Kapitsa

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterized by significant contributions in the field of physics, particularly in condensed matter, this term refers to the work of a notable scientist known for groundbreaking discoveries
2. This word highlights the innovative research of an eminent physicist recognized for developments in areas such as low-temperature physics and superfluidity
3. Denoting a prominent figure in scientific exploration, this term reflects the impactful legacy of an individual who advanced knowledge in fundamental physical principles

Etymology: In 1934, Pyotr Kapitsa was on a visit to Moscow when Soviet authorities refused to let him return to Cambridge, where he had worked for over a decade in Ernest Rutherford's Cavendish Laboratory. Rutherford protested, but Kapitsa remained in the Soviet Union, where he founded the Institute for Physical Problems and continued his research. In 1937 he discovered that liquid helium-4, cooled below about 2.17 kelvin, flows with virtually no viscosity, a property he named superfluidity. Two other researchers reported the same effect at nearly the same time, but Kapitsa's work is the one usually credited with identifying it. He also devised a way to balance an inverted pendulum by vibrating its pivot rapidly, a result known as the Kapitsa pendulum. He shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for his low-temperature research, with the other half going to Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. His son, Sergei Kapitsa, also became a physicist and was known to millions as a television science presenter.