Gamow biography

At this period Gamow also collaborated with F.

Houtermans and R. Atkinson in attempts to apply his formula for calculating the rate of induced nuclear transformations to the so-called thermonuclear reaction in the interior of the Sun and other stars. His first two attempts in 1932 to defect with his wife, fellow physicist Lyubov Vokhminzeva, by kayaking 250 kilometers across the Black Sea to Turkey, and then from Murmansk to Norway, were both foiled by poor weather.

The problem with anything radioactive was the fact that the materials were prone to decaying. His research made a contribution to modern genetic theory.

After leaving George Washington University in 1954, Gamow worked briefly at University of California Berkeley until taking a position at University of Colorado Boulder in 1956.

He continued to study the atomic nucleus, and was the first to propose a “liquid drop” model of the atom (which treats the nucleus of an atom as a drop of incompressible nuclear fluid) which Neils Bohr and John Wheeler later went on to develop. His predictions of cosmic microwave background radiation and his explanation of the present levels of hydrogen and helium in the universe both lent important theoretical support to the Big Bang theory.

Even as a child, he had a strong interest in science and always enjoyed stargazing.

In 1922, he began attending Novorossiya University in Odessa before continuing on to the University of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1923. His mother died when he was 9 years old and he was brought up by his father. Right after the Big Bang, in about three minutes, the cooling took place that helped contribute to the creation of the current universe.

He was buried in Boulder’s Green Mountain Cemetery.

George Gamow Books

See the additional sources and recommended reading list below, or check the physics books page for a full list.

Early Career Highlights

His later academic and research work was rooted in quantum theory with a focus on the atomic nucleus.

Today, it is accepted that helium, deuterium, and lithium were the light elements that started the initial reaction known as the Big Bang.

Gamow contributed to the collective works of scientists who sought to solve the problem of decay. He has a legacy as one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the sciences.

During this period, Gamow took a break from this research to work with Ernest Rutherford in Cambridge at the Cavendish Laboratory in 1929.

After returning to Russia, Gamow and his wife, physicist Lyubov Vokhminzeva, decided to flee because of Stalin’s oppressive regime. He was invited to Niels Bohr’s Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen from 1928 to 1931, with a break in 1929 to work with Ernest Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge.

Overcoming Radioactive Decay

Many scientists worked in areas related to harnessing the various unique powers and capabilities of radioactive materials. During the summer of 1928, Gamow worked on quantum theory at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

After studying in Germany, Gamow was invited to Niels Bohr’s Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen.