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BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Vernadsky Vladimir Ivanovich Biography of a scientist
Directory / Biographies of great scientists
Vernadsky was one of those scientists whose specialty cannot be precisely determined. Although he was a biologist by education, his main contribution to science concerns mineralogy, crystallography, as well as two new areas - geochemistry and biogeochemistry. Perhaps this breadth of scientific research was due to the fact that he received an excellent home and university education. Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was born in St. Petersburg on February 28 (March 12), 1863, in the family of a professor of economics and history, I. V. Vernadsky. The house of his father, a professor of economics and history at St. Petersburg University, was one of those places where the luminaries of Russian science gathered. Five years later, the Vernadsky family moved to Kharkov. Having learned to read early, Vladimir spent many hours reading books, reading them indiscriminately, constantly rummaging through his father's library. Petersburg classical gymnasium, where Vernadsky studied from the third grade, was one of the best in Russia. Foreign languages, history, philosophy were well taught here. Subsequently, Vernadsky independently studied several European languages. Then Vernadsky entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. During his student years, Vernadsky was greatly influenced by the teacher of mineralogy V.V. Dokuchaev. Dokuchaev and invited his student to study mineralogy and crystallography. A few years later, Vladimir's first works about mud volcanoes and oil appeared, and then philosophical articles. In 1885, Vladimir graduated from the university and was left in it to conduct scientific work. Then he married Natalia Egorovna Staritskaya. In 1887, their son George was born, who later became a professor of Russian history at Yale University in the United States. Vladimir Ivanovich leaves for two years on a business trip abroad (Italy, Germany, France, England, Switzerland). He works in chemical and crystallographic laboratories, makes geological expeditions, gets acquainted with the latest scientific and philosophical literature. Returning to Russia, Vernadsky became assistant professor of mineralogy at Moscow University. Having successfully defended his master's thesis, he begins lecturing. In 1897, the turn came to defend his doctoral dissertation ("Phenomena of sliding of crystalline matter"). Soon he was invited to Moscow University to head the Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography. Here, for many years, Vladimir Ivanovich gave lectures and conducted many scientific studies that glorified him. In the same 1898, a daughter, Nina, was born, who later became a psychiatrist. Remaining a professional scientist, teacher, thinker, Vernadsky never shied away from, as we now say, social work, he took to heart all the hardships and difficulties that befell his native country. In the famine years, he spent a lot of time, effort and money on organizing assistance to the starving. In 1906, Vernadsky was elected a member of the State Council from Moscow University. Two years later, he becomes an extraordinary academic. From 1906 to 1918, separate parts of his fundamental work "Experience in Descriptive Mineralogy" were published. From that time on, his creativity flourished. At that time, this science set itself very limited goals. Mineralogists believed that their task should be reduced mainly to a comprehensive description of minerals and their systematization. There was little interest in the conditions for the formation of minerals at that time. Vernadsky approached mineralogy from a completely new point of view: he put forward the idea of the evolution of all minerals and thereby set new tasks for mineralogy, much broader and deeper than the previous ones. The main goal of mineralogy, according to Vernadsky, is the study of the history of minerals in the earth's crust. Mineralogists cannot limit themselves to studying only the chemical composition and physical properties of minerals, but must pay special attention to the conditions for the formation of minerals and their further "life" in various parts of the earth's crust, to those changes that occur during metamorphism and weathering. He established the ways of transformation of some minerals into others and pointed out the enormous role of these processes, in particular in the formation of mineral deposits. Mineralogy, according to Vernadsky, is the chemistry of the earth's crust and the history of its constituent minerals. Life has fully confirmed the correctness of the path he outlined for the development of this important science. Vladimir Ivanovich contributed a lot to the study of various groups of minerals. Especially valuable are his studies of carbon compounds (the basis of all life on Earth) and silicates - a group of minerals that make up the main mass of the earth's crust. On the basis of the ideas developed by him, Vladimir Ivanovich systematized the data on most minerals and gave them a new classification. One of the first university professors, Vernadsky began working at the Higher Women's Courses that opened in Moscow. However, in 1911, his activities within the walls of the university were interrupted: together with the largest scientists of that time, the professor of mineralogy left Moscow University, protesting against the police regime that the Minister of Education Kasso tried to introduce in Russian educational institutions. He moves to Petersburg. Here Vernadsky became director of the Geological and Mineralogical Museum of the Academy of Sciences. On the initiative and under the chairmanship of Vladimir Ivanovich, in 1915 a Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia was created at the Academy of Sciences (KEPS). This unique scientific organization brought together many prominent Russian scientists. The commission carried out a huge research work, published monographs and reference books, and organized a number of complex expeditions. Numerous scientific institutes subsequently separated from it: Soil, Geographic, Radium, Ceramic, Optical, etc. Vladimir Ivanovich, elected in 1916 as chairman of the scientific council under the Ministry of Agriculture, continued his scientific research, publishing articles on mineralogy, geochemistry, minerals, the history of natural science, the organization of science, and meteoritics. In 1917, Vernadsky's health deteriorated. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In the summer he left for Ukraine. The turbulent events of the civil war found him in Kyiv. Here he actively participates in the creation of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and is elected its president. It was the first national academy of sciences in our country. Organizing it was a very difficult task: it is always difficult for the first to hold such a complex event, and even in such an unusually difficult time. The creation of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was a vivid manifestation of Vernadsky's organizational talent. Later, Vernadsky was the initiator of the creation of a number of academic institutions in our country. Since the time of Lomonosov, no one has done so much for the organization of domestic science. But the main thing for Vernadsky remained scientific and theoretical work. During his stay in Kyiv, Poltava, Staroselye (at the biological station), Kharkov, then in Rostov, Novorossiysk, Yalta, Simferopol, he developed the foundations of the doctrine of the geochemical activity of living matter. He was offered to emigrate to England, but he remained at home. At the end of 1921, Vernadsky founded the Radium Institute in Moscow and was appointed its director. Vernadsky paid special attention to the study of the phenomena of radioactivity. The scientist showed the great importance of this phenomenon for geological processes. In connection with the discovery of the phenomenon of radioactivity, he wrote back in 1910: "No state and society can be indifferent to how, in what way, by whom and when the sources of radiant energy in its possession will be used and studied." Later, in 1922, Vernadsky said with amazing insight: “We are approaching a great upheaval in the life of mankind, which cannot be compared with everything that they have experienced before. The time is not far off when a person will receive atomic energy in his hands, such a source of power, which will give him the opportunity to build his life as he wants ... Will a person be able to use this power, direct it to good, and not to self-destruction? Scientists should not turn a blind eye to the possible consequences of their scientific work, the scientific process. They should feel responsible for consequences of their discoveries. They must link their work to the best organization of all mankind." Vladimir Ivanovich resolutely rejected the position accepted by many scientists about the residual internal heat of the planet, that is, that the Earth was previously a hot ball, and explained the internal heat of the Earth by radioactive decay. Vernadsky developed the foundations of a new science - geochemistry, which immediately became important both in purely scientific and practical terms. Geochemistry, unlike mineralogy, is the science of the history of atoms in the earth's crust and in the universe. Geochemistry studies the laws of distribution and distribution of atoms of chemical elements in the Earth and the conditions for the formation of their accumulations, i.e., deposits. Vernadsky comprehensively analyzed the entire periodic table of elements from the point of view of a geochemist. He divided all the chemical elements according to their share in the earth's crust into groups and established the percentage of many elements in the earth's crust. One of the most important branches of geochemistry in practical terms is the doctrine of the paragenesis of elements, the regularities of the relationships of elements in minerals. Vernadsky scientifically substantiated the reasons for the joint occurrence of elements in certain places of the earth's crust, pointed out a pattern in the distribution of areas with a high content of one or another element and their connection with the geological structure of the region. Knowledge of such a geochemical "contamination" with various elements made it possible to draw up geochemical maps that made it easier for geologists to search for minerals, especially ores: after all, each mineral, each ore is confined to certain rocks. The scientist is invited to give a course of lectures at the Sorbonne University (Paris). 