Pyotr Kapitsa
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1978
Born: 9 July 1894, Kronshtadt, Russian Empire (now Russia)
Died: 8 April 1984, Moscow, USSR (now Russia)
Affiliation at the time of the award: Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR (now Russia)
Prize motivation: “for his basic inventions and discoveries in the area of low-temperature physics”
Prize share: 1/2
Work
When substances are cooled to very low temperatures, their properties change. In this regard, liquid helium is of great interest, both because of its own properties and as a means of cooling other substances. In 1934 Piotr Kapitsa developed a method for producing liquid helium in large quantities. This became very important for a number of experiments. Among other things, Kapitsa discovered in 1937 that at very low temperatures liquid helium flows without resistance. The phenomenon became known as superfluidity.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
