Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (; 30 May 1908 – 2 April 1995) was a Swedish

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of

aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

e, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the

Earth's magnetic field Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from structure of Earth, Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from ...

, the terrestrial

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

, and the dynamics of plasmas in the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

galaxy.

Education

Alfvén received his PhD from the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

in 1934. His thesis was titled "Investigations of High-frequency Electromagnetic Waves."

Early years

In 1934, Alfvén taught

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at both the

and the Nobel Institute for Physics (later renamed the Manne Siegbahn Institute of Physics) in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. In 1940, he became professor of electromagnetic theory and electrical measurements at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In 1945, he acquired the nonappointive position of Chair of Electronics. His title was changed to Chair of Plasma Physics in 1963. From 1954 to 1955, Alfvén was a Fulbright Scholar at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. In 1967, after leaving Sweden and spending time in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, he moved to the United States. Alfvén worked in the departments of

at both the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Later years

In 1991, Alfvén retired as professor of electrical engineering at the

and professor of

plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Alfvén spent his later adult life alternating between

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and Sweden. He died at the age of 86.

Research

In 1937, Alfvén argued that if plasma pervaded the universe, it could then carry electric currents capable of generating a galactic magnetic field. After winning the Nobel Prize for his works in magnetohydrodynamics, he emphasized that:

In order to understand the phenomena in a certain plasma region, it is necessary to map not only the magnetic but also the electric field and the electric currents. Space is filled with a network of currents which transfer energy and momentum over large or very large distances. The currents often pinch to filamentary or surface currents. The latter are likely to give space, as also interstellar and intergalactic space, a cellular structure.

His theoretical work on field-aligned electric currents in the aurora (based on earlier work by

Kristian Birkeland Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (born 13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norway, Norwegian space physics, space physicist, inventor, and professor of physics at the University of Oslo, Royal Fredriks University in Oslo. He is best remembe ...

) was confirmed in 1967, these currents now being known as Birkeland currents. British scientist Sydney Chapman was a strong critic of Alfvén. Many physicists regarded Alfvén as espousing unorthodox opinions R. H. Stuewer noting that "... he remained an embittered outsider, winning little respect from other scientists even after he received the Nobel Prize..." and was often forced to publish his papers in obscure journals. Alfvén recalled:

When I describe
lasma phenomena List of alien races in DC Comics is a list of fictional extraterrestrial races that have appeared in comic book titles published by DC Comics, as well as properties from other media that are listed below, with brief descriptions and accompanying ...
according to this formalism most referees do not understand what I say and turn down my papers. With the referee system which rules US science today, this means that my papers are rarely accepted by the leading US journals.

Alfvén played a central role in the development of: *

Plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

* Charged particle beams * Interplanetary medium * Magnetospheric physics * Magnetohydrodynamics * Solar phenomena investigation (such as the

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...

) * Aurorae science In 1939, Alfvén proposed the theory of magnetic storms and auroras and the theory of plasma dynamics in the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. This was the paper rejected by the U.S. journal ''Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity''. Applications of Alfvén's research in space science include: * Van Allen radiation belt theory * Reduction of the

during magnetic storms *

Magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

(protective plasma covering the Earth) * Formation of

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

tails * Formation of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

* Dynamics of plasmas in the galaxy *

Physical cosmology Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fu ...

Alfvén's views followed those of the founder of magnetospheric physics,

. At the end of the nineteenth century, Birkeland proposed (backed by extensive data) that electric currents flowing down along the Earth's magnetic fields into the atmosphere caused the aurora and polar magnetic disturbances. Areas of technology benefiting from Alfvén's contributions include: *

Particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...

s * Controlled

thermonuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or absorption of ener ...

Hypersonic flight Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about at Hypersonic speed, speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where Dissociation (chemistry), dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Spe ...

Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

propulsion * Reentry braking of space vehicles Contributions to astrophysics: * Galactic magnetic field (1937) * Identified nonthermal synchrotron radiation from astronomical sources (1950) Alfvén waves (low

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

hydromagnetic plasma oscillations) are named in his honor, and propagate at the Alfvén speed. Many of his theories about the solar system were verified as late as the 1980s through external measurements of cometary and planetary magnetospheres. However, Alfvén himself noted that astrophysical textbooks poorly represented known plasma phenomena:

A study of how a number of the most used textbooks in astrophysics treat important concepts such as double layers, critical velocity, pinch effects, and circuits is made. It is found that students using these textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of these concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been well known for half a century (e.g, double layers, Langmuir, 1929; pinch effect, Bennet, 1934).

Alfvén reported that of 17 of the most used textbooks on astrophysics, none mention the pinch effect, none mentioned critical ionization velocity, only two mentioned circuits, and three mentioned double layers. Alfvén believed the problem with the

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

was that astrophysicists tried to extrapolate the origin of the universe from mathematical theories developed on the blackboard, rather than starting from known observable phenomena. He also considered the Big Bang to be a

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

devised to explain creation. Alfvén and colleagues proposed the Alfvén–Klein model as an alternative

cosmological Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

theory to both the

and steady state theory cosmologies.

