Ivar Giaever (Giaever), Aivar

genus. April 5, 1929
Norwegian-American physicist Aivar Ivar Giaever was born in Bergen and was the second child of three children of the pharmacist John A. Ivar Giaever and nee Gudrun M. Skarud. He attended elementary school in Totene and in the middle in Hamar. After graduating from high school in 1946. D. the year he worked in a munitions factory Raufoss, and in 1948. entered the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, who graduated in 1952. with a degree in Engineering.
In the same year, Dr.. was drafted into the army, where he served in the rank of corporal during the year. Having been discharged, he worked as an expert in the Norwegian Patent Office. In 1954, Mr.. of housing in Norway led the D. go to Canada, where he spent a short time worked as an assistant architect, and then as a mechanical engineer took part in the implementation of fundamental engineering programs of the company 'General Electric'. In 1956, Mr.. D. joined the Research Center of the company 'General Electric' in Schenectady (NY), where he focused on solving problems in applied mathematics. It was in Schenectady at the D. awakened interest in physics, and in 1956. He was admitted to the group, engaged in research on solid state physics. Then, on the job, he enrolled in graduate school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
In the 'General Electric' D. The electrical behavior of transitions consisting of metal contacts, separated by a very thin insulating layers. This work is commercial interest, since in most electrical metal contacts the surface are separated by thin insulating layers of oxides and impurities. From the standpoint of classical physics would be expected, . that in those cases, . when the voltage between two contacts is not too large for, . that the electrons can overcome the electric barrier, . created insulator, . leakage current in the circuit will not, . since no electrons with energy, . sufficient to penetrate through the insulator,
. Quantum mechanics describes the behavior of systems in the atomic or subatomic scale, suggests that if the insulating film is thin enough, the electron can 'tunnel' through it and be on the other side of the barrier. Japanese physicist Leo Esaki diode invented (called a tunnel diode, . or Esaki diode), . in which the electrical transitions are so thin (the thickness of the transition is about one billionth of a meter), . that electrons can tunnel through them, . giving rise to unusual and useful electrical properties of the diode.,
. While continuing his research, Dr.
. within the postgraduate program met with the BCS theory of superconductivity, named in honor of John Bardeen, Leon H. Cooper and J. Robert Schrieffer. In a state of superconductivity observed in some metals and metallic compounds, materials, if they are cooled below the critical temperature close to zero, completely lose their resistance, and electrical current can flow through them without losing. The critical temperature of the material depends on its chemical composition and structure. Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer in 1957 found that the superconductivity in a material is determined by the interaction of pairs of electrons conducted through the exchange of atomic vibrations (phonons). This hypothesis led to the creation of the BCS - the basic theory of superconductivity. According to her, the interaction of electrons with atomic vibrations in the material generates a so-called negative energy of the electrons in a superconductor, ie. electrons in superconductors are not allowed to have such power.
D. decided to experimentally determine whether the presence of illicit affects energy in superconductors on the electrical properties of the transition from the insulator between the normal metal and sverhprovodnikomN He found, . negative energy that is easily observable and can be measured using methods developed by him,
. This was convincing proof of the BCS theory. Further investigation of sputtered aluminum films, . separated by only a layer of aluminum oxide, . showed, . that the electrical properties of these transitions give a huge amount of information about the characteristics of atomic vibrations and behavior of superconductors,
. Thus, they provide information that can hardly be obtained in some other way. A method of tunneling. quickly became one of the most basic ways to monitor and determine the properties of superconductors.
In 1962. Brian D. Josephson summarized ideas D. concerning the case of transition from the insulator between two superconductors. Josephson suggested that the two superconducting currents can flow even in the absence of tension between them, and the voltage applied to the transition, will cause high-frequency alternating current (Josephson effect). Theory of the Josephson helped to create an extremely sensitive detectors of changing magnetic field and the voltage. Devices based on the use of Josephson effects, are used to create high-speed logic circuits with low power consumption in computers. In 1964, Mr.. D. received his doctorate and citizenship of the United States.
In 1973, Mr.. D. Leo Esaki was awarded half the Nobel Prize in Physics 'for the experimental discovery of tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors'. The other half was given to the Josephson. In a speech at the ceremony of the Nobel Prize Stig Lundquist from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three new laureates' opened new areas of physics research. These areas are closely interrelated, since the pioneering work of Esaki laid the foundation and served as the direct impetus for the opening of the DA and the work of Dr.. in turn have an incentive that led to the theoretical predictions of the Josephson ... Discovery of the winners were quickly perceived in electronics, . found application in the detection of gravitational waves, . geological exploration of ore deposits, . sending messages through the water and mountains, . study of the electromagnetic field around the heart and brain '.,
. In reply, Dr.
. said that 'the road to scientific discovery is rarely direct and does not necessarily require deep knowledge and skills. I am convinced that the neophyte often takes precedence over the connoisseur it is precisely because of their ignorance, because due to his ignorance does not even represent all the complex reasons why the pointless even trying to put this experiment '. However, the DA added, 'is very important to be able in time to receive advice and assistance from experts in different fields of knowledge. I was in the right place at the right time and ... found so many friends who selflessly helped me '.
Received the Guggenheim Fellowship, D. spent 1970. in. Cambridge University, where he majored in biophysics, and then returned to the company 'General Electric'. The theme of his subsequent studies were properties of cell membranes and the behavior of protein molecules on solid surfaces. Latest work D. in immunology has been implemented in the company of 'General Electric' and in the Albany Medical Center.
In 1952, Mr.. D. married Inger Skramstad, they have four children. A great lover of games and sports of outdoor activities, L. willingly plays tennis, loves walks, travel, skiing, sailing and windsurfing.
In 1965, Mr.. D. was awarded the American Physical Society in solid state physics Oliver E. Buckley. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Norwegian Academy of Science and the Biophysical Society and the American Physical Society.