VAVILOV Sergey

Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov was born in Moscow on March 24, 1891. Father Sergei Ivanovich was a merchant, a draper. In their family were four children: Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov and Sergei, who later became academicians, the daughter of Lydia - she died very young - and younger son Alexander, who became a doctor.

In 1909 Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov graduated from the Moscow Commercial College.

Then he entered Moscow University. For the second year of Sergei Ivanovich began to research.

The first scientific work of Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov "Photometry of colored sources" appeared in the Journal of Physical and Chemical Society in 1913.

A year later came another job Vivilova "On the kinetics of thermal fading of colors".

In 1914, the First World War. Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov was on the front, where he stayed until February 1918. He served in the engineering units: a battalion of engineers, military detachment Road, radiodivizione. In 1918 Dvinsk Vavilov was captured by the Germans, but after two days running.

Even on the front of Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov engaged in scientific work, after finishing the experimental and theoretical work on the oscillation frequency of the loaded antenna.

After returning to Moscow, Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov engaged in optics.

In the twenties, from the pen of Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov wrote the first popular science book: "The action of light," "Sunlight and the life of the Earth, the Sun and the eye. In addition, Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov, translated into Russian the "Optics" Newton.

Since 1922, he studied the phenomenon of luminescence. Subsequently, these studies led to the development of fluorescent lamps are widely used until now.

Many of the Vavilov in the twenties were devoted to the fluorescence and phosphorescence. To study the afterglow of Sergei Ivanovich designed and had built fosforoskop with a rotating mirror.

With this device Vavilov discovered the fundamental difference between the fluorescence from phosphorescence, while previously it was believed that these processes are continuously into one another.

In 1933 opened a new kind of light, later called "Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation". Postgraduate Vavilov P. A. Cherenkov, according to his instructions Sergei Ivanovich studied the luminescence of the solution of uranium salts under the action of gamma-rays of radium. In the experiment Cherenkov discovered that light is not only a solution, but also the solvent - water, when there is no uranium salts.

It turned out that under the influence of gamma-ray glow pure liquids. In the glow effect does not affect any change in temperature, or adding to the solution of potassium iodide or nitrate of silver, causing luminescence quenching of the usual.

Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov hypothesized that the glow is caused not by the gamma-rays and electrons knocked out of atoms. This was confirmed by the fact that the luminescence depended on the direction of the magnetic field in the liquid.

The cause of the phenomenon of emission of light moving in the fluid electrons could explain a theoretical physicist and. Tamm and I. Frank, Vavilov invited to participate in research. They showed that the radiation caused by electrons moving in a fluid with velocities exceeding the speed of light in this environment.

For this discovery Vavilov, Cherenkov, Tamm, and Frank received the Stalin Prize I degree.
In 1958, when Sergei was already dead, Tamm, Frank, and P. Cherenkov won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
With the Cerenkov effect became possible to measure the speed, energy and charge of fast particles.
In 1931 Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov was elected a corresponding member of Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
In 1932, Vavilov became a full member of the USSR.
In 1934 Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov founded the book series "Classics of Science" and then "Biographies," "Memoirs".
In 1934, Vavilov wrote a paper "The Dialectics of light phenomena".
In 1939, Vavilov published work "New physics and dialectical materialism".
In 1941, Vavilov wrote a "developed the idea of substance".

During World War II, Physics Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences (FIAN), was evacuated to Kazan. Its director, at that time, was Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov. Scientists involved in optical sights for artillery fire and bombing, periscope and other military equipment.
In 1945 Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov was elected president of the Academy of Sciences.

By the time the brother Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov, Nikolay Ivanovich Vavilov had died in Saratov prison from hunger and disease. But Sergei did not know about, he hoped that Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov alive.

During his life, Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov has written over 150 scientific and popular works.

Under the leadership of Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov was a society "Knowledge", which became the press organ of the magazine "Science and Life". Its chief editor was Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov.

In 1949 the USSR Council of Ministers appointed Academician Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov, editor in chief of the second edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. He is a very serious attitude to this appointment. With the personal involvement of the Vavilov drafted vocabulary publication, but work on the encyclopedia itself academician could not be completed (he died when we went seven volumes).

Akademik Sergey Vavilov died suddenly on Jan. 25, 1951.