Lev Landau
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Lev Davidovich Landau
Nobel Prize in Physics 1962
Born: 22 January 1908, Baku, Russian Empire (now Azerbaijan)
Died: 1 April 1968, Moscow, USSR (now Russia)
Affiliation at the time of the award: Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR (now Russia)
Prize motivation: “for his pioneering theories for condensed matter, especially liquid helium”
Prize share: 1/1
Work
When certain substances are cooled to very low temperatures, their properties undergo radical changes. At temperatures a couple of degrees above absolute zero, helium becomes superfluid and the liquid flows without friction. One of Lev Landau’s many contributions within theoretical physics came in 1941, when he applied quantum theory to the movement of superfluid liquid helium. Among other things, he introduced the concept of quasiparticles as the equivalent of sound vibrations and vortexes. This allowed him to develop his theoretical explanation for 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.
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