Vladimir Fock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1898-12-22)December 22, 1898 |
| Died | December 27, 1974(1974-12-27) (aged 76) |
| Alma mater | Petrograd University |
| Known for | Fock space Fock state Fock matrix Fock representation Fock–Lorentz symmetry Fock–Schwinger gauge Klein–Fock–Gordon equation Hartree–Fock method Mehler–Fock transform Adiabatic theorem Creeping wave Relativistic dynamics |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physicist andmathematician |
| Institutions | Petrograd University State Institute of Optics Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology Lebedev Physical Institute |
| Notable students | A. D. Aleksandrov F. I. Fedorov Yu. A. Yappa |
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (orFok;Russian:Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Фок) (December 22, 1898 – December 27, 1974) was aSoviet physicist, who did foundational work onquantum mechanics andquantum electrodynamics.
He was born inSt. Petersburg, Russia. In 1922 he graduated fromPetrograd University, then continued postgraduate studies there. He became a professor there in 1932. In 1919–1923 and 1928–1941 he collaborated with theVavilov State Optical Institute, in 1924–1936 with theLeningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1934–1941 and 1944–1953 with theLebedev Physical Institute.
His primary scientific contribution lies in the development of quantum physics and the theory of gravitation, although he also contributed significantly to the fields of mechanics, theoretical optics, physics of continuous media. In 1926, he derived theKlein–Gordon equation. He gave his name toFock space, theFock representation andFock state, and developed theHartree–Fock method in 1930. He made many subsequent scientific contributions during the rest of his life. Fock developed the electromagnetic methods forgeophysical exploration in a bookThe theory of the study of the rocks resistance by the carottage method (1933), methods calledwell logging in modern literature.
Fock made significant contributions togeneral relativity theory, specifically for the many-body problems. Fock criticised on scientific grounds both Einstein'sgeneral principle of relativity, as being devoid of physical substance, and theequivalence principle, as interpreted as the equivalence of gravitation and acceleration, as having only a local validity.
In Leningrad, Fock created a scientific school in theoretical physics and raised the physics education in the USSR through his books. He wrote the first textbook on quantum mechanicsFundamentals of Quantum Mechanics (1931, 1978) and a very influential monographThe Theory of Space, Time and Gravitation (1955).
Historians of science, such asLoren Graham, see Fock as a representative and proponent of Einstein's theory of relativity within the Soviet world. At a time when most Marxist philosophers objected to relativity theory, Fock emphasized a materialistic understanding of relativity that coincided philosophically with Marxism.
He was a full member (academician) of theUSSR Academy of Sciences (1939) and a member of theInternational Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.
