physics

Laszlo B. Kish

Laszlo B. Kish is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Laszlo B. Kish rather than just read about it. In short: Laszlo Bela Kish (born László Béla Kiss) is a physicist and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. His activities include a wide range of issues surrounding the physics and technical applications of stochastic fluctuations (noises) in physical, biological and technological systems, including nanotechnology.

Key takeaways

Laszlo B. Kish belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Laszlo B. Kish from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Laszlo Bela Kish (born László Béla Kiss) is a physicist and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. His activities include a wide range of issues surrounding the physics and technical applications of stochastic fluctuations (noises) in physical, biological and technological systems, including nanotechnology. His earlier long-term positions include the Department of Experimental Physics, University of Szeged, Hungary (JATE, 1982–1997), and Angstrom Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden (1997–2001). During the same periods he had also conducted scientific research in short-term positions, such as at the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands, 1986, 1997), University of Cologne (Germany, 1989, 1990), National Research Laboratory of Metrology (Japan, 1991), University of Birmingham (United Kingdom, 1993), and others.

Education He received his MS in physics from Attila József University (JATE), Hungary, 1980; and doctoral degree in solid state physics, at JATE in 1984. He had no official PhD adviser, though his mentors were Laszlo Vize and Miklos Torok. He received a docent in solid state physics (habilitation) from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 1994. He received a Doctor of Science (physics), from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2001.

Research

His main areas of interest have been related to stochastic fluctuations (noise), especially those related to the relevant laws, limits and applications, including the addressing of new or open questions, or exposing fashionable misconceptions. He has/had been working in many related fields, (see his list of publications) such as 1/f noise and its models, stochastic resonance, high-Tc superconductors, noise at percolation and biased percolation, nanoparticles and their lognormal size distribution, self-organized criticality, universal conductance fluctuations, the error–speed–power dissipation issues of physical informatics, noise as information and information carrier, chemical and biological sensing, secure communication, unconventional computation, vibration-induced fluctuation analysis of soils, electronic device noise vs its degradation, weight fluctuations of memory devices during/after writing/deletion of information, etc. He has often played the role of a critic. His inventions and co-inventions include fluctuation-enhanced sensing, SEPTIC method (prompt bacterium detection), secure communication with Johnson-like noise (Kish cypher), speed–error–energy limits of computers, zero-signal-power communication, "information theoretically secure computer hardware", noise-based logic, Electrical noise engines and others.

Public activity He was the founding editor-in-chief of Fluctuation and Noise Letters (2001–2008), where he is currently Honorary Editor (2009–present). Kish is the founder of the international conference series Unsolved Problems of Noise (held at various locations at every 3rd years since 1996 when he chaired the first meeting). He is co-founder of SPIE's international conference series Fluctuations and Noise (with D. Abbott) and the Hot Topics of Physical Informatics (HotPI) conference series (with David K. Ferry and He Wen). He coauthored the HTML document available for download from the internet, The Dancer and the Piper: Resolving Problems with Government Research Contracting.

Honors He was the recipient of the year 2001 Benzelius Prize of the Royal Society of Science of Sweden for his activities on fluctuation-enhanced chemical sensing. In 2011, he received the title of Honorary Doctor (Honoris Causa) from Uppsala University, Sweden for his achievement in "research and technical applications of random fluctuations and noise." In 2012, he received the title of Honorary Doctor (Honoris Causa)[link removed] from the University of Szeged for his "outstanding research work and achievements."

See also Noise-based logic Fluctuation-enhanced sensing Sensing of phage-triggered ion cascades (SEPTIC) Fluctuation and Noise Letters Quantum Aspects of Life

References

External links Laszlo B. Kish at the Mathematics Genealogy Project Myth-busting in Physics and Information Technology, webpage at Texas A&M University Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (KLJN) secure key exchange Kish's homepage News article on Kish's honorary doctor conferment at Uppsala University News article on Kish's honorary doctor conferment at University of Szeged Electrical noise engines and demons Kish cypher book MIT Technology Review feature article about the Kish cypher Hot Topics of Physical Informatics (HotPI) Noise/energy limits computation Johnson noise engines and demons Unconditionally secure computer hardware

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Laszlo B. Kish

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Laszlo B. Kish claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Laszlo B. Kish before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Laszlo B. Kish ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Laszlo B. Kish

In research: Laszlo B. Kish appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Laszlo B. Kish in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Laszlo B. Kish is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1955 births, 20th-century Hungarian physicists, 21st-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Laszlo B. Kish outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Laszlo B. Kish in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Laszlo B. Kish means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Laszlo B. Kish in simple terms?

Why does Laszlo B. Kish matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Laszlo B. Kish?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Laszlo B. Kish.