Chandraseka received his bachelor's degree in physics from Madras Dean's College (Chennai Dean's College) in 1930, and went toUniversity of CambridgeHe went on to further his studies and obtained a doctor's degree in theoretical physics in 1933.From 1933 to 1937Trinity College, Cambridge Universityacademician.In 1937University of ChicagoHe taught until retirement in 1985.In 1944, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society.In 1946, he was elected as an academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.He became a citizen of the United States in 1953.In 1955, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.Awarded by the Queen of England in 1962Royal Medal 。1966 awarded by the President of the United StatesNational Science Medal。He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.He died of heart failure in Chicago on August 21, 1995 at the age of 85[2-3][7]。
1944 Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society In 1946, he was elected as an academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences In 1955, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences In 1962, he was awarded the Royal Medal In 1966, he was awarded the National Science Medalopen
Key achievements
1944 Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society In 1946, he was elected as an academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences In 1955, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences In 1962, he was awarded the Royal Medal In 1966, he was awarded the National Science Medal Won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 Won Copley Medal in 1984
On October 19, 1910, Subramanian Chandraseka was born in Lahore (now Pakistan), Punjab, British India. He moved to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh with his parents in 1912, and moved to Madras (now Chennai) with his family in 1918.He was educated at home until he was 12 years old[4][8]。
From 1922 to 1925, he studied at the Hindu High School in Madras[4]。
In 1925, he completed his high school studies and entered the Presidency College, Madras.His father hoped that he would study physics and become a civil servant in the future.But under the influence of Arnold Sommerfeld, Chandraseka determined to become a scientist[8]。
In June 1930, he completed his undergraduate studies and obtained a bachelor's degree in physics.In July of the same year, with the aid of scholarships from the Indian governmentUniversity of CambridgeFurther study inRalph Fowler Learn under guidance.During this period, he carried out one year's research in the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, DenmarkNiels Bohr andMax Born Work under the guidance of[8]。
In 1933, he received a doctor's degree in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. In October of the same year, he becameTrinity Collegeacademician[4]。
In 1936, the United StatesHarvard UniversityHe made a brief visit and obtained the position of assistant researcher of the university[4]。
In January 1937, due to the structure problem of white dwarfsArthur Stanley Eddington In dispute, Chandraseka left Cambridge University to work at the University of Chicago in the United States, and served as an assistant researcher at Yekeshi Observatory[8]。
In 1938, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago. Later, he was promoted to associate professor in 1942 and professor in 1944[8]。
In 1947, he was appointed the Outstanding Service Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, and in 1952, he served as the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics until retirement.
In 1953, he became a citizen of the United States.
In 1955, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1962, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom awarded him the Royal Medal of the British Royal Society, and he was electedNational Academy of Sciences of IndiaForeign academician[15]。
In 1930, Chandraseka repeated Ralph Fowler's calculation of the relevant properties of white dwarfs on his way to England. The difference is that in the calculation, he considered that the electrons follow Einstein's special theory of relativity rather than Newton's law.At that time, the white dwarf stage of stars was considered to be the final stage of all stellar evolution processes, but Chandra Hanka's calculation showed that when the mass was greater than 1.44 times the sun's mass, its final destination would not be a white dwarf star.This star mass limit isChandraseka limit（Chandrasekhar Limit）。In 1931, he published relevant articles in the American Journal of Astrophysics.
After studying in Cambridge, Chandra gradually perfected his discovery. He believed that the star theory supported by scientists led by Eddington had obvious defects, because it completely ignored the fact that the electrons inside the collapsed star moved at the speed of light;Einstein's special theory of relativity needs to be included in this theory to fully explain the birth and death of stars.He put forward this theory at the Royal Astrophysical Society meeting in 1935, but Arthur Stanley Eddington said it was a fallacy. For the two kinds of degeneracy mentioned by Chandraseka, he thought there was no relativistic degeneracy at all, and tore Chandraseka's paper in half on the spot.After the argument with Eddington lasted for several years, no authoritative scientist was willing to stand up for Chandra.Chandraseka withdrew from the debate and summarized the white dwarf research and Chandraseka limit in the UK into Introduction to the Study of Star Structure, which was published in 1939, and then turned to other research.
Chandraseka will spend 5 to 10 years in each field for in-depth research.He will spend a year to master a subject, spend a few years to publish some articles to solve related problems, and in a few years he will write a book in this field for future generations.Once the book was published, he left this field to explore problems in other fields.
Chandraseka wrote eight books recording his research fields: Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (1939) summarized his research work on the internal structure of white dwarfs and other types of stars;Principles of Stellar Dynamics (1942) described his highly original work on the statistical theory of star motion in galaxies and galaxy clusters;Radiation Transfer (1950) gives the first accurate theory of radiation transfer in stellar atmosphere;The Stability of Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics (1961) provides the theoretical basis for various celestial bodies, including stars, accretion disks and galaxies, to become unstable with different radiation;Equilibrium Ellipsoid (1969) solved an old problem, that is, finding the equilibrium body of the gravitational field in the incompressible, rotating liquid with mass.
Later, he studied the exact mathematical description of black holes and their interactions with surrounding matter in detail, and published the Mathematical Theory of Black Holes in 1983.This book is also his farewell to scientific research.After the book was published, Chandraseka gave a speech and wrote a book of non-technical subjects, which was about the works of Shakespeare, Beethoven and Shelley, and also included the relationship between art and science.These public speeches were collected and published in 1987 under the title of Truth and Beauty.