Personal life

Alfvén was married for 67 years to his wife Kerstin (1910–1992). They raised five children, one boy and four girls. Their son became a physician, while one daughter became a writer and another a lawyer in Sweden. The writer was Inger Alfvén and is well known for her work in Sweden. The composer Hugo Alfvén was Hannes Alfvén's uncle. Alfvén studied the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

, oriental philosophy, and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. On his religious views, Alfven was irreligious and critical of religion. He spoke Swedish, English, German, French, and Russian, and some Spanish and Chinese. He expressed great concern about the difficulties of permanent high-level radioactive waste management." Alfvén was also interested in problems in cosmology and all aspects of auroral physics, and used Schröder's well known book on aurora, ''Das Phänomen des Polarlichts''. Letters of Alfvén, Treder, and Schröder were published on the occasion of Treder's 70th birthday. The relationships between Hans-Jürgen Treder, Hannes Alfvén and Wilfried Schröder were discussed in detail by Schröder in his publications. Alfvén died on 2 April, 1995 at Djursholm aged 86.

Awards and honours

The Hannes Alfvén Prize, awarded annually by the European Physical Society for outstanding contributions in plasma physics, is named after him. The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

1778 Alfvén is named in his honour.

Awards

* Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1967) *

(1970) for his work on magnetohydrodynamics * Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute (1971) * Lomonosov Gold Medal of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1971) * Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1980 * William Bowie Medal of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

(1988) for his work on

s and plasmas in the

* Member of

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

* Member of

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

* Life fellows of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

* Member of European Physical Society * Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1962) * Member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences * Contributor to the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs * Member of the International Academy of Science * Member of the Indian National Science AcademyElected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1971) Alfvén was one of the few scientists who was a foreign member of both the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Academies of Sciences.

Selected bibliography

For full list of publications see.Full list of publications
/ref> ;Books
Cosmical Electrodynamics
International Series of Monographs on Physics, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950. (See also 2nd Ed. 1963, co-authored with Carl-Gunne Fälthammar.) *Worlds-Antiworlds: Antimatter in Cosmology (1966). * The Great Computer: A Vision (1968) (a political-scientific satire under the pen name Olof Johannesson; publ. Gollancz, ). *Atom, Man, and the Universe: A Long Chain of Complications, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1969. *Living on the Third Planet, authored with Kerstin Alfvén, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1972. .
Cosmic Plasma
Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 82 (1981) Springer Verlag. *Schröder, Wilfried, and Hans Jürgen Treder. 2007. ''Theoretical physics and geophysics: Recollections of Hans-Jürgen Treder (1928–2006)''. Potsdam: Science Editions. ;Articles
On the cosmogony of the solar system I
(1942)
Part II

Part III

Interplanetary Magnetic Field
(1958)
On the Origin of Cosmic Magnetic Fields
(1961)
On the Filamentary Structure of the Solar Corona
(1963)
Currents in the Solar Atmosphere and a Theory of Solar Flares
(1967)
On the Importance of Electric Fields in the Magnetosphere and Interplanetary Space
(1967)
Jet Streams in Space
(1970)

(1976) with Gustaf Arrhenius (NASA book)
Double radio sources and the new approach to cosmical plasma physics
(1978) (PDF)
Interstellar clouds and the formation of stars
with Per Carlqvist (1978) (PDF)
Energy source of the solar wind
with Per Carlqvist (1980) (PDF) A direct transfer of energy from photospheric activity to the solar wind by means of electric currents is discussed.
Electromagnetic Effects and the Structure of the Saturnian Rings
(1981) (PDF)
A three-ring circuit model of the magnetosphere
with Whipple, E. C. and Jr.; McIlwain (1981) (PDF)
The Voyager 1/Saturn encounter and the cosmogonic shadow effect
(1981) (PDF)
Origin, evolution and present structure of the asteroid region
(1983) (PDF)
On hierarchical cosmology
(1983) (PDF) Progress in lab studies of plasmas and on their methods of transferring the results to cosmic conditions.
Solar system history as recorded in the Saturnian ring structure
(1983) (PDF)
Cosmology – Myth or science?
(1984) (PDF)
Cosmogony as an extrapolation of magnetospheric research
(1984) (PDF)

References

External links

Hannes Alfvén biography
* including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1970 ''Plasma Physics, Space Research and the Origin of the Solar System''

( Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden)
Hannes Alfvén Biographical Memoirs
(Proceedings of the

)
Papers of Hannes Olof Gosta Alfvén

– awarded for outstanding scientific contributions towards the understanding of plasma processes in the Solar System and other cosmical plasma environments * Timeline of Nobel Prize Winners

(1945–1991) in the Mandeville Special Collections Library. *

* (2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfven, Hannes 1908 births 1995 deaths Critics of religions People from Norrköping Fellows of the IEEE Foreign members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Nobel laureates in Physics Religious skeptics 20th-century Swedish astronomers Fluid dynamicists Swedish pacifists 20th-century Swedish physicists Swedish science fiction writers Swedish electrical engineers Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology Swedish Nobel laureates Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Recipients of the Lomonosov Gold Medal Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Foreign fellows of the Indian National Science Academy University of California, San Diego faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty Swedish plasma physicists International members of the American Philosophical Society Recipients of Franklin Medal