苏维埃的海归——卡皮查和他的“克里姆林宫书简”

Kapitza,the Soviet Overseas Returnee and His Kremlin Letters

彼得·卡皮查是苏联学术界的领袖人物之一。他早年在英国剑桥大学的卡文迪许实验室从事强磁场和低温物理研究,卓有成就,1929年当选为英国皇家学会会员。1934年他被苏联政府强制留在国内,创建科学院"物理问题研究所"并担任所长,其间发现了液态氦在超低温下具有超流动性,为此获得1984年诺贝尔物理学奖。卡皮查还是一位关心社会,尤其是科学界公共事务的科学家,他向斯大林以及其他苏联最高领导人写了大量书信,为身陷囹圄的科学家陈情,或者对苏联当局的文化和科学政策提出建言,为此本人一度遭到贬斥。

Peter Kapitza was a leading figure in Soviet academic community. In his early years, he did research on strong magnetic field and low temperature physics in Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University, England. He was elected as a member of Royal Society in 1929 because of his achievements in the research. In 1934, he was denied permission to leave Soviet Union. He was requested by government of Soviet Union to create ＂Institute for Physical Problem＂ and became its director. During this period, he discovered super-fluidity of liquid Helium under extremely low temperature, for which he was awarded Nobel Prize of Physics in 1984. Kapitza was a scientist concerned with public matters of society, especially those of science community. He wrote numerous letters to Stalin and other high level leaders of Soviet Union on behalf of scientists being wrongly accused and appealing to the authority on policies regarding culture and science. For his outspokenness he was once persecuted.