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Vladimir Fock

 

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Vladimir Fock



 
 
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (or Fok, ) (December 22 1898–December 27 1974) was a Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
 and quantum electrodynamics
Quantum electrodynamics

Quantum electrodynamics is a relativity theory quantum field theory of electrodynamics. QED was developed by a number of physicists, beginning in the late 1920s....
.

He was born in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and a federal subjects of Russia of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea....
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. In 1922 he graduated from Petrograd University
Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned university based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious universities in the country....
, then continued postgraduate studies there. He became a professor there in 1932. In 1919–1923 and 1928–1941 he collaborated with the State Institute of Optics, in 1924–1936 with the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1934–1941 and 1944–1953 with the Lebedev Physical Institute
Lebedev Physical Institute

The Lebedev Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, situated in Moscow, is one of the leading Russian research institutes specializing in physics....
.

His primary scientific contribution lies in the development of quantum physics, although he also contributed significantly to the fields of mechanics, theoretical optics, theory of gravitation, physics of continuous medium.






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Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (or Fok, ) (December 22 1898–December 27 1974) was a Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
 and quantum electrodynamics
Quantum electrodynamics

Quantum electrodynamics is a relativity theory quantum field theory of electrodynamics. QED was developed by a number of physicists, beginning in the late 1920s....
.

He was born in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and a federal subjects of Russia of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea....
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. In 1922 he graduated from Petrograd University
Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned university based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious universities in the country....
, then continued postgraduate studies there. He became a professor there in 1932. In 1919–1923 and 1928–1941 he collaborated with the State Institute of Optics, in 1924–1936 with the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1934–1941 and 1944–1953 with the Lebedev Physical Institute
Lebedev Physical Institute

The Lebedev Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, situated in Moscow, is one of the leading Russian research institutes specializing in physics....
.

His primary scientific contribution lies in the development of quantum physics, although he also contributed significantly to the fields of mechanics, theoretical optics, theory of gravitation, physics of continuous medium. In 1926 he derived the Klein-Gordon equation
Klein-Gordon equation

The Klein?Gordon equation is a special relativity version of the Schr?dinger equation.It is the equation of motion of a quantum field theory, a field whose quanta are spinless particles....
. He gave his name to Fock space
Fock space

The Fock space is an algebraic system used in quantum mechanics to describe quantum states with a variable or unknown number of Subatomic particle....
, the Fock representation and Fock state
Fock state

A Fock state, in quantum mechanics, is any state of the Fock space with a well-defined number of Elementary particles in each state. The name is for V....
, and developed the Hartree-Fock method
Hartree-Fock

In computational physics and computational chemistry, the Hartree-Fock method is an approximate method for the determination of the Stationary state wavefunction and Stationary state energy of a Many-body problem....
 in 1930. He made many subsequent scientific contributions, during the rest of his life. Fock developed the electromagnetic methods for geophysical exploration in a book The theory of the study of the rocks resistance by the carottage method (1933); the methods are called the well logging
Well logging

Well logging, also known as borehole logging is the practice of making a detailed record of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole....
 in modern literature. Fock made significant contributions to general relativity
General relativity

General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the Geometry Theoretical physics of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916....
 theory, specifically for the many body problems.

In Leningrad, Fock created a scientific school in theoretical physics and raised the physics education in the USSR through his books. He wrote the first textbook on quantum mechanics Foundations of quantum mechanics (1931) and a very influential monograph The theory of space, time and gravitation (1955).

Historians of science, such as Loren Graham, see Fock as a representative and proponent of Einstein's theory of relativity within the Soviet world. At a time when most Marxist philosophers objected to relativity theory, Fock emphasized a materialistic understanding of relativity that coincided philosophically with Marxism.

He was a full member (academician
Academician

The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries it is a honorary title."Academician" may also be a functional title and denote a full member of the National National Academy in those countries where the Academy has a strong influence on national scientific life, particularly...
) of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1939) and a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science

The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of Quantum mechanics to chemistry and chemical physics....
.

See also

  • Fock matrix
    Fock matrix

    In quantum mechanics, the Fock matrix is a matrix approximating the single-electron energy operator of a given Quantum mechanics system in a given set of basis set vectors....