Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov , sometimes Semenov, Semionov or Semenoff (; – 25 September 1986) was a Soviet

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. Semyonov was awarded the 1956

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

for his work on the mechanism of chemical transformation.

Life and career

Semyonov was born in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, the son of Yelena Dmitrieva and Nikolai Aleksandrovich Semyonov. He graduated from the department of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

of Petrograd University (1913–1917), where he was a student of Abram Fyodorovich Ioffe. In 1918, he moved to

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

, where he was enlisted into Kolchak's White Army during

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. Semyonov published his first research paper in 1916 and became a lecturer at the University of Tomsk in western Siberia. After graduating from Saint Petersburg State University, he worked as an assistant and lecturer at the Tomsk and Tomsk University Institute of Technology, where he published his first research paper in 1916. He returned to western Siberia, Petrograd and took charge of the

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

phenomena laboratory of the Petrograd Physico-Technical Institute in 1920. He also became the vice-director of the institute. In 1921, he married

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Maria Boreishe-Liverovsky (student of Zhirmunsky). She died two years later. On September 15, 1924, Nikolay married Maria's niece, Natalia Nikolayevna Burtseva. They had two children, son Yuri and daughter Lyudmila. During that difficult time, Semyonov, together with

Pyotr Kapitsa Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa or Peter Kapitza (, ; – 8 April 1984) was a leading Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate, whose research focused on low-temperature physics. Biography Kapitsa was born in Kronstadt, Russian Empire, to the Bessar ...

, discovered a way to measure the

magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

of an

atomic nucleus The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford at the Department_of_Physics_and_Astronomy,_University_of_Manchester , University of Manchester ...

(1922). Later the experimental setup was improved by

Otto Stern :''Otto Stern was also the pen name of German women's rights activist Louise Otto-Peters (1819–1895)''. Otto Stern (; 17 February 1888 – 17 August 1969) was a German-American physicist. He is the second most nominated person for a Nobel Pri ...

and Walther Gerlach and became known as Stern–Gerlach experiment. In 1925, Semyonov, together with Yakov Frenkel, studied kinetics of

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...

and

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which a ...

vapor In physics, a vapor (American English) or vapour (Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature,R ...

s. In 1927, he studied ionisation in gases and published an important book, ''Chemistry of the Electron''. In 1928, he, together with Vladimir Fock, created a theory of thermal disruptive discharge of

dielectric In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an Insulator (electricity), electrical insulator that can be Polarisability, polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric ...

s. In 1927, Semyonov studied the ionization of gases, the chemistry of the electron. In 1928, he created the theory of the broken discharge of dielectrics with Vladimir Fock. He lectured at the Petrograd Polytechnical Institute and was appointed Professor in 1928. In 1931, he organized the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

(which moved to Chernogolovka in 1943) and became its first director. In 1932, he became a full member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. The ideas of Semyonov have been applied in the science of reaction and production of polymerization reactions. His ideas are also applied in catalysis studies in biological systems. Semyonov married Natalya Nikolayevna Semyonov and together they both have a son and a daughter. Semyonov died on September 25, 1986, in Moscow, and was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Significant works

Semyonov's outstanding work on the mechanism of chemical transformation includes an exhaustive analysis of the application of the

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

theory to varied reactions (1934–1954) and, more significantly, to

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

processes. He proposed a theory of degenerate branching, which led to a better understanding of the phenomena associated with the induction periods of oxidation processes. He spent most of his career focusing and developing the field of chemical chain reactions. Semyonov wrote two important books outlining his work. ''Chemical Kinetics and Chain Reactions'' was published in 1934, with an English edition in 1935. It was the first book in the U.S.S.R. to develop a detailed theory of unbranched and branched chain reactions in chemistry. ''Some Problems of Chemical Kinetics and Reactivity'', first published in 1954, was revised in 1958; there are also English, American, German, and Chinese editions. He is the only Soviet/Russian Chemistry Nobel Laureate, who received the

(together with Sir Cyril N. Hinshelwood) for his work in 1956. Semyonov had long been a supporter of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. After the

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

accused the Soviet Union of heavy scientific censorship in 1953, he coauthored the Soviet response which denied all accusations. He is also noted as being the most famous signatory to a 1971 public letter from Soviet scientists to United States president

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, on displeasure in the murder trial of

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

. Semyonov trained Russian organometallic chemist Alexander Shilov, who discovered platinum catalyzed C-H activation.

