Lev Davidovich Landau (Ле́в Дави́дович Ланда́у) (January 22, 1908 – April 1, 1968) was a prominent Soviet physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics whose broad field of work included the theory of superconductivity and superfluidity, quantum electrodynamics, nuclear physics and particle physics. He developed the theory of second order phase transitions. Among many physical effects named after Landau are Landau pole and Landau damping. He co-authored, with Evgenii Lifschitz, a beloved series of physics texts which are still widely used as of 2005. January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... State motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (transliteration: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Official language None; Russian (de facto) Capital Moscow Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km²  ?% Population  - Total  - Density 3rd before collapse 293,047,571 (July 1991) 13. ... A physicist is a scientist trained in physics. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor (100. ... Superfluidity is a phase of matter characterised by the complete absence of viscosity. ... This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... Particles erupt from the collision point of two relativistic (100 GeV) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... In physics, a phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase to another. ... In physics, Landau pole is the energy scale (or the precise value of the energy) where a coupling constant (the strength of an interaction) of a quantum field theory becomes infinite. ... In physics, Landau damping, named after its discoverer, the eminent Russian physicist Lev Davidovich Landau, is the effect of damping (exponential decrease as a function of time) of longitudinal space charge waves in plasma or a similar environment. ... ...

Biography

“In fact, usually it was sufficient for him to know just the guiding ideas of a study in order to reproduce all its findings.”

Lev Davidovich Landau (Ле́в Дави́дович Ланда́у) was born on 22nd January 1908 in Baku, in the family of a petroleum engineer who worked on the Baku oil fields. His mother was a physician and at one time had engaged in scientific work on physiology.

Recognized early as a child prodigy, Landau completed his school course at the age of 13. Even then he already was attracted by the exact sciences, and his mathematical ability manifested itself very early. He studied mathematical analysis on his own and later he used to say he hardly remembered a time when he did not know differentiation and integration. A child prodigy, or simply prodigy, is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ...

In 1922, Landau enrolled at the Physics Department of Leningrad University. In Leningrad, the main centre of Soviet Physics at that time, he made his first acquaintance with genuine theoretical physics, which was going through a turbulent period. He devoted himself to its study with all his youthful zeal and enthusiasm and worked so strenuously that often, he became so exhausted that at night he could not sleep, still turning over formulae in his mind.

Later he used to describe how at that time, he was amazed by the incredible beauty of the general theory of relativity. He also described the state of ecstasy to which he was brought on reading the articles by Heisenberg and Schrodinger, signaling the birth of the new quantum mechanics. He said that he derived from them not only delight in the true glamour of science but also an acute realization of the power of the human genius, whose greatest triumph is that man is capable of apprehending things beyond the pale of his imagination.

Landau always attached great important to the mastering of mathematical techniques by the theoretical physicist. The degree of this mastery should be such that, insofar as possible, mathematical complications would not distract attention from the physical difficulties of the problem – at least whenever standard mathematical techniques are concerned. This can be achieved only by sufficient training.

A unique aspect of his style of work was that, ever since long ago, since the Kharkov years, he himself almost never read any scientific article or book but nevertheless he was always completely au courant with the latest news in physics. He derived his knowledge from numerous discussions and from the papers presented at the seminar held under his direction. This seminar was held regularly once a week for nearly thirty years, and in that last years it sessions became gathering of theoretical physicists from all Moscow. The presentations of papers at this seminar became a sacred duty for all students and co-workers, and Landau himself was extremely serious and thorough in selecting the material to be presented. He was interested and equally competent in every aspect of physics and the participants in the seminar did not find it easy to follow train of thought in instantaneously switching from the discussion of, say, the properties of strange particles to the discussion of the energy spectrum of electrons in silicon. To Landau, listening to the papers was never an empty formality. He did not rest until the essence of a study was completely elucidated and all traces of “philology” – unproved statements or propositions made on the principle of ”why might it not” – therein were eliminated.

In fact, usually it was sufficient for him to know just the guiding ideas of a study in order to reproduce all its findings. As a rule, he found it easier to obtain them on his own than to follow in detail the author’s reasoning. In this way, he reproduced for himself and profoundly thought out most of the basic results obtained in all the domains of theoretical physics. This probably also was the reason for his phenomenal ability to answer practically any question concerning physics that might be asked of him.

Landau’s scientific style was free of the – unfortunately fairly widespread – tendency to complicate simple things (often on the grounds of generality and rigor which, however, usually turn out to be illusory). He himself always strove towards the opposite – to simplify complex things, to uncover in the most lucid manner the genuine simplicity of the laws underlying the natural phenomena. This ability of his, this skill at “trivializing” things as he himself used to say, was to him a matter of special pride.

The recognition of the results of one’s work is to a greater or lesser extent important to any scientist; it was, of course, also true to Landau. But it can still be said that he attached much less importance to questions of priority than is ordinarily the case. And at any rate, there is no doubt that his drive for work was inherently motivated not by desire for fame but by an inexhaustible curiosity and passion for exploring the laws of nature in their large and small manifestations. He never omitted a chance to repeat the elementary truth that one should never work for extraneous purposes, work merely for the sake of making a great discovery, for then nothing would be accomplished anyway.

In 1946, Landau was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1951, he was elected member of the Danish Royal Academy of Sciences and in 1956, member of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences. In 1960, Landau became the recipient of the F. London Prize (United States) and the Max Planck Medal (West Germany). In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering theories for condensed matter, especially liquid helium.

Professorship and later life

Since 1932, Landau headed the Department of Theory of the Ukrainian Physical and Technical Institute in Kharkov (now Ukraine). In 1937 he became head of the Department of Theory of the Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow. He was also a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Kharkov (rus: Ха́рьков) or Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... P.L. Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ... Saint Basils Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square. ... Russian Academy of Sciences: main building Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к) is the national academy of Russia. ...

He was arrested in 1938, during the Great Purge, but released one year later. He suffered a major car accident in 1962 which precluded him from further scientific activities.¹ 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1965, his research laboratory was transformed into what is now known as Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics. 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a research institution devoted primarily to the theoretical studies of Condensed matter theory Quantum field theory Nuclear and elementary particle physics Computational physics Nonlinear dynamics Mathematical physics It was formed in 1965 from a reserch group...

He was a Nobel Laureate in Physics for the year 1962 for his pioneering theories of condensed matter, especially liquid helium. He is also admired for a prolific series of textbooks on theoretical physics, co-authored with E. M. Lifshitz, Course in Theoretical Physics, 10 volumes, as well as science books for high school and earlier grades. List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Matter is commonly referred to as the substance of which physical objects are composed. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... Evgeny Mikhailovich Lifshitz (Евгений Михайлович Лифшиц) (February 21, 1915 – October 29, 1985) was a Russian physicist. ...

He died in Moscow in 1968 and was interred there in Novodevichy Cemetery. Saint Basils Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square. ... Novodevichy Cemetery (Новодевичье кла́дбище) is located in Moscow, Russia and is the citys third most popular tourist site. ...

Books by Landau

• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Mechanics". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : The Classical Theory of Fields". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Relativistic Quantum Theory". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Statistical Physics Pt. 1". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Fluid Mechanics". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Theory of Elasticity". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Electrodynamics of Continuous Media". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau
• "Course of Theoretical Physics : Statistical Physics: Theory of the Condensed State Pt. 2". E. M. Lifshitz, L. D. Landau

Books about Landau

• Note 1: Dorozynski, Alexander (1965). The Man They Wouldn't Let Die. (After Landau's 1962 car accident, the physics community around him rallied to attempt to save his life. They managed to prolong his life until 1968.)
• Landau-Drobantseva, Kora (1999). Professor Landau: How We Lived (in Russian) lib.ru

External links

• Biography at the MacTutor archive
• Lev Davidovich Landau