physics

Pyotr Lebedev

Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev rather than just read about it. In short: Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev (Russian: Пётр Никола́евич Ле́бедев; 24 February 1866 – 1 March 1912) was a Russian physicist. His name was also transliterated as Peter Lebedew and Peter Lebedev.

Key takeaways

Pyotr Lebedev belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pyotr Lebedev to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pyotr Lebedev from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev (Russian: Пётр Никола́евич Ле́бедев; 24 February 1866 – 1 March 1912) was a Russian physicist. His name was also transliterated as Peter Lebedew and Peter Lebedev. Lebedev was the creator of the first scientific school in Russia.

Career Lebedev made his doctoral degree in Strasbourg under the supervision of August Kundt in 1887–1891. In 1891, he started working in Moscow State University in the group of Alexander Stoletov. There he made his famous experimental studies of electromagnetic waves. Along with Indian physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose he was one of the first to investigate millimeter waves, generating 50 GHz (6 mm) microwaves beginning in 1895 with a spark oscillator made of two platinum cylinders 1.5 cm long and 0.5 diameter immersed in kerosene at the focus of a parabolic reflector, and detecting the waves with an iron-constantan thermocouple detector. With this apparatus, he extended the work of Heinrich Hertz to higher frequencies, duplicating classical optics experiments using quasioptical components such as lenses, prisms and quarter-wave plates made of sulfur and wire diffraction gratings to demonstrate refraction, diffraction, double refraction, birefringence and polarization of millimeter waves. He was the first to measure the pressure of light on a solid body in 1899. The discovery was announced at the International Congress of Physics during Paris Exposition Universelle, and became the first quantitative confirmation of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. An English translation of the paper as well as a historical review is in. In 1909, he reported that the pressure of light on gas is in agreement with predictions based on Maxwell's theory.

Later life In 1901, he became a professor at Moscow State University, however, he quit the University in 1911, protesting against the politics of the Ministry of Education. In the same year, he received an invitation to become a professor in Stockholm, which he rejected. He died the next year of a hereditary heart condition.

Legacy The Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow and the lunar crater Lebedev are named after him.

See also Pyotr Lebedev (research vessel)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pyotr Lebedev

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev

In research: Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev 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: Pyotr Lebedev is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1866 births, 1912 deaths, Academic staff of Moscow State University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pyotr Lebedev 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.
Explain Pyotr Lebedev out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pyotr Lebedev in simple terms?

Why does Pyotr Lebedev 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 Pyotr Lebedev?

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 Pyotr Lebedev.