According to the laws of wartime physics: how they fought on the front of science

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On April 12, 1943, the famous Laboratory No. 2 began its work in the USSR, the scientists of which participated in the fight against the enemy who came to our land on a par with the soldiers of the Red Army. On account of these selfless people - the creation of armor technology for Soviet tanks, mine protection of ships of the Navy and military equipment, the first radar reconnaissance systems to protect the skies of Moscow and Leningrad.

In addition, the organization of safe traffic along the Leningrad Road of Life, which became possible thanks to a device for studying the state of ice of Lake Ladoga, as well as the technology of extracting and purifying edible vegetable oil from paints and varnishes, which is so necessary for starving Leningrad. On the day of the 77th anniversary of the creation of Laboratory No. 2 Izvestia, they remember the developments of scientists who later formed the team of the legendary Kurchatov Institute, who brought the common Victory closer

A proclamation to science

Secret Laboratory No. 2 was created on the outskirts of Moscow on April 12, 1943 - in the midst of the Great Patriotic War - to work on the Soviet atomic bomb. The exceptional significance of this event is emphasized at the Kurchatov Institute - today one of the largest scientific centers in the world, which grew out of the laboratory where at first 100 people worked, including a stoker.

- If the country's leadership, thanks to a group of scientists and intelligence data, did not take up the atomic project in the most difficult autumn of 1942, forming a uranium committee, and six months later - Laboratory No. 2 under the leadership of Igor Kurchatov, the very existence of the USSR would be in jeopardy, - stressed in a conversation with Izvestia, President of the Kurchatov Institute, Mikhail Kovalchuk.

But before embarking on the creation of weapons of the future, Soviet physicists had to solve a number of wartime problems, to contribute to the victory over fascism. Their intention was announced already on June 29, 1941 (on the eighth day of the war) through an appeal, an appeal to scientists of all countries, published in No. 152 (7528) of the Izvestia newspaper.

"At this hour of decisive battle, Soviet scientists march with their people, giving all their strength to the fight against the fascist warmongers - in the name of defending their homeland and in the name of protecting the freedom of world science and the salvation of a culture that serves all humanity," said this historic document.

Rescue and demagnetize

The first task was posed to physicists immediately: in the first months of the offensive, German aviation dropped sea mines on the Sevastopol Bay, thereby blocking its water area. The newest explosive devices had a non-contact type of action and reacted to a change in the magnetic field that occurred when any ship with a metal hull approached. It was necessary to protect our ships, not allowing a mine to explode, each of which contained 250 kg of explosives, destroying everything within a radius of 50 m.

Scientists have proposed a scheme for demagnetizing ships. For this purpose, on July 8, 1941, employees of the Leningrad Physics and Technology Institute (LPTI) arrived in Sevastopol, who later formed the backbone of Laboratory No. 2. They brought with them a magnetometer and part of the necessary equipment, creating a test base in the shortest possible time.

Also, specialists from England, who already had similar experience, joined this work. As a result, the approaches of Soviet and British engineers successfully complemented each other.

“The British system of winding-free demagnetization was more convenient than ours, and our system of winding demagnetization was more effective than the English one, especially on surface ships,” later recalled the director of the Kurchatov Institute, Academician Anatoly Alexandrov. - In August 1941, winding-free demagnetization stations (RBD) were created in all fleets. The constant bombings in the Baltic and the Black Sea and later artillery attacks made the work very intense. However, the losses of the fleet on mines were decreasing. Not a single demagnetized ship was lost.

Anatoly Aleksandrov joined LPTI scientists together with Igor Kurchatov, leading a team that worked hard in the difficult conditions of endless bombing.

“There is a lot of work, we do not have time to do everything,” Kurchatov wrote to his wife from Sevastopol in August 1941. - As we move forward, more and more new tasks arise, there is no end in sight. Our group has not had a single day off for two months already.

As a result of the introduction of the technology created by scientists on Soviet warships, they began to fix a special winding through which a direct current was passed. In this case, the magnetic field of their hulls was compensated by the magnetic field of the current to such an extent that the passage of the ship over the mine did not trigger the detonator. Subsequently, the Sevastopol Bay was cleared of most of the mines, however, some specimens in this area continue to be found to this day.

Resonance or life

The frontline work of scientists continued on the Road of Life - the only transport artery that connected Leningrad with the rest of the country during its long blockade, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944. The rescue movement across Lake Ladoga was opened, but people were faced with the fact that cars moving along the highway fell through the thick ice, which was previously considered suitable for movement.

To study the dangerous phenomenon, a group of scientists was involved, which included the physicist Pavel Kobeko, who had previously worked with Kurchatov at LPTI on the study of Rochelle salt crystals. After analyzing the situation, he suggested that the cause of accidents is the resonance effect, which could occur at a certain frequency and speed of passing cars. Later, this hypothesis was confirmed using instruments capable of measuring the fluctuations of ice. They were made by scientists in the field using such scrap materials as parts of park fences and elements of old telephones.

During the second winter of the blockade, several ready-made devices were put at risk to their lives by soldiers in special ice-holes, which were cut down along the route. The scientific experiment was carried out under fire, many servicemen were killed, and Pavel Kobeko himself was wounded several times. However, these sacrifices were not in vain - scientists were able to determine the time during which the wave oscillations reached from one device to another, due to which the optimal road speed and a safe distance between cars were calculated. Thus, the application of a scientific approach allowed to save many lives, and most importantly, the Ladoga road functioned successfully until the blockade was lifted.

In addition to the tasks related to defense and transport, the researchers managed to establish the everyday side of life. In particular, under the leadership of Pavel Kobeko, a method was developed for separating edible vegetable oil from drying oil and paint. With the help of scientists, a new source of nutrients was found, which was so necessary in the starving city.

In fact, the first

On April 12, 1943, by order of the Defense Committee, a secret Laboratory No. 2 was created. The goal was set for its employees: to develop atomic weapons for the country. The timely start of the Soviet atomic project under the leadership of Igor Kurchatov made it possible in three years to create the first nuclear reactor F-1 in Eurasia (in fact, the first) on uranium-graphite blocks, which was launched in Laboratory No. 2 on December 25, 1946. This was the most important first step for the creation of an industrial reactor in the Urals, with the help of which it was then possible to produce the necessary amount of weapons-grade plutonium for the first domestic atomic bomb RDS-1. Its successful test on August 29, 1949 eliminated the US monopoly in this area and did not lead to tragic consequences for the whole world. The established parity of the nuclear arsenals of the USA and the USSR made it possible to avoid a nuclear war.

In addition to its strategic importance, the implementation of the atomic project has provided an opportunity for the development of many new scientific areas.

“The Kurchatov Institute continued in subsequent years to develop nuclear power, nuclear submarine and icebreaker fleets, nuclear medicine, supercomputers, thermonuclear power - all these are direct fruits of the Soviet atomic project,” emphasized Mikhail Kovalchuk.