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Lev Landau

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Scientist

The Resume

    (January 22, 1908-April 1, 1968)
    Born in Baku, Azerbaijan
    Theoretical physicist
    Contributions included the density matrix method of quantum mechanics, the quantum mechanical theory of diamagnetism, the two-component theory of neutrinos, and the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity
    Namesake for Landau damping, Landau poles, Landau potential, Landau quantization, Landau susceptibility, the Landau gauge, and the Landau kinetic equation
    Received the Nobel Prize in Physics for developing a theory of superfluidity that accounted for the behavior of liquid helium (1962)
    Died from complications of injuries suffered in a car crash six years earlier (January 7, 1962)

Why he might be annoying:

    He led the team of mathematicians working on the Soviet atomic bomb project.
    He encouraged his wife and his students to practice 'free love' -- although his wife was less than enthusiastic about it.
    When he ranked the contributions of famous physicists on a five-point scale (with zero as the top ranking), he gave himself a middling 2.5 rating. (Although he later promoted himself to 2.0.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He graduated high school at age twelve, and entered college at fourteen. (His parents had kept him from going to college for a year, feeling that 13 was too young.)
    He published his first scientific paper as an 18-year-old undergraduate.
    In addition to Russian, he was fluent in English, German, French, and Danish.
    He spent a year in prison for distributing leaflets comparing Stalin to Mussolini and Hitler (1938-39).
    He had an asteroid and a crater on the Moon named after him.
    The highest prize in theoretical physics awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Landau Gold Medal, was named in his honor.

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying