Bernard Peters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bernard Peters (born Bernhard Pietrowski in 1910 in Posen, Germany - February 2, 1993 in Copenhagen)[citation needed] was a nuclear physicist, with a specialty in cosmic radiation. He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award.[1]

Life[]

Towards the end of the First World War, his father, pharmacology researcher and physician, sent him to the Black Forest to a farmer so he could obtain food in exchange for manual labor. In 1942, under the direction of Robert Oppenheimer, Peters completed his doctorate in physics.[2] During his time at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory Peters was active in the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists and Technicians, a labor union affiliated to the Congress of Industrial Organizations.[3]

In J Robert Oppenheimer's 1949 House Un-American Activities Committee hearing, Peters was accused of being a communist sympathizer, a "crazy person" and "quite a red" by Oppenheimer. The Rochester Times-Union broke the story a few days later, and Peters soon realized that his academic career in the US was affected. Peters could not find work in the United States.[4] In 1951, he left the country to Mumbai, India, where he continued to study cosmic rays for eight years. Over the next four decades, he directed several studies on cosmic rays.[5]

Peters died February 2, 1993, in Copenhagen, Denmark.[citation needed]

Works[]

  • Deuteron disintegration by electrons. Scattering of mesotrons of spin ¹/₂, University of California, Berkeley, 1942 (thèse doctorale)
  • Cosmic rays, solar particles, and space research, New York : Academic Press, 1963
  • Cosmic radiation and its origin : contemporary problems, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France : European Space Research Organisation, 1967
  • Creation of particles at cosmic-ray energies, Genève : CERN, 1966

Cosmic rays, New York : Academic Press, 1963

References[]

  1. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "A renowned cosmic-ray physicist" (PDF). Current Science. 25 April 1993. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  3. ^ "Bernard Peters". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  4. ^ Schweber, Silvan S. "A Puzzle of a Man". American Scientist. Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  5. ^ Dayton, Bruce; Lal, Devendra; Lund, Niels; Schnopper, Herbert; Morrison, Philip (2008-01-11). "Bernard Peters". Physics Today. 46 (12): 64–65. doi:10.1063/1.2809136.
Retrieved from ""