Abstract
During the second half of the 1960s the Physics School staff increased sharply. Before this, it had experienced near depletion due to the emigration of many of its members shortly after the triumph of the Revolution. This renaissance took place thanks to the incorporation of the first physicists to graduate from the Physics School itself, and to the return of those who had graduated abroad, mainly from the former Soviet Union. This group of young physicists—with a heavy schedule of teaching duties in spite of their lack of experience—gave strong support to the development of physics in Cuba.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
The Physics School, specifically dedicated to the training of physicists, was created in 1962 as part of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Havana. Before that, the only responsibility of the Faculty was the teaching of three four-year degree programs: physico-mathematical sciences, physico-chemical sciences and natural sciences, essentially designed to train high school teachers.
- 2.
For more information on these experiments, see the chapter in this volume by José Altshuler et al. on Cuban technophysical experiments in space.
- 3.
The Theoretical Physics Group of the Physics School concentrated since the beginning (at the end of the 1960s) basically on semiconductor physics. Although there were efforts toward joint experimental and theoretical work and a few examples of this, theoretical Cuban physicists proceeded independently. They have created an abundant scientific production published in high-impact scientific journals.
- 4.
See the chapter by Ernesto Altshuler in this volume on the impact of Cuban physics through scientific publications.
References
Hernández, L., O. Vigil, and F. Gonzalez. 1976. Optical transitions and distribution of localized levels in ZnIn2S4. Physica Status Solidi (a) 36: 33–37.
Vigil, E., J.A. Rodríguez, and R. Pérez Álvarez. 1978. Optical constants of n and p type GaAs between 2.5 and 3.5 eV. Physica Status Solidi (b), 90: 409–414.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks José Folgueras, Adriana Fornés, Juan Fuentes, Osvaldo de Melo, María Sánchez-Colina, Daniel Stolik, and Julio Vidal for their observations, most of which have been incorporated into the present text.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vigil Santos, E. (2014). Experimental Semiconductor Physics: The Will to Contribute to the Country’s Economic Development. In: Baracca, A., Renn, J., Wendt, H. (eds) The History of Physics in Cuba. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 304. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8041-4_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8041-4_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-8040-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-8041-4
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)