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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abram Alikhanov | 1/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Alikhanov | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T17:41:26.105097+00:00 | kb-cron |
Abram Isaakovich Alikhanov (ahl-eek-ahn-off; Russian: Абрам Исаакович Алиханов, né Alikhanian; 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1904 – 8 December 1970) was a Soviet experimental physicist of Armenian origin who specialized in particle and nuclear physics. He was one of the Soviet Union's leading physicists. Before joining the Soviet atomic bomb project, Alikhanov studied X-rays and cosmic rays. Between 1945 and 1968, he directed the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) in Moscow, which was named after him in 2004. He led the development of both the first research and the first industrial heavy water reactors in the Soviet Union. They were commissioned in 1949 and 1951, respectively. He was also a pioneer in Soviet accelerator technology. In 1934 he and Igor Kurchatov created a "baby cyclotron", the first "cyclotron" operating outside of Berkeley, California. He was the driving force behind the construction of the 70 GeV synchrotron in Serpukhov (1967), the largest in the world at the time. His brother, Artem Alikhanian, was based in Soviet Armenia and led the Yerevan Physics Institute for many years.
== Early life == Alikhanov was born Abraham Alikhanian (Armenian: Աբրահամ Ալիխանյան) on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1904 in Elizavetpol (today Ganja, Azerbaijan) to Armenian parents. His father, Isahak Alikhanian (d. 1925), was a railroad engineer (train driver) in the Transcaucasus Railway, while his mother, Yulia Artemevna (née Sulkhanova), was a housewife. His younger brother, Artem Alikhanian (1908–78), was also a noted physicist. They had two sisters: Araksia (b. 1906) and Ruzanna (b. 1913). His family lived in Alexandropol (today Gyumri) in 1912–13, where Abram attended a commercial college. The family then moved to Tiflis (today Tbilisi), where they lived until 1918. They again moved to live in Alexandropol until the Turkish–Armenian War of 1920. They returned to Tiflis and Abram graduated from a Tiflis commercial college in 1921. He then enrolled in the Polytechnic Institute of Tiflis, but, for the most part, did not study in order to financially support himself and his family. He worked as a cashier and telephone operator.
== Early career in Leningrad (1927–41) == In 1923 Alikhanov moved to Leningrad and enrolled in the chemistry department of the Polytechnic Institute. In 1924 he transferred to the department of physics and mechanics, founded by Abram Ioffe. Besides Ioffe, other prominent scientists taught there, including Nikolay Semyonov and Yakov Frenkel. In 1925–27 he worked at the Mechnikov Hospital as a radiographer. He graduated in 1929.
=== X-rays (1927–33) === In 1927 Alikhanov began working part-time at the Physical-Technical Institute in Leningrad as a researcher focusing on X-rays, X-ray diffraction, and solid-state physics. In 1929 he published his first paper on the use of X-ray analysis in investigating the crystal structure of the copper-aluminium alloy. In 1929, after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute, he was employed by the Physical-Technical Institute full-time. He began a long-time collaboration with his younger brother, Artem, and Lev Artsimovich in 1930. Under the supervision of Pyotr Ivanovich Lukirskii, head of the X-ray laboratory, Alikhanov and Artsimovich studied X-ray optics from 1930 to 1933. Results included a "study of total internal reflection of X-rays from thin layers of various substances." He showed that aluminium does not undergo allotropic transformation when X-rayed at 550–600 °C. He also did a "study of the total internal reflection of X rays from thin layers and the estimation of the depth of their penetration into the medium. Alikhanov also proved that the laws of classical optics can be applied to the reflection of hard X rays." Alikhanov summarized the results in a 1933 monograph titled X-Ray Optics (Оптика рентгеновских лучей).
=== Nuclear physics (1933–41) ===