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BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Lorenz Gendrik Anton. Biography of a scientist
Directory / Biographies of great scientists
Lorentz entered the history of physics as the creator of the electronic theory, in which he synthesized the ideas of field theory and atomism. Hendrik Anton Lorenz was born on July 18, 1853 in the Dutch city of Arnhem. He went to school for six years. In 1866, after graduating from school as the best student, Gendrik entered the third grade of a higher civilian school, roughly corresponding to a gymnasium. His favorite subjects were physics and mathematics, foreign languages. To study French and German, Lorenz went to churches and listened to sermons in these languages, although he did not believe in God since childhood. In 1870 he entered Leiden University. Hendrik listened with great interest to the lectures of university professors, although his fate as a scientist, apparently, was determined to a greater extent by reading Maxwell's works, which are very difficult to understand and which he called "intellectual jungle" in connection with this. But the key to them, according to Lorentz, was helped to pick up the articles of Helmholtz, Fresnel and Faraday. In 1871, Hendrik passed his master's examinations with honors, but left the University of Leiden in 1872 to study on his own for the doctoral examinations. He returns to Arnhem and starts working as a night school teacher. He really likes his work, and soon Lorenz becomes a good teacher. At home, he creates a small laboratory, continuing to intensively study the works of Maxwell and Fresnel. "My admiration and respect intertwined with love and affection; how great was the joy that I experienced when I was able to read Fresnel himself," Lorenz recalled. He becomes an ardent supporter of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory: "His "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" made on me, perhaps, one of the strongest impressions in my life; the interpretation of light as an electromagnetic phenomenon in its boldness surpassed everything that I still knew." In 1875, Lorenz brilliantly defended his doctoral dissertation and in 1878 became a professor at the Department of Theoretical Physics (one of the first in Europe) at the University of Leiden, specially established for him. In 1881 he became a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Amsterdam. Already in his doctoral dissertation "On the reflection and refraction of rays of light" Lorenz tries to justify the change in the speed of propagation of light in a medium by the influence of electrified body particles. Under the action of a light wave, the charges of molecules come into oscillatory motion and become sources of secondary electromagnetic waves. These waves, interfering with the primary ones, cause the refraction and reflection of light. The ideas that will lead to the creation of an electronic theory of the dispersion of light have already been outlined here. In the next article "On the relationship between the speed of propagation of light and the density and composition of a medium", published in 1878, Lorentz derives the famous relationship between the refractive index and the density of a medium, known as the "Lorentz-Lorentz formulas", since the Dane Ludwig Lorentz independently of Hendrik Lorenza came to the same result. In this work, Lorentz develops the electromagnetic theory of light dispersion, taking into account the fact that, in addition to the wave field, the molecular charge is affected by the field of polarized particles of the medium. In 1892, Lorentz made a great work "Maxwell's Electromagnetic Theory and Its Application to Moving Bodies". In this work, the main contours of the electronic theory are outlined. The world consists of matter and ether, and Lorentz calls matter "everything that can take part in electric currents, electric displacements and electromagnetic movements." "All weighty bodies are composed of many positively and negatively charged particles, and electrical phenomena are generated by the displacement of these particles." Lorentz then writes out an expression for the force with which the electric field acts on a moving charge. Lorentz makes a fundamental assumption - the ether does not take part in the motion of matter (the hypothesis of a fixed ether). This assumption is directly opposite to Hertz's hypothesis about the ether being completely entrained by moving bodies. In the note of 1892, "The Relative Motion of the Earth and Aether," the scientist describes the only way, in his opinion, to reconcile the result of the experiment with Fresnel's theory, that is, with the theory of a fixed ether. This method consists in the assumption of a reduction in the size of bodies in the direction of their movement (reduction of the Lorentz-Fitzgerald). In 1895 Lorentz's fundamental work "Experience in the Theory of Electrical and Optical Phenomena in Moving Bodies" was published. In this work, Lorentz gives a systematic exposition of his electron theory. True, the word "electron" does not yet occur in it, although an elementary amount of electricity has already been called by this name. The scientist simply speaks of positively or negatively charged particles of matter - ions, and accordingly calls his theory "ionic theory". “I accept,” writes Lorentz, that in all bodies there are small electrically charged material particles and that all electrical processes are based on the configuration and movement of these “ions”.” Lorentz points out that such a representation is generally accepted for phenomena in electrolytes and that recent studies of electrical discharges show that "in the electrical conductivity of gases we are dealing with convection of ions." Another assumption of Lorentz is that the ether does not take part in the movement of these particles and, consequently, of material bodies, it is motionless. Lorentz raises this hypothesis to Fresnel. Lorentz emphasizes, however, that we are not talking about the absolute rest of the ether, he considers such an expression meaningless, but that the parts of the ether are at rest relative to each other and that all real motions of celestial bodies are motions relative to the ether. Lorentz began to develop the ideas set forth in his "Experience in the Theory of Electrical and Optical Phenomena in Moving Bodies", improving and deepening his theory. In 1899, he published an article "A simplified theory of electrical and optical phenomena in moving bodies", in which he simplified the theory given by him in "Experiment". In 1900, at the International Congress of Physicists in Paris, Lorentz made a presentation on magneto-optical phenomena. Boltzmann, Wien, Poincare, Roentgen, Planck and other famous physicists became his friends. In 1902, Lorentz and his student Peter Zeeman became Nobel laureates. In his speech at the Nobel Prize, Lorentz said: "... we hope that the electron hypothesis, since it is accepted in various branches of physics, leads to a general theory that will cover many areas of physics and chemistry. It is possible that on this long path, she herself completely rebuild." In 1904, he published the seminal paper "Electromagnetic Phenomena in a System Moving at a Speed Less than the Speed of Light". Lorentz derived formulas relating spatial coordinates and moments of time in two different inertial frames of reference (Lorentz transformations). The scientist managed to obtain a formula for the dependence of the mass of an electron on speed. In 1912, reprinting this work, he acknowledged in a footnote that he had not been able to fully reconcile his theory with the principle of relativity. "This circumstance," wrote Lorentz, "is connected with the helplessness of some of the further reasoning in this work." In 1911, the First International Solvay Congress of Physicists took place in Brussels, dedicated to the problem of "Radiation and quanta". Twenty-three physicists participated in its work, Lorentz presided. "We have a feeling that we are at an impasse, the old theories are becoming less and less able to penetrate the darkness that surrounds us on all sides," he said in his opening speech. He sets the task for physicists to create new mechanics. "We will be very happy if we can get even a little closer to the future mechanics in question." In 1912, Lorentz resigned to the post of extraordinary professor of the department and proposed as his successor the physicist Paul Ehrenfest, then living in Russia. In 1913, Lorenz took over as director of the physics cabinet at the Taylor Museum in Harlem. Lorenz was a member of many academies of sciences and learned societies. In 1925 he was elected a foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same year, the fiftieth anniversary of Lorentz's scientific work was solemnly celebrated in Holland. These were great celebrations, which, according to Academician P. Lazarev, turned into an international congress. The Dutch Academy of Sciences establishes the Lorentz Gold Medal. Participants of the celebrations make welcoming speeches. Lorentz's response speech was very interesting and, as always, extremely modest: "I am infinitely happy that I managed to make my modest contribution to the development of physics. Our time has passed, but we have passed the baton into reliable hands." Lorentz was recognized as the elder of physical science, the great classic of theoretical physics and its spiritual father. In 1927, the V Solvay Congress took place on the problem "Electrons, Photons and Quantum Mechanics". As at all previous ones, Lorentz was the chairman of the congress. And on February 4, 1928, Lorenz died. National mourning was declared in Holland. Scientists from different countries arrived at the funeral of the great physicist. Ehrenfest spoke for the Dutch Academy of Sciences, Rutherford for England, Langevin for France, and Einstein for Germany. "His brilliant mind showed us the way from Maxwell's theory to the achievements of modern physics. It was he who laid the cornerstones of this physics, created its methods. His image and works will serve for the benefit and enlightenment of many more generations," Einstein said over the ashes of Lorentz. Lorenz's style of "taking deeply and striving for completeness" will serve, according to Max Planck, as a model for future generations. "His works have not ceased to be excitingly interesting; he left behind a huge legacy - the true completion of classical physics," Louis de Broglie assessed the contribution of Lorentz. Such was and remains in the memory of descendants Gendrik Lorentz - this "great classic of theoretical physics". Author: Samin D.K.
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