Andrzej Karol Jonscher (13 July 1922 – 7 February 2005)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' was a Polish-British

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 ...

at Chelsea College and then

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. Jonscher pioneered the study of emergent phenomena in natural systems, and dielectric behaviour in particular. The

Universal dielectric response In physics and electrical engineering, the universal dielectric response, or UDR, refers to the observed emergent behaviour of the dielectric properties exhibited by diverse solid state systems. In particular this widely observed response involves ...

whereby

power law In statistics, a power law is a Function (mathematics), functional relationship between two quantities, where a Relative change and difference, relative change in one quantity results in a relative change in the other quantity proportional to the ...

scaling of conductivity with frequency is found in heterogeneous materials under alternating current conditions has drawn significant attention due to its significance in many technological applications. Although this scaling behaviour is observed across a tremendously wide range of systems, there is yet no consensus regarding the origins of such emergent dielectric responses. To date (the end of 2018 year), about 9500 references had been made on two works of A. K. Jonscher (Dielectric relaxation in solids, 1999; The "universal" dielectric response, 1977). However, there is no standard

theoretical A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

explanation about the reasons and mechanisms of the physical averagings leading to the emergence of "universal" response in

macroscopic The macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or phenomena are large enough to be visible with the naked eye, without magnifying optical instruments. It is the opposite of microscopic. Overview When applied to physical phenome ...

solid-state ionic conductors. Jonscher pioneered a mathematical explanation of an unusual phenomenon of negative capacitance in electronic devices. He explained the effect of negative capacitance in terms of non-monotonically decreasing transient current response under a step voltage excitation. Jonscher's insight into the physics of negative capacitance was very fruitful for understanding and explanation of negative capacitance in different types of semiconductor devices.M. Ershov, H. C. Liu, L. Li, M. Buchanan, Z. R. Wasilewski, A. K. Jonscher
"Negative capacitance effect in semiconductor devices"
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 45, no. 10, pp. 2196-2206, Oct. 1998.

Published works

His published books include: ''Principles of semiconductor device operation'' (1960) ''Dielectric relaxation in solids'' (1983), ''Universal relaxation law: a sequel to Dielectric relaxation in solids'' (1996), ''Universal relaxation law'' (1995), ''Problems in physical electronics'' (1973), ''Physics of thin films. vol. 8 '' (1975), and ''Physics of thin films. vol. 11'' (1980).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonscher, A K British physicists 1922 births 2005 deaths Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom