Kristian Birkeland: The First Space Scientist
| Authors | Egeland, Alv Burke, William J. |
| Series | Astrophysics and Space Science Library [325.0] |
| Tags | solar system, solar wind, sun, universe, Astronomers -- Norway -- Biography, Scientists -- Norway -- Biography, astronomy, astrophysics, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Science & Technology, SCIENCE -- Astronomy, Physique, Astronomie, Astronomers, Scientists |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Published | 12 set 2005 |
| Date | 26 gen 2022 |
| Languages | eng |
| Identifiers | doi: 10.1007/1-4020-3294-3, isbn: 9781402032943 |
Description
Thunderbolts Project: video on Birkeland currents / aurora
- Conveys the life and accomplishments of a Norwegian hero to the English speaking world
- Illustrates the beginnings of collaboration between academic science and industry
- Demythologizes progression of physics as linear; rather a human activity marked by fits and starts
- Shows how work in a small country laid the foundation for green revolution
At the beginning of the 20th century Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917), a Norwegian scientist of insatiable curiosity, addressed questions that had vexed European scientists for centuries. Why do the northern lights appear overhead when the Earth’s magnetic field is disturbed? How are magnetic storms connected to disturbances on the Sun? To answer these questions Birkeland interpreted his advance laboratory simulations and daring campaigns in the Arctic wilderness in the light of Maxwell’s newly discovered laws of electricity and magnetism. Birkeland’s ideas were dismissed for decades, only to be vindicated when satellites could fly above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Faced with the depleting stocks of Chilean saltpeter and the consequent prospect of mass starvation, Birkeland showed his practical side, inventing the first industrial scale method to extract nitrogen-based fertilizers from the air. Norsk Hydro, one of modern Norway’s largest industries, stands as a living tribute to his genius.
Hoping to demonstrate what we now call the solar wind, Birkeland moved to Egypt in 1913. Isolated from his friends by the Great War, Birkeland yearned to celebrate his 50th birthday in Norway. The only safe passage home, via the Far East, brought him to Tokyo where in the late spring of 1917 he passed away.
The book is written with scientists in mind and follows Lucy Jago's successful biography... I recommend Kristian Birkeland: The First Space Scientist to any physicist who is interested in the history of space science.
—Hans C. Stengaek-Nielsen, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in Physics Today