George Gamow (pronounced "GAM-off") (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968) , born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov (Георгий Антонович Гамов) was a Ukrainian born physicist and cosmologist. He worked on subjects including the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, nucleocosmogenesis, and genetics. March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... A physicist is a scientist trained in physics. ... Cosmology is the study of the large-scale structure and history of the universe. ... A stylized representation of a lithium atom. ... In astronomy, stellar evolution is the sequence of changes that a star undergoes during its lifetime, the hundreds of thousands, millions or billions of years during which it emits light and heat. ... Cross section of a red giant showing nucleosynthesis and elements formed Stellar nucleosynthesis is the collective term for the nuclear reactions taking place in stars to build the nuclei of the heavier elements. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ...

Life and career

Gamow was born in Odessa, in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine. He was educated at the Novorossiya University in Odessa (1922–23) and at the University of Leningrad (1923–1929). Gamow studied under Alexander Friedmann for some time in Leningrad, though Friedmann died in 1925. On graduation he studied quantum theory in Göttingen, where his research into the atomic nucleus provided the basis for his doctorate. He then worked at the Theoretical Physics Institute of the University of Copenhagen, from 1928 to 1931 with a break to work with Ernest Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, he continued to study the atomic nucleus (proposing the "liquid drop" model) but also worked on stellar physics with Robert Atkinson and Fritz Houtermans. ODESSA (German Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen; The Organization of Former SS-Members) was an alleged Nazi-German fugitive network set up towards the end of World War II by a group of SS officers, among whom were Martin Bormann and Heinrich Himmler. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Novorossiya (Russian: , literally New Russia) is a historic area now mostly located in southern Ukraine, and partially in southern Russia. ... ODESSA (German Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen; The Organization of Former SS-Members) was an alleged Nazi-German fugitive network set up towards the end of World War II by a group of SS officers, among whom were Martin Bormann and Heinrich Himmler. ... Seal of Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Университет) one of the oldest Russian educational institutions, established in the city of Saint Petersburg on January 28, 1724 by decree of Peter the Great. ... Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman or Friedmann (Александр Александрович Фридман) (June 16, 1888 – September 16, 1925) was a Russian cosmologist and mathematician. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Fig. ... Landmark Gänseliesel fountain at the main market Göttingen ( â–¶ (help· info)) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... The Niels Bohr Institute is part of the Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics of the University of Copenhagen. ... University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Universitet) is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRS (August 30, 1871 - October 19, 1937), called father of nuclear physics, pioneered the orbital theory of the atom notably in his discovery of rutherford scattering off the nucleus with his gold foil experiment. ... Plaque The Cavendish Laboratory is Cambridge Universitys Department of Physics, and is part of the universitys School of Physical Sciences. ... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... The liquid drop model is a model in nuclear physics which treats the nucleus as a drop of incompressible nuclear fluid, first proposed by George Gamow. ... Robert dEscourt Atkinson (April 11, 1898 – October 28, 1982) was an astronomer, physicist and inventor. ... Friedrich Georg Houtermans (January 22, 1903 - March 1, 1966) was a physicist born in Zoppod near Danzig (today Gdansk, Poland). ...

Gamow then worked at a number of Soviet establishments before deciding to flee the increased oppression in Russia. His first two attempts to defect with his wife Lyubov Vokhminzeva were in 1932 and involved attempting to kayak across the iron curtain, first a 250 kilometer paddle over the Black Sea to Turkey and then from Murmansk to Norway. Poor weather foiled the attempts. In 1933 the two tried a less dramatic approach, Gamow managed to obtain permission for himself and his wife (who was also a physicist) to attend the Solvay Conference for physicists in Brussels. The two attended and promptly defected and in 1934 they moved to the United States. Gamow became a naturalized American in 1940. He began working at George Washington University in 1934, where he published with Edward Teller, Mario Schoenberg, and Ralph Alpher. Bold textItalic textBold text // Headline text Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (French: Bruxelles, Dutch: Brussel, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the French community of Belgium, the Flemish community and of the European Union. ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The George Washington University (GWU) is a private university in Washington, D.C., founded in 1821 as The Columbian College. ... Edward Teller in 1958 as Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. ... Ralph Asher Alpher (born 1921) is a U.S. cosmologist. ...

Gamow produced an important cosmogenesis paper with Alpher which was published as the Alpher-Bethe-Gamow theory in 1948. Gamow had added the name of Hans Bethe (who had not had any role in the paper) to make a pun on the first three letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha beta gamma. The paper outlined how the present levels of hydrogen and helium in the universe (which were and are thought to make up over 99% of all matter) could be largely explained by reactions that occurred during the "Big Bang". This lent support to the Big Bang theory, although it did not explain the presence of elements heavier than helium (this was done later by Fred Hoyle). Gamow was a strong advocate of the Big Bang theory, and in 1946 postulated on the existance and made an estimate of the strength of residual cosmic microwave background radiation. However astronomers and scientists did not make any effort to detect this radiation at that time, due to a lack of interest and the immaturity of microwave observation. Consequently, this important observation in support of the Big Bang was not made until its 1965 discovery. Cosmogenesis is the term created by the French Jesuit Priest and Scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe the cosmological process of the creation of the Universe. ... In cosmology, the Alpher-Bethe-Gamow theory (or αβγ theory) was created by Ralph Alpher, at the time a physics PhD student, and his advisor George Gamow. ... Hans Bethe in 1945. ... A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe originated in an extremely dense and hot state (bottom). ... Sir Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle (June 24, 1915 in Yorkshire – August 20, 2001 in Bournemouth, England) was a British astronomer, notable for a number of his theories that run counter to current astronomical opinion, and a writer of science fiction, including a number of books co-authored by his... WMAP image of the CMB anisotropy,Cosmic microwave background radiation(June 2003) The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is a form of electromagnetic radiation that fills the whole of the universe. ... This article concerns the accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation. ...

After the discovery of the structure of DNA, Gamow realized that the sequence of nucleotides formed a code. He corresponded with researchers in the field about this concept. 3D model of a section of the DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and most viruses). ... A nucleotide is a chemical compound that consists of a heterocyclic base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. ...

He remained in Washington until 1954, then worked at University of California, Berkeley (1954), and University of Colorado at Boulder (1956–1968). In 1956 he was awarded the Kalinga prize by UNESCO for his work in popularizing science with his Mr. Tompkins... series of books (1939–1967), One Two Three ... Infinity, and other works. Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 18th 184,824 km² 385 km 580 km 6. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (also known as California, Cal, UCB, UC Berkeley, The University of California, or simply Berkeley) is a public, coeducational university situated east of the San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, California, overlooking the Golden Gate. ... It has been suggested that multiple sections of Boulder, Colorado be merged into this article or section. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1945. ... The eponymous character of Mr. ...

Miscellaneous

• Gamow was an imposing figure at six feet, three inches (190.5 cm) and over 225 pounds (102 kg) but was known for his impish sense of humor. He was once described as "the only scientist in America with a real sense of humor" by a United Press International reporter.
• He was highly regarded in the Soviet Union before his defection, and had once been a commissioned officer in the Red Army, a fact which likely prevented the US from putting him to work on the Manhattan project during World War 2. The Americans were apparently not swayed by the arguments that Gamow was only given officer status so that he could teach science courses to soldiers and that the USSR had sentenced him to death for his defection.

Control panels and operators for calutrons at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ...

Books

• Mr. Tompkins in Paperback, 1965, Cambridge University Press, 1993 Canto edition with foreward by Roger Penrose, ISBN 0-521-44771-2. Originally published in two books as Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland in 1940 and Mr. Tompkins Explores the Atom in 1945, following serial publication in Discovery magazine (UK) in 1938. Creatively illustrated by the author, and complete with a scored musical composition ("The Cosmic Opera"), the book explains the principles of relativity and quantum theory in a fashion that is entertaining to young people and adults.
• One, Two, Three...Infinity, 1947, Viking Press (copyright renewed by Barbara Gamow, 1974), Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-25664-2, illustrated by the author. Dedicated to his son, Igor ("who wanted to be a cowboy") The book winds from mathematics to biology, through physics, crystallography, and more.
• Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory, 1966, Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-24895-X. Illustrated by the author and with period photographs, Gamow describes an insider's view of the development of quantum theory. Having worked with Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford, he not only can expound the theory, he supplies candid photos of Edward Teller on skis, Bohr on a motorcycle, Werner Heisenberg having a swim, and Enrico Fermi playing tennis. The finale is a dramatic playscript (also illustrated) of the history of atomic physics with the scientists cast in roles after the model of Goethe's Faust.

Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. ... Mathematics is often defined as the study of topics such as quantity, structure, space, and change. ... Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... A black hole concept drawing by NASA. Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (physikos), natural, and φύσις (physis), nature) is the science of the natural world dealing with the fundamental constituents of the universe, the forces they exert on one another, and the results produced by these forces. ... Crystallography (from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and graphein = write) is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. ... Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Jewish-Danish physicist who made essential contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics. ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRS (August 30, 1871 - October 19, 1937), called father of nuclear physics, pioneered the orbital theory of the atom notably in his discovery of rutherford scattering off the nucleus with his gold foil experiment. ... Edward Teller in 1958 as Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. ... Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976) was a celebrated German physicist and Nobel laureate, one of the founders of quantum mechanics. ... Enrico Fermi in the 1940s. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Faust (Latin Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil, assumed to be based on the figure of the German magician and alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust (approximately 1480-1540). ...

See also

• RNA Tie club
• Urca process
• Ylem

Urca-processes are in astro-particle physics particle reactions who emits neutrinos, and which are assumed to take part in cooling processes in neutron stars. ... Ylem is the original matter which, through the big bang, formed the elements and particles as we know them today. ...

External links

• Gamow Books
• Complete Gamow bibliography
• "Getting a Bang Out of Gamow"