Honours and awards

* Orders of Lenin, nine times (incl. 1945, 1953, 1956, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981) * Stalin Prize (1941, 1949) * Honorary Member of the British Chemical Society (1943) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1946) * Honorary member of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1954) *

(1956) * Foreign Member of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

(1958) * Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

(1959) * Honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1961) * Honorary member of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

(1962) * Foreign member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(1963) * Honorary Member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

(1965) *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

, twice (1966, 1976) * Lomonosov Gold Medal (1969) *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1976) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(1986) * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" * Mendeleev Prize * Honorary Member of The Soviet Academy of Sciences (1932) Semyonov was also an Honorary Doctor of several universities:

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

(1960),

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(1962),

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(1965),

Budapest Technical University The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public university, public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country ...

(1965), Polytechnic Institute of Milan (1964) and others.

Legacy

* In 1990, the IHF RAS was named after N. N. Semyonov; * In 1994, a memorial plaque was unveiled in honor of Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov on the main building of the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University (29 Politechnicheskaya Street); * The memorial plaque is installed on the facade of the Main building of the A.F. Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology in St. Petersburg (26 Politechnicheskaya str.). * On July 27, 1996, and one of the streets in the South-Western Administrative District of the city of Moscow on the territory of the

Yuzhnoye Butovo District Yuzhnoye Butovo District (Southern Butovo, ) is the biggest residential district in South-Western Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. The district's history dates back to 1612, and it is named after a Don Cossack Butov. The area of the distri ...

was given the name Academician Semyonov Street; * In Saratov, one of the streets is named after Semyonov; * In Tyumen, one of the streets is named after Semyonov; * A memorial plaque is installed on the house in Moscow at 24 Frunzenskaya Embankment, where Semyonov spent his last years of life; * The Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences has a Commission for the development of the scientific heritage of Academician N. N. Semyonov; * Airliner

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...

(VQ-BOI) of the airline "

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

" "N. Semyonov"; * On April 5, 2019, in Moscow on the territory of National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" a monument was erected by the sculptor Alexandra Mironova * At the beginning of April 2022, a monument to Academician Nikolai Semyonov was unveiled in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on Kosygin Street, house 4.

References

* Nikolay Semyonov, https://persona.rin.ru/eng/view/f/0/28293/nikolay-semenov, Retrieved 27 October 2022 * Nikolay Semyonov, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1956/semenov/biographical/, Retrieved 27 October 2022 * Nikolai Nikolayevich Semyonov, great physicist, chemist and mathematician, https://rinconeducativo.org/en/recursos-educativos/nikolai-nikolayevich-semionov-gran-fisico-quimico-y-matematico/, Retrieved 8 December

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1956 ''Some Problems Relating to Chain Reactions and to the Theory of Combustion'' * Semyonov's Nobel Lectur
Some Problems Relating to Chain Reactions and to the Theory of Combustion

*
Semyonov's Biography
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semyonov, Nikolay 1896 births 1986 deaths Scientists from Saratov Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Academic staff of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Academic staff of Tomsk Polytechnic University Academic staff of Tomsk State University Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Saint Petersburg State University alumni Candidates of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Lomonosov Gold Medal Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Nobel laureates in Chemistry Nuclear weapons program of the Soviet Union people Russian chemists Russian physicists Soviet chemists Soviet Nobel laureates Soviet physicists White movement people Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery