Nicholas Kemmer
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Kemmer FRS, was a Russian
born British
nuclear
physicist
who played an integral and an edge leading role in United Kingdom's nuclear programme, and was known as a mentor
of Abdus Salam
– a Nobel laureate in Physics.
, his family moved to Germany in 1922, where he was educated at Bismarckschule Hanover
and then at the University of Göttingen. He did his doctorate in nuclear physics at the University of Zurich
and worked as assistant to Wolfgang Pauli
, who had to give strong arguments in 1936 before being allowed to employ a non-Swiss national. Later on, Kemmer moved to the Beit Fellowship at Imperial College London
.
in 1940 to work on Tube Alloys
, the wartime atomic energy project. In 1940 when Egon Bretscher
and Norman Feather
showed that a slow neutron reactor fuelled with uranium would in theory produce substantial amounts of plutonium-239
as a by-product, Kemmer (who was lodging at the Bretschers') proposed the names Neptunium
for the new element 93 and Plutonium
for 94 by analogy with the outer planets Neptune and Pluto beyond Uranus (uranium being element 92). The Americans Edwin M. McMillan and Philip Abelson
at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, who had made the same discovery, fortuitously suggested the same names.
. At the University of Edinburgh
from 1953 to 1979 he was Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics
, creating the Tait Institute of Mathematical Physics in 1955. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
in 1956 and won its Hughes Medal
in 1966. Nicholas Kemmer was also a mentor and a teacher
of the only Pakistani Nobel laureate, Dr. Abdus Salam. Kemmer is credited to trained and work with Salam in Neutron scattering
by using relativity equations. Salam later passed his research work to Pakistani physics students who went on to contribute in this field.
of particles, together with the Yang-Mills field. The Duffin–Kemmer–Pitau equation is closely linked to the Proca equantions
and the Klein–Gordon equation. The DKP equation suffers the same drawback as the Klein–Gordon equation in that it calls for negative probabilities
. The equation involves matrices which obey the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau algebra
. The work leading to the DKP equation, culminating in Kemmer's article, has been quoted as “the first attempt at writing down a satisfactory relativistic theory of elementary particles beyond the electron”, and these equations have later been brought in unified form with the Dirac equation
by Homi J. Bhabha
.
Russians in the United Kingdom
-Settlement and population numbers:The 2001 UK Census recorded 15,160 Russian-born residents. Estimates published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that the resident Russian-born population of the UK was 32,000 in 2009....
born British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
nuclear
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who played an integral and an edge leading role in United Kingdom's nuclear programme, and was known as a mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
of Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
– a Nobel laureate in Physics.
Early Life
Born in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, his family moved to Germany in 1922, where he was educated at Bismarckschule Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and then at the University of Göttingen. He did his doctorate in nuclear physics at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
and worked as assistant to Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Ernst Pauli was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after being nominated by Albert Einstein, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature, the exclusion principle or...
, who had to give strong arguments in 1936 before being allowed to employ a non-Swiss national. Later on, Kemmer moved to the Beit Fellowship at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
.
British Nuclear development
He moved to Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1940 to work on Tube Alloys
Tube Alloys
Tube Alloys was the code-name for the British nuclear weapon directorate during World War II, when the development of nuclear weapons was kept at such a high level of secrecy that it had to be referred to by code even in the highest circles of government...
, the wartime atomic energy project. In 1940 when Egon Bretscher
Egon Bretscher
Egon Bretscher was a Swiss physicist.Born near Zurich, Switzerland and educated at the ETH there, Bretscher gained a PhD degree in organic chemistry at Edinburgh in 1926. He returned to Zurich as privat docent to Peter Debye, later moving in 1936 to work in Rutherford’s laboratory at the Cavendish...
and Norman Feather
Norman Feather
Norman Feather FRS FRSE PRSE , was an English physicist.He was Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh from 1945 to 1975, then Emeritus Professor...
showed that a slow neutron reactor fuelled with uranium would in theory produce substantial amounts of plutonium-239
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
as a by-product, Kemmer (who was lodging at the Bretschers') proposed the names Neptunium
Neptunium
Neptunium is a chemical element with the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element and belongs to the actinide series. Its most stable isotope, 237Np, is a by-product of nuclear reactors and plutonium production and it can be used as a...
for the new element 93 and Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
for 94 by analogy with the outer planets Neptune and Pluto beyond Uranus (uranium being element 92). The Americans Edwin M. McMillan and Philip Abelson
Philip Abelson
Philip Hauge Abelson was an American physicist, a scientific editor, and a science writer.-Life:Abelson was born in 1913 in Tacoma, Washington. He attended Washington State University where he received degrees in chemistry and physics, and the University of California, Berkeley , where he earned...
at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, who had made the same discovery, fortuitously suggested the same names.
Professorship
He spent 1944–1946 in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. At the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
from 1953 to 1979 he was Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
, creating the Tait Institute of Mathematical Physics in 1955. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1956 and won its Hughes Medal
Hughes Medal
The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded with a gift of £1000. The medal was first awarded in 1902 to...
in 1966. Nicholas Kemmer was also a mentor and a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
of the only Pakistani Nobel laureate, Dr. Abdus Salam. Kemmer is credited to trained and work with Salam in Neutron scattering
Neutron scattering
Neutron scattering,the scattering of free neutrons by matter,is a physical processand an experimental technique using this processfor the investigation of materials.Neutron scattering as a physical process is of primordial importance...
by using relativity equations. Salam later passed his research work to Pakistani physics students who went on to contribute in this field.
Duffin–Kemmer–Pitau equation
The Duffin–Kemmer–Pitau equation (DKP equation, also called Duffin–Kemmer equation or Kemmer equation) plays a role in the description of the standard modelStandard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is a theory concerning the electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear interactions, which mediate the dynamics of the known subatomic particles. Developed throughout the mid to late 20th century, the current formulation was finalized in the mid 1970s upon...
of particles, together with the Yang-Mills field. The Duffin–Kemmer–Pitau equation is closely linked to the Proca equantions
Proca action
In physics, in the area of field theory, the Proca action describes a massive spin-1 field of mass m in Minkowski spacetime. The field involved is a real vector field A...
and the Klein–Gordon equation. The DKP equation suffers the same drawback as the Klein–Gordon equation in that it calls for negative probabilities
Negative probability
In 1942, Paul Dirac wrote a paper "The Physical Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics" where he introduced the concept of negative energies and negative probabilities:...
. The equation involves matrices which obey the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau algebra
Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau algebra
In mathematical physics, the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau algebra , introduced by R.J. Duffin, Nicholas Kemmer and G. Petiau, is the algebra which is generated by the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau matrices...
. The work leading to the DKP equation, culminating in Kemmer's article, has been quoted as “the first attempt at writing down a satisfactory relativistic theory of elementary particles beyond the electron”, and these equations have later been brought in unified form with the Dirac equation
Dirac equation
The Dirac equation is a relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation formulated by British physicist Paul Dirac in 1928. It provided a description of elementary spin-½ particles, such as electrons, consistent with both the principles of quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity, and...
by Homi J. Bhabha
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS was an Indian nuclear physicist and the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy program...
.
External links
- http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FKEMM