Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, (June 5, 1907, Berlin – September 19, 1995, Oxford), was a German-born British physicist. June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Berlin is the capital city and a single state of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... A physicist is a scientist trained in physics. ...

The son of a Jewish businessman, he studied nuclear physics under the tutelage of Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli. His early work on quantum physics led to the theory of positive carriers to explain the thermal and electrical conductivity behaviors of semiconductors. He moved to the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. In 1939, he started working on atomic research with Otto Frisch and James Chadwick. Jews (Hebrew: יהודים, Yehudim) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and converts who joined their religion. ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... 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. ... Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (April 25, 1900 – December 15, 1958) was an Austrian physicist noted for his work on the theory of spin, and in particular the discovery of the Exclusion principle, which underpins the whole of chemistry. ... Fig. ... In solid state physics, an electron hole (usually referred to simply as a hole) is the absence of an electron from the otherwise full valence band. ... A semiconductor is a material with an electrical conductivity that is intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor. ... The University of Birmingham is an English university in the city of Birmingham. ... See also Birmingham, USA, and other places called Birmingham. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir James Chadwick (October 20, 1891 – July 24, 1974) was an English physicist and Nobel laureate. ...

In March 1940, he co-authored the Frisch-Peierls memorandum with Otto Robert Frisch. This short paper was the first to set out how one could construct an atomic bomb from a small amount of fissionable uranium-235. They calculated that about 1kg would be needed. Until then it had been assumed that such a bomb would require many tons of uranium, and consequently was impractical to build and use. The paper was pivotal in igniting the interest of first the British and later the American authorities in atomic weapons. In 1941 its findings made their way to the United States through the report of the MAUD Committee, an important trigger in the establishment of the Manhattan Project and the subsequent development of the atomic bomb. 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... The Frisch-Peierls memorandum was written by Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls while they were both working at Birmingham University, England. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... The Maud Committee was the beginning of the British atomic bomb project, before the United Kingdom joined forces with the United States in the Manhattan Project. ... The Manhattan Project resulted in the development of the first nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ...

Peierls joined the Manhattan Project in 1943, when the British Mission was sent over to the United States. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...

After the war, Peierls reassumed his position in the physics department at Birmingham University where he worked until 1963 before joining the University of Oxford. He was knighted in 1968. He retired from Oxford in 1974. He wrote several books including The Laws of Nature (1955), Surprises in Theoretical Physics (1979), More Surprises in Theoretical Physics (1991) and an autobiography, Bird of Passage (1985). The University of Birmingham is the oldest of three universities in the English city of Birmingham. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ...

He was awarded the Lorentz Medal in 1962. In 1980 he received the Enrico Fermi Award from the US Government for exceptional contribution to the science of atomic energy [1]. Lorentz Medal is an award given every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Enrico Fermi Award is a U.S. government Presidential award honoring scientists of international stature for their lifetime achievement in the development, use, or production of energy. ...

On 2 October 2004, the building housing the sub-department of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University was formally named the Sir Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics. October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions, as opposed to experimental physics, in an attempt to understand Nature. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

External links

• Selected Scientific Papers of Sir Rudolf Peierls, edited by R H Dalitz & Sir Rudolf Peierls, World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics, Volume 19, 1997.
• Pictures in the National Portrait Gallery, London.