physics

Wladyslaw Opechowski

Wladyslaw Opechowski 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 Wladyslaw Opechowski rather than just read about it. In short: Wladyslaw Opechowski (Polish: Władysław Opęchowski, 10 March 1911 – 27 September 1993) was a Polish and Canadian theoretical physicist. He is known for the work on the quantum theory of magnetism and group-theoretic classification of magnetic structures, which led to the Opechowski–Guccione convention in magnetic space groups.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Wladyslaw Opechowski (Polish: Władysław Opęchowski, 10 March 1911 – 27 September 1993) was a Polish and Canadian theoretical physicist. He is known for the work on the quantum theory of magnetism and group-theoretic classification of magnetic structures, which led to the Opechowski–Guccione convention in magnetic space groups.

Education and career Opechowski was born in Warsaw as the son of Edward Opechowski, an electrical engineer, and Wanda Pelz, a social activist. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Warsaw from 1931 to 1935. In 1935, he completed a research internship in France at the University of Paris and in the Netherlands, where he was an assistant for Hans Kramers and later studied under Adriaan Fokker and Léon Rosenfeld. After returning to Poland in 1937, he became an assistant of Czesław Białobrzeski at the Department of Theoretical Physics of the University of Warsaw, and also started teaching at the university. Opechowski moved to Leiden University in 1939 and remained working there until 1945. This was followed by another research position at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium from 1945 to 1948 in Eindhoven. Opechowski emigrated to Vancouver, Canada in September 1948 and became a professor of physics at the University of British Columbia and remained there for the rest of his career. After retiring in 1976, he continued to work there as an emeritus professor.

Honors and awards Opechowski served as the Lorentz chair and delivered the invited lecture at Leiden University from 1964 to 1965. He became a member of the Royal Society of Canada since 1960. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wroclaw in 1973. He received the Marian Smoluchowski Medal from the Polish Physical Society in 1982.

Bibliography Opechowski, W. (1937). "On the exchange interaction in magnetic crystals". Physica. 4 (2): 181–199. Bibcode:1937Phy.....4..181O. doi:10.1016/S0031-8914(37)80135-4. Opechowski, W. (1940). "Sur les groupes cristallographiques "doubles"". Physica (in French). 7 (6): 552–562. Bibcode:1940Phy.....7..552O. doi:10.1016/S0031-8914(40)90045-3. Opechowski, W.; Guccione, R. (1965). "Magnetic Symmetry". In Rado, George T.; Suhl, Harry (eds.). Magnetism. Vol. IIA: Statistical Models, Magnetic Symmetry, Hyperfine Interactions, and Metals. New York: Academic Press. pp. 205–242. ISBN 978-0-12-575302-9. Opechowski, W.; Dreyfus, T. (1 September 1971). "Classifications of magnetic structures". Acta Crystallographica Section A. 27 (5): 470–484. Bibcode:1971AcCrA..27..470O. doi:10.1107/S0567739471001025. ISSN 0567-7394. Opechowski, W. (1977), "Metacrystallographic Groups", Group Theoretical Methods in Physics, Elsevier, pp. 93–113, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-637650-0.50012-7, ISBN 978-0-12-637650-0, retrieved 28 May 2024 Opechowski, W. (1986). Crystallographic and Metacrystallographic Groups. North-Holland. ISBN 978-0-444-86955-5.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wladyslaw Opechowski

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wladyslaw Opechowski 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 Wladyslaw Opechowski 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 Wladyslaw Opechowski 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 Wladyslaw Opechowski

In research: Wladyslaw Opechowski 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 Wladyslaw Opechowski 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: Wladyslaw Opechowski is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1911 births, 1993 deaths, 20th-century Polish physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wladyslaw Opechowski 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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Frequently asked questions

What is Wladyslaw Opechowski in simple terms?

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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.

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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 Wladyslaw Opechowski.