BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Lenz Emil Khristianovich. Biography of a scientist Directory / Biographies of great scientists
Fundamental discoveries in the field of electrodynamics are associated with the name of Lenz. Along with this, the scientist is rightfully considered one of the founders of Russian geography. Emil Khristianovich (Heinrich Friedrich Emil) Lenz was born on February 12 (24), 1804 in Dorpat (now Tartu). In 1820 he graduated from the gymnasium and entered the Dorpat University. Lenz began his independent scientific activity as a physicist in a round-the-world expedition on the sloop "Enterprise" (1823-1826), in which he was included on the recommendation of university professors. In a very short time, together with the rector E.I. Parrot, he created unique instruments for deep-sea oceanographic observations - a winch-depth gauge and a bathometer. On the voyage, Lenz made oceanographic, meteorological, and geophysical observations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. In 1827, he processed the received data and analyzed them. In February 1828, Lenz submitted to the Academy of Sciences a report entitled "Physical Observations Made During the Round-the-World Journey Under the Command of Captain Otto von Kotzebue in 1823, 1824, 1825 and 1826". For this work, which received a very high appraisal, in May 1828 Lenz was elected an adjunct of the academy in physics. In 1829-1830, Lenz was engaged in geophysical research in the southern regions of Russia. In July 1829, he participated in the first ascent of Elbrus and determined the height of this mountain by barometric method. In the same way, he established that the level of the Caspian Sea is 30,5 m lower than the Black Sea. In September 1829, Lenz carried out gravitational and magnetic observations at the Nikolaev Observatory according to the program compiled by A. Humboldt, and a little later - in Dagestan. He collected samples of oil and combustible gases in the vicinity of Baku, and also installed a trough in this city to monitor the level of the Caspian Sea. In May 1830, Lenz returned to St. Petersburg and began processing the collected materials. The most important scientific results of the expedition were published by him in 1832 and 1836. In March 1830, even before returning to St. Petersburg, he was elected an extraordinary academician. A remarkable feature of Lenz as a scientist was a deep understanding of physical processes and the ability to discover their patterns. From 1831 to 1836 he studied electromagnetism. In the early thirties of the 19th century, Ampere and Faraday created several essentially mnemonic rules for determining the direction of the induced current (induction current). But the main result was achieved by Lenz, who discovered the law that determined the direction of the induced current. It is now known as the Lenz rule. Lenz's rule revealed the main regularity of the phenomenon: the induced current always has such a direction that its magnetic field counteracts the processes that cause induction. On November 29, 1833, this discovery was reported to the Academy of Sciences. In 1834, Lenz was elected an ordinary academician in physics. In 1836, Lenz was invited to St. Petersburg University and headed the department of physics and physical geography. In 1840 he was elected dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, and in 1863 he was elected rector of the university. From the mid-thirties, along with research in the field of physics and physical geography, Lenz conducted a great deal of pedagogical work: for many years he headed the department of physics at the Main Pedagogical Institute, taught at the Naval Corps, at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School. In 1839, he compiled a "Guide to Physics" for Russian gymnasiums, which went through eleven editions. Lenz significantly improved the teaching of physical disciplines at the university and other educational institutions. Among his students were D. I. Mendeleev, K. A. Timiryazev, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, F. F. Petrushevsky, A. S. Saveliev, M. I. Malyzin, D. A. Lachinov , M. P. Avenarius, F. N. Shvedov, N. P. Sluginov. In 1842, independently of James Joule, Lenz discovered the law according to which the amount of heat released during the passage of an electric current is directly proportional to the square of the current, the resistance of the conductor and time. It was one of the important prerequisites for establishing the law of conservation and transformation of energy. Together with Boris Semenovich, Jacobi Lenz was the first to develop methods for calculating electromagnets in electrical machines, and established the existence of an "armature reaction" in the latter. Discovered the reversibility of electrical machines. In addition, he studied the dependence of the resistance of metals on temperature. Lenz also achieved great achievements in research in the field of physical geography, the main task of which, in his opinion, "is to determine: according to what physical laws the phenomena we observe occur and occurred." In 1845, on the initiative of a number of prominent geographers, including admirals F.P. Litke, I.F. Kruzenshtern. F. P. Wrangel, academicians K. M. Baer, P. I. Koeppen, the Russian Geographical Society was created. On October 7, at the first general meeting of full members of the Academy of Sciences, its Council was elected, consisting of seven people, which included Lenz. Until the end of his life, Emilius Khristianovich did a lot of versatile work in the Geographical Society. In 1851, Lenz's fundamental work "Physical Geography" was published, which was later repeatedly reprinted in Russia and abroad. Lenz considered the structure of the earth's crust, the origin and movement of the rocks that form it, and showed that it is constantly changing and that this process affects the relief of the continents. He noted three major factors that cause continuous change in the surface of the land: "volcanic forces, the influence of waters with the assistance of the atmosphere, and, finally, organic beings." Lenz convincingly showed that in order to establish the laws that govern atmospheric processes, long-term meteorological observations in various regions, carried out by precise instruments according to a single method, are necessary. He discovered important regularities in the daily and annual variations in air temperature and pressure, wind activity, water evaporation, water vapor condensation and cloud formation, electrical and optical phenomena in the atmosphere: he explained the origin of the blue color of the sky, rainbows, circles around the Sun and Moon, and a number of rare atmospheric phenomena. phenomena. The Russian scientist established the cause of a slight increase in water temperature with depth in the zone south of 51 degrees south latitude and noted that a similar inversion of this characteristic should also take place in the Arctic Ocean. Thus, he anticipated the outstanding discovery of F. Nansen, who discovered warm Atlantic waters in the deep layers of the Arctic basin during an expedition in 1893-1896. Lenz found that the salinity of water changes little with depth, while in the upper layer it decreases with latitude. However, the highest salinity is observed not in the equatorial zone, but in areas near the tropics, due to strong evaporation in these areas. The density of water increases with latitude and with depth. The main reason for this change is the decrease in water temperature in these directions. Lenz came to the conclusion that due to the increase in the density of water with latitude in the World Ocean, along with the currents caused by the wind and the slope of the level, there must be a general and no less strong movement of surface water from the tropical zone to the high latitudes and the movement of deep water from these areas in the tropics. This circulation, the existence of which has been confirmed by all subsequent observations, is one of the most important causes of water exchange between low and high latitudes. It, in particular, determines the flow of cold waters from the South, as well as from the Arctic oceans into the deep layers of temperate and low latitudes. Lenz gave valuable guidelines for determining current velocities using a navigation method, and was the first to suggest that the orbits of particles in wind baths are ellipses. Of great importance for the development of Earth science is Lenz's position, according to which the main cause of the processes occurring in the atmosphere is solar radiation. The research begun by Lenz was later continued by A. I. Voeikov, M. Milankovich and other scientists. They occupy one of the central places in modern climatology. Lenz concluded that the largest part of solar radiation is absorbed by the oceans. This energy is spent mainly on the evaporation of water, causing its circulation in the epiogeosphere. Therefore, the oceans, huge reservoirs of heat and moisture, play a gigantic role in shaping the Earth's climate. Lenz showed the importance of studying processes in the World Ocean in relation to processes in other parts of the epigeosphere. Along with the American scientist M.F. Mori, he was the founder of the theory of the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere. Lenz's book played a very important role in the development of the earth sciences, in the establishment of a materialistic view of nature. Immediately after the release, she was highly appreciated in the magazines Sovremennik and Otechestvennye Zapiski. Prominent geographers S. O. Makarov, M. A. Rykachev, Yu. M. Shokalsky, L. S. Berg and others have repeatedly noted the accuracy of oceanographic observations, the reliability and great significance of the scientific results obtained by Lenz. "Lenz's observations are not only the first in chronological terms, but also the first in quality, and I put them above my own observations and above those of the Challenger," wrote Admiral Makarov. "Thus, the works of Kotzebue and Lenz," noted Yu. E. H. Lenz died on January 29 (February 10), 1865 in Rome. Author: Samin D.K. 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