When the source of neutrons was taken away, the detector still detected particles. They made three ionization chambers to prove that the effect was not connected to the first one. More than that they made even more sensitive chamber with the surface of 6000 cm2. Cosmic rays were one of possible sources of background counts. In 1940 to reduce the effect of cosmic rays measurements were made in an underground lab in Dinamo station of Moscow Metro (about 50 m below the earth surface).[14] Then they assumed that spontaneous fission was discovered.[15] The certificate of discovery stated "the new type of radioactivity with mother nucleus decays into two nuclei, that have kinetic energy of about 160 MeV".[16][17]

In 1940 Konstantin Petrzhak was suggested to enter the leading team of soviet atomic bomb project.[18] He is rumoured to participate in soviet atomic project.

When Soviet Union entered the World War II Petrzhak, was eligible for serving in Red Army. If he was awarded the Stalin Prize, he could avoid entering the regular army. The Academy of Sciences of USSR nominated him to receive this prize in the early 1940s. But he didn't receive the prize.[19] So during World War II Petrzhak served in military intelligence of a CIWS regiment first as a junior lieutenant[20] and later as a senior lieutenant.[21][22] Since 28 June 1941 he participated in battle on Karelian Isthmus. Later he fought in Volkhov Front.[23]

Konstantin Petrzhak founded a laboratory of neutron physics and nuclear fission in Khlopin Radium Institute in 1947 and was the head of this laboratory until 1986.[24] Later he was one of the founders of Engineering faculty of Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology.[25] There he founded a department of nuclear physics in 1949[24] and was the head of it for 22 years.[26] In 1961 he founded a laboratory of nuclear energy there. Konstantin Petrzhak created an express method of detection of plutonium and associated radioisotopes in samples of irradiated uranium.[24] Konstantin Petrzhak was doktor nauk and a professor. He died on October 10, 1998 and was buried in Saint Petersburg.

Personal life

Konstantin Petrzhak was an educated painter, he created paintings throughout his life. His skills in painting were useful when he covered the plates of ionization chamber with uranium which later lead to discovery of spontaneous fission. He was also an amateur violin and guitar player.[27] There is no evidence whether he was married.

Awards

Selected works

Notes

  1. ↑ "Константин Антонович Петржак (Konstantin Pietrzak)". Ядерная физика в Интернете (in Russian). Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ Petrzhak KA, Flerov GN (1940). "Spontaneous fission of uranium". Proc USSR Acad Sci 28 (6): 500.
  3. ↑ Драпчинский, Л.В. "К 100-летию со дня рождения К.А. Петржака" [To 100-year anniversary of K. A. Petrzhak]. Семейные истории. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Асташенков 1967, p. 92.
  5. ↑ Гринберг, А.П.; Френкель, В.Я. (1984). Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov in Ioffe Institute (1925-1943) Игорь Васильевич Курчатов в Физико-техническом институте (1925-1943 гг.). Ленинград: Наука. p. 181. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ Иоффе, А. Ф. (1985). "Открытие молодых советских ученых". О физике и физиках [About physics and physicists] (PDF). Наука. Мировоззрение. Жизнь (2 ed.). Ленинград.: Наука. Ленинградское отделение. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ Асташенков 1967, p. 93.
  8. ↑ Уран. III. Как было открыто спонтанное деление [Uranium. III. How spontaneous fission was discovered]. Популярная библиотека химических элементов (in Russian). 27 September 2003.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Мухин 1974, p. 477.
  10. ↑ Oganessian, Yuri (2003). Г. Н. Флёров. Молодые годы [G. Flyorov. Early years] (DOC) (in Russian).
  11. ↑ Кузнецова, Р.В. Многослойная ионизационная камера [Multilayer ionization chamber]. Приборы и инструменты России (in Russian). p. 15.
  12. ↑ Мухин 1974, p. 478.
  13. ↑ Flerov GN, Petrzhak KA (1961). Спонтанное деление ядер [Spontaneous fission of nuclei] (PDF). Physics-Uspekhi (in Russian). LXXIII (4): 657.
  14. ↑ Асташенков 1967, p. 96.
  15. ↑ Holloway, David. Сталин и бомба [Stalin and the Bomb] (in Russian). ISBN 0300066643.
  16. ↑ Открытие спонтанного деления урана [Discovery of spontaneous fission in uranium] (in Russian).
  17. ↑ Флеров, Петржак – Научное открытие №33 Спонтанное деление ядер урана [Flerov, Petrzhak - Scientific discovery №33. Spontaneous fission of uranium]. Научные открытия России (in Russian). Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  18. ↑ Создание первой атомной бомбы в СССР [Works on creation of the first atomic bomb in USSR]. "BioFile.ru" (in Russian).
  19. ↑ Губарев, B.C. (2000). XX век. Исповеди: судьба науки и ученых в России. [20th century. Confessions: the destiny of science and scientists of Russia.] (in Russian). М.: МАИК "Наука/Интерпериодика". ISBN 5-7846-0034-6. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  20. ↑ Рябев, Л. Д., ed. (2000). Атомный проект СССР. Том II. 1945-1954 Книга 2 [Soviet atomic project.] (in Russian) II. Москва-Саров: РФЯЦ-ВНИИЭФ. p. 426. ISBN 5-85165-402-3.
  21. ↑ Зенькович, Николай (2004). Тайны ушедшего века. Власть. Распри. Подоплека [Mysteries of the passing century. Power. Arguments. Causes.] (in Russian). Moscow: ОЛМА Медиа Групп. ISBN 5224046769. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  22. ↑ Крюков, С.Г. Достоин ли А. Сахаров почестей? [Whether A. Sakharov is worth ceremonial?]. Своими именами (in Russian). Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  23. ↑ Рояль эмоций, Творцы - ч. 170 (in Russian). Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Konstantin Petrzhak" Константин Петржак. Russian Engineers (in Russian). 2010.
  25. ↑ Выпускники и преподаватели [Alumni and Faculty]. Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (in Russian).
  26. ↑ История кафедры [History of department]. Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (in Russian).
  27. ↑ Холодная, Варвара (5 June 2009). Не пропусти! [Do not miss]. Вечерний Петербург (in Russian) (102 (23946)). Retrieved 22 December 2014.

References