After his retirement, Chandraseka spent a lot of time studying Newton's《Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy》, and after repeating every proposition and proof of Newton, translate Newton's geometric language into algebraic language more accepted by modern scientists.This is also the last book published before Chandraseka died - Newton's "Principles" for ordinary readers.[9-11]
The highly collapsed configurations of a stellar mass
Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1931
The maximum mass of ideal white dwarfs
Journal of Astrophysics
1931
The density of white dwarfs
Philosophy Magazine
1932
Some remarks on the state of matter in the interior of stars
Astrophysics andastronomyMagazine
1934
The physical state of matter in the interior of stars
Astronomical Observatory
1934
Stellar configurations with degenerate cores
Astronomical Observatory
1935
The Highly Collapsed Configurations of a Stellar Mass (Part II)
Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1935
Stellar configurations with degenerate cores
Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1935
Stellar configurations with degenerate cores (Part II)
Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1936
The pressure in the interior of a star
Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1936
On the maximum possible central radiation pressure in a star of a given mass
Astronomical Observatory
1943
Stochastic Problems in Physics and Astronomy
Modern Physics Review
1964
Dynamic instability of gas masses approaching the Schwarzschild limit in general relativity
Physical Review Letters
1964
The dynamic instability of the white dwarf configurations approaching the limiting mass
Journal of Astrophysics
1964
Dynamic instability of gas masses approaching the Schwarzschild limit in general relativity
Journal of Astrophysics
1970
Solutions of two problems in the theory of gravitational radiation
Physical Review Letters
The effect of gravitational radiation on the long-term stability of the Maclaurin sphere
Journal of Astrophysics
reference material[4][11]
personnel training
Teaching courses
The courses taught by Chandraseka include quantum mechanics, electrodynamics and optics, relativity, stability problems and plasma physics[15]。
Set up seminars
In 1947, Chandraseka, focusing on the training and reserve of successor talents, planned to enroll a group of young students with physics talents and set up an advanced astrophysics seminar, which was taught and guided by himself.After the enrollment, the number of students who came to register was far lower than expected, and only two young people in their 20s signed up for the seminar.They areYang ZhenningandLi Zhengdao。Chandraseka drives hundreds of kilometers every day to teach at the University of Chicago.[12]
Instruct students
Chandraseka has supervised at least 46 doctoral students in his teaching career.The data of December 2023 on the website of the Mathematics Pedigree Project provides the information of 17 students cultivated by Chandraseka. The specific information is as follows:[13][16]
time
full name
school
1946
Guido Muench Paniagua
University of Chicago
1946
Merle Eleanor Tuberg
University of Chicago
1948
Anne Barbara Underhill
University of Chicago
1950
Arthur Dodd Code
University of Chicago
1952
Donald Edward Osterbrock
University of Chicago
1953
H. Lawrence Helfer
University of Chicago
1953
Eberhart Jensen
University of Chicago
1954
Russell M. Kulsrud
University of Chicago
1958
Surindar Kumar Trehan
University of Chicago
1961
Norman Ronald Lebovitz
University of Chicago
1963
Yousef Sobuti
University of Chicago
1964
Jeremiah Paul Ostriker
University of Chicago
1968
Morris L. Aizenman
University of Chicago
1969
Yavuz Nutku
University of Chicago
1973
John L. Friedman
University of Chicago
1974
John Charles Miller
Oxford
1975
Steven Lawrence Detweiler
University of Chicago
Honor recognition
time
Honorary awards
Grantor
March 16, 1944
Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society[3]
1945
Fellow of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society[18]
1946
Academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Member of the Board of the American Physical Society[2]
1979-1981
Member of the Advisory Board of the Caffrey Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara[2]
Personal life
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Family background
The father (Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar) of Subrahmanya Chandraseka, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar, Subrahmanya Ayyar.Her mother (Sita Balakrishnan) was an intellectual and once translated Henrik Ibsen's play The Doll's House into Tamil.Chandraseka is the third of his seven children and the eldest of his four sons[4]。Chandraseka's uncle isChandrasekara Venkata RamanIs a Nobel laureate in physics[2][8]。
Marital feelings
Subramanian Chandraseka married Lalitha Doraiswamy, one year younger than him, in India in September 1936.They made contact when they were at the Dean's College in Madras[4]。
daily life
Subramanian Chandraseka is a vegetarian[7]。He always flawlessly wears well made suits, whose color changes between dark black and dark gray in autumn and winter, and between light gray and brown yellow in spring and summer.He loves literature and music, and is the only one in the world to use it in equationsGothicCharacter scientist[10]。
Chandraseka and his wife, Lalisa
Character influence
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Asteroid naming
On September 24, 1970Asteroid 1958It was found that this asteroid was named "1958 Chandra" in memory of Subramanian Chandraseka[26]。
Character evaluation
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Subramanian Chandraseka is one of the most important astrophysicists in the 20th century.He was one of the first scientists to combine physics with astronomy.（Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was one of the foremost astrophysicists of the twentieth century. He was one of the first scientists to couple the study of physics with the study of astronomy.）[14]（NASAComment)
Chandra is a first-class astrophysicist and a beautiful and warm person.（Chandra was a first-rate astrophysicist and a beautiful and warm human being.）[17](Nobel laureate in physicsHans BateComment)
Since Einstein, Chandra's thinking about the universe may be more profound than any of us.（Chandra probably thought longer and deeper about our universe than anyone since Einstein）[17](Former Chairman of the Royal SocietyMartin Rees Comment)
Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) is an X-ray astronomical satellite launched by NASA in 1999.Formerly known as Advanced X-ray Astronomical Equipment (AXAF), it was renamed in 1998 in memory of Subramanian Chandraseka.On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched by the Columbia Space Shuttle[25]。
Award Naming
In 2014, the Asia Pacific Physical Society established theChandraseka AwardThis award is the highest award of the organization in the field of plasma physics, awarded to scientists who have made pioneering and significant achievements in the field of plasma physics[1]。
