Alexander was born in a small Ural village into the family of a priest. The first education in the biography of Alexander Popov was received at a theological school. Then he began to study at the Perm Theological Seminary. Higher education received from the University of St. Petersburg. Those years in Popov’s biography were difficult. There were not enough funds, so Alexander could not devote all his time to study; he combined his studies with work.
Having become interested in physics, after graduating from university he began teaching in Kronstadt. Then he began to read physics at a technical school. Since 1901, he was a professor at the Electrical Engineering Institute of St. Petersburg, and after that its rector.
But the true passion in the biography of Alexander Stepanovich Popov was experiments. He devoted his free time to the study of electromagnetic oscillations. Using Lodge's receiver, Popov created a radio receiver, which he introduced in April 1895. Beginning in 1897, Alexander Popov conducted radiotelegraphic experiments on ships in his biography. At this time, Rybkin and Troetsky (Popov’s assistants) confirmed the possibility of receiving signals by ear, after which Popov modified the structure of his invention.
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Vice Admiral S. N. ARKHIPOV
In 1895, the outstanding Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov, within the walls of the Mine Officer Class in Kronstadt, discovered the possibility of using electromagnetic waves for practical purposes of communication without wires.
The significance of this discovery, which represents one of the greatest achievements of world science and technology, is determined by its exceptionally wide use in all areas of national economic life and by all branches of the Armed Forces. Invention by A.S. Popov opened a new era in the use of electromagnetic waves. It resolved the issue of communication not only between stationary but also between moving objects and at the same time prepared the way for a number of discoveries that made possible the widespread use of radio in all areas of science and technology.
Radio has become a part of life. It has become as indispensable to man as electricity. It is difficult to imagine at present any area of science and technology where radio would not be used. It is widely used in industry and agriculture.
Radio acquired particular importance in military affairs. Radio communications were widely used in the army and navy in both the first and second world wars. Not a single branch of the military can now do without a wide variety of radio control, communication, and surveillance equipment. In World War II, in particular, radar was widely used. based on the phenomenon of reflection of radio waves, also discovered by A.S. Popov.
The Soviet people are rightfully proud that radio, the greatest achievement of mankind, was born in our country, and that the historical merit of the invention of radio belongs to a Russian scientist. The source of pride for every Russian sailor is that it was in the Russian navy that radio was first used as a means of communication.
Russian people honor the memory of their brilliant compatriot. Alexander Stepanovich Popov was born on March 4, 1859 in the Urals. Having received secondary education, he entered the physics and mathematics department of St. Petersburg University, after which he remained at the university to prepare for a professorship (in physics). Having a penchant for practical activities in electrical engineering, A.S. Polov in 1883 became a teacher at the Mine Officer Class in Kronstadt. This class at that time trained naval mine officers who were in charge of electrical engineering on ships.
Most of A.S.’s free time. Popov spent time in the physics laboratory, being interested in conducting experiments in electrical engineering. Clearly aware of the importance of wireless communication for the fleet, the scientist took up this matter with enthusiasm. As a result of persistent experimental work by A.S. Popov, already at the beginning of 1895, developed the world's first radio receiver, which made it possible to record lightning discharges over considerable distances.
March 12, 1896 A.S. Popov together with P.N. Rybkin demonstrated the transmission of Morse signals over a distance of 200 m from one university building to another with recording on tape. It was the world's first radio broadcast of meaningful text. In the spring of 1897, Popov conducted communications experiments in the Kronstadt roadstead, achieving a reliable transmission range of 640 m. A few months later, Popov managed to transfer his work to ships, and he established communications between the warships "Europe" and "Africa" at a distance of 5 km . By continuously improving his equipment, D.S. Popov step by step increased the communication range without wires.
For the first time for practical purposes, the invention of A.S. Popov was used in the late autumn of 1899 during the accident of the coastal defense battleship Admiral General Apraksin, which landed on rocks at the southern tip of the island. Gogland. In those days there was no connection between the island and the mainland. To provide guidance for the work of removing the battleship from the stones, Popov proposed organizing radio communications between Kotka and Gogland. Masts were erected on the shore, antennas were hung and equipment was installed. During the entire rescue operation, communication between the shore and the island, as well as communication with the battleship, was maintained via wireless telegraph.
At the same time, the radiotelegraph of A.S. Popov ensured the rescue of the fishermen who were on the broken ice floe. The order to the commander of the icebreaker "Ermak" to go to Lavensaari and provide assistance to the fishermen was transmitted from Kotka to Gogland via wireless telegraph. 27 fishermen were removed from the ice floe by Ermak.
