Abstract
Kurt Mendelssohn was a researcher in cryogenic engineering for more than 50 years during which he wrote nearly 200 scientific papers and supervised 50 Ph.D. students. This chapter reviews his research activities and through the examples of a number of students, his training of students. Research addressed includes superfluid He films and properties of transuranic elements at cryogenic temperatures. Students discussed include B. S. Chandrasekhar, G.T. Meaden, J. Daunt, H. Rosenberg, G. K. White and a visiting scholar—V.K. Chopra. Drs. Meaden, Chandrasekhar and Chopra all provided recollections of their time with Kurt Mendelssohn.
“A significant feature of the post-war years was the influence that the Oxford low temperature school began to have on research in other laboratories. A great number of its former research students set up low temperature work in various parts of the world, creating schools of their own”
“The Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, (The World of Cryogenics . IV.)” K. Mendelssohn, Cryogenics Volume 6, No. 3 (1966)
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Notes
- 1.
He II (see Chap. 4) is the second liquid phase of the most common isotope of helium known as 4He with the 4 representing the 2 protons and 2 neutrons in the helium nucleus. There is another, much rarer, isotope 3He with 2 protons and 1 neutron in its nucleus. 3He becomes a superfluid when cooled below 2.65 mK.
- 2.
The importance of this Fellowship may be seen by the Chairs of the Fellowship Committee when it was awarded to Dr. Chopra. They were Lord Mountbatten of the UK and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India.
- 3.
At this time in Oxford, there were very few people with the title of Professor, mainly heads of Institutes and holders of named chairs. A Reader, being a permanent, full time staff member engaged in research and teaching would be the equivalent of a full Professor at any other institution.
- 4.
Here White is referring to Francis Simon, Kurt Mendelssohn and Nicholas Kurti.
References
F.E. Simon et al. Low Temperature Physics: Four Lectures, (Pergamon Press, London 1952)
J. G. Daunt and K. Mendelssohn, “Film Transfer in He II: I—The Thermo—Mechanical Effect”, Proc. Phys. Soc. A 63 1305 (1950).
J. B. Brown and K. Mendelssohn, “Film Transfer in He II: II—Influence of Geometrical Form and Temperature Gradient”, Proc. Phys. Soc. A 63 1312 (1950).
R. Bowers and K. Mendelssohn, “Film Transfer in He II: III—Influence of Radiation and Impurities”, Proc. Phys. Soc. A 63 1318 (1950).
G.K. White and K. Mendelssohn, “Film Transfer in He II: IV—The Transfer Rates on Glass and Metals”, Proc. Phys. Soc. A 63 1305 (1950).
J. G. Weisend II, “He II: From the Lab to an Engineering Fluid”, Cold Facts, April (2014).
J.A. Lee, G.T. Meaden and K. Mendelssohn. “Low Temperature Resistivity of Plutonium and Neptunium”. Proc. Phys. Soc. LXXIV, 671 (1959).
G.T. Meaden. “Electronic Properties of Actinide Metals at Low Temperature”, Proc. Roy. Soc., 276:1367 (1963).
C. S. Griffin, K Mendelssohn, M. J. Mortimer, “Self-Irradiation Damage in the Actinide Metals”, Cryogenics, April (1968).
“Obituary—H. M. Rosenberg”, F. N.H. Robinson, Cryogenics Vol 34 (1994).
V. Chopra, Oxford Days, (in preparation)
“Dr. Guy White (1925–2018) Physicist” Interviewed by Prof N. Fletcher, Australian Academy of Sciences (2010)
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Weisend, J.G., Meaden, G.T. (2021). Studies and Students Oxford 1945–1973. In: Going for Cold. Springer Biographies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61199-6_6
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