Hannes Alfvén

Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and science fiction author (1908-1995), winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physics · Sweden · Scientists · Died at 86

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He gave plasma physics its mathematics. Alfvén waves - the ripples that carry energy through magnetized gas - bear his name because he saw what others missed: that the glowing arcs of the aurora and the invisible belts trapping radiation around Earth were governed by the same physics.

Scientists Scientist Physics Astronomy Sweden Europe 20th Century

A life in dates

1995Died2 April 19951988“We should remember that there was once a discipline called natural philosophy. Unfortunately, this discipline seems not to exist today.”In their wordsMay 1988p. 192.Read the whole statement

“Scientists tend to resist interdisciplinary inquiries into their own territory.”In their wordsMay 1988p. 192.Read the whole statement

“There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time.”In their wordsMay 1988p. 196.Read the whole statement

“Most people today still believe, perhaps unconsciously, in the heliocentric universe ...”In their wordsMay 1988p. 196.Read the whole statement

“I have no trouble publishing in Soviet astrophysical journals, but my work is unacceptable to the American astrophysical journals.”In their wordsMay 1988p. 197.Read the whole statement

“Students using astrophysical textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of plasma concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been known for half a century.”In their wordsMay 1988p. 197.Read the whole statement

William Bowie MedalAward1980Foreign Member of the Royal SocietyAward1979Dirac Medal for the Advancement of PhysicsAward1971Franklin MedalAwardLomonosov Gold MedalAward1970Nobel Prize in PhysicsAward1967Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyAward1966Fellow of the American Geophysical UnionAward1950Polhem PrizeAward1947The KTH Great PrizeAward1946Björkén PrizeAward1908Born30 May 1908

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

YoungAlfven

26. Tagung 1976 Physiker; Eröffnung; Ehrengäste sitzend- Frau Alfvén, Hannes Alfvén, Rudolf L. Mößbauer, V. Hauff, W. Fucks - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 106813c

26. Tagung 1976 Physiker; Eröffnung; Ehrengäste sitzend- Kardinal König, Oberbürgermeister Steurer, Frau Alfvén, Hannes Alfvén, Rudolf L. Mößbauer - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 106813b

26. Tagung 1976 Physiker; Eröffnung; Ehrengäste sitzend- Kardinal König, Oberbürgermeister Steurer, Hannes Alfvén, dahinter Frau Forßmann, rechtsim Pr - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 106813a

32. Tagung 1982 Physiker; Eröffnung am 26.06.82- Hannes Alfvén - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 119131

32. Tagung 1982 Physiker; Eröffnung am 26.06.82- Hannes Alfvén, Rudolf L. Mößbauer - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 119124b

32. Tagung 1982 Physiker; Eröffnung am 26.06.82- Hannes Alfvén, Rudolf L. Mößbauer; dahinter Ehepaar Brattain - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 119124a

Atomkommittén in December 1945

In their own words 7

Hannes Alfvén

7 statements, newest first

We should remember that there was once a discipline called natural philosophy. Unfortunately, this discipline seems not to exist today.
May 1988, p. 192., Own words
Scientists tend to resist interdisciplinary inquiries into their own territory.
May 1988, p. 192., Own words
There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time.
May 1988, p. 196., Own words

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Awards

William Bowie Medal1988

Foreign Member of the Royal Society1980

Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics1979

Lomonosov Gold Medal1971

Franklin Medal1971

Nobel Prize in Physics1970

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society1967

Fellow of the American Geophysical Union1966

Polhem Prize1950

The KTH Great Prize1947

Björkén Prize1946

Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Family

Parents

Hannes Alfvén

Partners

Spouse Kerstin Alfvén

Children

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About this person

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was born in Sweden on 30 May 1908 and trained first as an electrical power engineer before crossing into plasma physics and research. His work on magnetohydrodynamics - the study of electrically conducting fluids in magnetic fields - won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970. He developed theories explaining the aurora, the Van Allen radiation belts, magnetic storms' effect on Earth's magnetic field, and the terrestrial magnetosphere, extending his thinking outward to plasma dynamics in the Milky Way. He died on 2 April 1995, having spent decades teaching that space was not empty but threaded with charged matter in motion.

Country

Sweden

In common with Hannes

Roger PenroseBoth received Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics

Nicolaas BloembergenBoth received Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics

Kenneth G. WilsonBoth received Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics

Carlo RubbiaBoth received Dirac Medal for the Advancement of Physics

Scientists from Sweden 2

Anders Celsius69.3

Gustaf Dalén63.7

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