1923-1926 he spends abroad, mainly in France, doing a lot of research and teaching. His lectures on geochemistry (in French), articles on mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, biogeochemistry, marine chemistry, the evolution of life, as well as geochemical activities and the future of mankind are published. Vladimir Ivanovich constantly read a lot. Over the years, this allowed him to accumulate vast knowledge in various sciences. The work capacity of the scientist was amazing. He worked until late old age for ten to twelve hours a day and even more, while combining a constant and keen interest in research and at the same time a strict organization of work. Here is what Vernadsky himself said about his way of life: “I have a very good reference library left… I know (for reading) all Slavic, Romance and Germanic languages… I never worked out at night, but in my youth I did it until 1-2 o'clock in the morning. I always got up early. I never sleep during the day and never lie down during the day to rest unless I am sick. I do not smoke and have never smoked, although my family - my father, mother and sisters - all smoked. I do not drink (except - rarely - wine). I drank vodka once in my life. After my long stay in France, I accepted the timing of the scientists there. I get up early in the morning (6-7 hours), go to bed at 10-10 ½ hours. I love fiction and follow it closely. I love art, painting, sculpture. I love music very much, I experience it very much ... I think the best form of recreation is walking, first in a boat, traveling abroad ... " So, returning to his homeland in 1926, he publishes his famous monograph "Biosphere". Now it may seem strange, but until that time very little was written about the biosphere, and then only in special editions. There was no doctrine of the biosphere. Vernadsky became its founder. He singled out the biosphere as a special shell - the totality of organisms, living matter. The biosphere is located on the lithosphere, in the hydrosphere and penetrates to a certain depth into the lithosphere and to a certain height into the atmosphere. Vladimir Ivanovich called the study of the biosphere "the most important thing in his life." He created a new science - biogeochemistry. Vernadsky posed the most interesting problem: what is the role of the organic world in the life of our planet? He found out the enormous importance of living matter in all geological processes on the surface of the planet and in the formation of the atmosphere, although by weight it makes up an insignificant part of the planet (about 0,1% of its weight). He established that the free oxygen of the atmosphere is a product of the vital activity of plants, that the energy of the sun's rays, converted by terrestrial plants, plays an important role in the geological and geochemical processes in the earth's crust; showed the importance of living organisms in the movement, concentration and dispersion of chemical elements. Many rocks are entirely created by living organisms. In the biosphere, the scientist highlighted the processes and their products associated with human life. Among the factors that change the earth's crust, man occupies a particularly important place. Man influences nature in such a way that "the face of the planet - the biosphere - chemically changes drastically consciously and mostly unconsciously." “In the XNUMXth century, as a result of the growth of human culture, the seas and parts of the ocean began to change more and more dramatically biologically and chemically ...” Vernadsky said. Years did not seem to dominate the middle-aged scientist. He was still full of creative fire. With youthful temperament, Vladimir Ivanovich takes on new and most difficult problems, puts forward new ideas, and works on new books and articles. From 1923 to 1936 separate volumes of his remarkable History of the Minerals of the Earth's Crust were published; in addition to articles on previous topics, he writes research on natural waters, the cycle of substances and gases of the Earth, cosmic dust, geothermy, the problem of time in modern science... After the publication of his work "The History of Natural Waters", hydrogeology could no longer be limited to studying only the conditions for the occurrence of groundwater, but also began to study their origin, composition, etc. It is difficult to find a second such scientist who could continue to develop so deeply numerous scientific problems related to various sciences for so many years. But the main theme for him is the biosphere (area of life) and the geochemical activity of living matter. To expand scientific work in this area, he organized a biogeochemical laboratory in 1928. In 1937, Vladimir Ivanovich spoke for the last time at an international geological congress with a report: "On the significance of radioactivity for modern geology" and sought the creation of an international commission to determine geological time. On the basis of studies of the decay of radioactive elements, Vernadsky made a remarkable conclusion about the possibility and necessity of introducing absolute chronology into geology. Prior to this, only the relative age of rocks could be determined. And radioactive processes, however, with little accuracy, make it possible to determine in years (more precisely, in millennia) how many years ago the radioactive rock layers that enclosed them were formed. Since the rate of decay of radioactive elements is constant all the time, and as a result of this process unchanged atoms of certain elements are formed, the age of individual parts of the Earth and the entire planet can be determined by the amount of these substances. The scientist continues to worry about particular problems of the Earth sciences (first of all, geochemistry, mineralogy), the doctrine of the biosphere, general scientific problems of time and symmetry. He experienced the outbreak of the Second World War and then the attack of fascist Germany on our country very much. He had no doubts about the victory over fascism, believing in it as a historical inevitability. In 1943, in the evacuation in Borovoye (Kazakh SSR), his wife, friend and assistant Natalya Yegorovna, with whom he lived for fifty-six years, dies. At the end of 1944, Vladimir Ivanovich, who returned to Moscow, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and on January 6, 1945, at the eighty-second year of his life, he died. Author: Samin D.K.
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