Oskar Klein
Oskar Klein | |
|---|---|
 Oskar Benjamin Klein (1894–1977). Photograph taken at the Göttingen Bohr-Festspiele, June 1922. | |
| Born | 15 September 1894 Mörby,Sweden |
| Died | 5 February 1977(aged 82) Stockholm,Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Alma mater | Nobel Institute University College of Stockholm |
| Known for | Klein paradox Klein–Gordon equation Klein–Kramers equation Klein–Nishina formula Alfvén–Klein cosmology Kaluza–Klein theory Rydberg–Klein–Rees method |
| Awards | Björkénska priset(1937) Max Planck Medal(1959) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physicist |
| Institutions | Copenhagen University of Michigan Lund University University College of Stockholm |
| Doctoral students | David M. Dennison |
| Signature | |
 | |
Oskar Benjamin Klein(Swedish:[ˈklajn];15 September 1894 – 5 February 1977) was a Swedishtheoretical physicist.[1]
Oskar Klein is known for his work onKaluza–Klein theory,which is partially named after him.
Biography
[edit]
Klein was born inDanderydoutsideStockholm,son of the chief rabbi of Stockholm, Gottlieb Klein fromHumennéinKingdom of Hungary,nowSlovakiaand Antonie (Toni) Levy. He became a student ofSvante Arrheniusat theNobel Instituteat a young age and was on the way toJean-Baptiste Perrinin France whenWorld War Ibroke out and he was drafted into the military.[2]
From 1917, he worked a few years withNiels Bohrin theUniversity of Copenhagenand received his doctoral degree at the University College of Stockholm (nowStockholm University) in 1921. In 1923, he received a professorship atUniversity of MichiganinAnn Arborand moved there with his recently wedded wife, Gerda Koch fromDenmark.Klein returned to Copenhagen in 1925, spent some time withPaul EhrenfestinLeiden,then becamedocentatLund Universityin 1926 and in 1930 accepted the offer of the professorial chair in physics at the Stockholm University College, which had previously been held byErik Ivar Fredholmuntil his death in 1927. Klein was awarded theMax Planck Medalin 1959. He retired as professor emeritus in 1962.
Klein discovered in 1926[3]theKlein-Gordon equation,the simplest and prototypical example ofrelativistic wave equation.It describes the behavior of scalar fields, such as e.g., those associated to thepions. Walter Gordon,[4]independently discovered and published the equation a few months later, as well asVladimir Fock.[5] TheKlein-Gordon equationis an example ofStigler's lawas it was first discovered byErwin Schrödingerin 1925 but not published until after Klein, Gordon and Fock's papers because Schrödinger was initially discouraged by the fact that it did not give the rightfine structurefor thehydrogen atom.[6]
Klein is also credited for inventing the idea, part ofKaluza–Klein theory,that extradimensionsmay be physically real butcurled up and very small,an idea essential tostring theory.
In 1938, he proposed a boson-exchange model for charge-charging weak interactions (radioactive decay), a few years after a similar proposal byHideki Yukawa.His model was based on a local isotropic gauge symmetry and anticipated the later successful theory ofYang–Mills.
Oskar Klein died on 5 February 1977 in Stockholm, Sweden.[7][2]
TheOskar Klein Memorial Lecture,held annually at the University of Stockholm, has been named after him.The Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physicsin Stockholm, Sweden is also in his honor.
Oskar Klein is the grandfather of Helle Klein.[relevant?]
References
[edit]- ^Deser, Stanley(June 1977)."Oskar Klein".Physics Today.30(6): 67–68.Bibcode:1977PhT....30f..67D.doi:10.1063/1.3037609.
- ^ab"Oskar Klein (1894 - 1977)".January 2001. Archived fromthe originalon 9 June 2020.Retrieved28 September2023.
- ^O. Klein, ZS. f. Phys. 37, 895, 1926
- ^W. Gordon, Z. Phys., 40 (1926–1927) pp. 117–133
- ^V. Fock, ZS. f. Phys.39, 226, 1926
- ^Dirac, P.A.M. (1971).The Development of Quantum Theory.New York: Gordon and Breach.
- ^The Oskar Klein Memorial Lectures: 1988-1999. Edited by EKSPONG GOSTA. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2014.ISBN978-981-4571-61-6,pp. 7-15
External links
[edit]- Oskar Klein; The Atomicity of Electricity as a Quantum Theory Law, Nature 1926, 118 (516) - doi = "10.1038/118516a0",
- Oskar Klein; Quantentheorie und fünfdimensionale relativitätstheorie - Surveys in High Energy Physics,https://doi.org/10.1080/01422418608228771
- O'Connor, John J.;Robertson, Edmund F.,"Oskar Klein",MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive,University of St Andrews