In 1901 on the Black Sea A.S. Popov achieved reliable communication between ships at a distance of up to 150 km.
The practical value of A. S. Popov’s invention forced inert and incompetent tsarist officials to recognize the possibility of arming the fleet with equipment wireless communication. However, filled with disbelief in the ability of the Russian people to independently solve new technical problems, these officials did not provide Popov with the necessary funds. The intervention of the talented Russian naval scientist Vice Admiral S.O. did not help either. Makarova. At the cost of enormous efforts, a group of enthusiasts was organized under the leadership of A.S. Popov production of radio equipment in Kronstadt workshops. Taking advantage of the disdainful attitude of the tsarist government towards the Russian inventor, foreign hunters for someone else's glory tried to appropriate his brilliant discovery. Along with this, foreign firms tried in every possible way to get their hands on A.S.’s invention. Popova. American and English companies have repeatedly turned to A.S. Popov with offers to sell them his invention. But the patriotic scientist’s answer was the same: “I am a Russian person and I have the right to give all my knowledge, all my work, all my achievements only to my Motherland.”
Along with the work on radio communications A.S. Popov made another important discovery. In 1897, during experiments on radio communication between ships, he discovered the phenomenon of reflection of radio waves from a ship. The radio transmitter was installed on the upper bridge of the transport "Europe", which was at anchor, and the radio receiver was installed on the cruiser "Africa". In the report of the commission appointed to conduct these experiments, A.S. Popov wrote: “The influence of the ship’s environment is reflected in the following: all metal objects (masts, pipes, gear) should interfere with the operation of instruments both at the sending station and at the receiving station, because when they get in the way of the electromagnetic wave, they violate its correctness, partly similar to how a breakwater acts on an ordinary wave propagating over the surface of water, partly due to the interference of the waves excited in them with the waves of the source, i.e. they have an unfavorable effect.” And further: “The influence of an intermediate vessel was also observed. Thus, during the experiments, the cruiser “Lieutenant Ilyin” got caught between “Europe” and Africa, and if this happened at large distances, then the interaction of the instruments stopped until the ships left the same straight line ".
With this discovery A.S. Popov laid the foundation for a new means of observation - radar. The imperfection of technology did not allow it to be used to create practically acceptable devices. This took about 40 years. And when Americans widely advertise the “discovery” of the reflection of radio waves from ships, allegedly made by Taylor and Young in 1922, we must remember that this phenomenon was first discovered by the brilliant Russian scientist A.S. Popov 25 years before the Americans. No falsifier of history will be able to hide from humanity the fact that radio communications and radar, which are currently the main means of communication and observation, owe their appearance to the Russian scientist-inventor Alexander Stepanovich Popov.
The Russian Navy was the cradle of radio. Throughout the subsequent history of the development of radio technology, the Navy continued to remain advanced in terms of the level of radio communications. Radio was the main and most important means of communication in all operations carried out by our fleet in the Great Patriotic War.
Alexander Stepanovich Popov- Russian physicist, electrical engineer, one of the parents of wireless communications - radio. He developed and improved a radio receiver for wireless communication, a recorder of electromagnetic radiation from lightning discharges, and many other devices. The scientist discovered the influence metal cases trial for the passage and propagation of a radio signal, proposed a method for determining the direction to a working radio transmitter.
Alexander Stepanovich was born March 4, 1859 in the village of Turinskie Rudniki, Perm province, in the family of a priest. Besides him, there were 6 more children in the family, so the family could not boast of special wealth. His father’s attitude towards religion and his difficult financial situation influenced Alexander’s first steps in the world of knowledge - at the age of 10 he was sent to the Dalmatovo Theological School. Three years later he was transferred to the Yekaterinburg Theological School, and after another two to the Perm Theological Seminary. However, Alexander did not follow in his father's footsteps. In 1877 He successfully passes the exams and enters the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. In order to somehow support himself while studying at the university, the future scientist simultaneously gets a job as an electrician. Already as a student, Alexander Stepanovich began his research in the field of physics and electrical engineering.
In 1882 Popov graduates from the university and remains there to prepare and defend his dissertation on the topic “On the principles of magneto- and dynamoelectric machines operating on direct current.” After defending his dissertation, he got a job as a teacher at the Mine Officer Class, located in Kronstadt, where, along with teaching physics and electrical engineering, he conducted experimental research in the field of electricity. In 1890 he is already a physics teacher at the Technical School of the Maritime Department, and since 1901- Professor of Physics at the then prestigious St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute, where after 4 years he became its rector.
The scientific and research activities of Alexander Stepanovich Popov made a great contribution to the development of science in general, and in particular physics and electronics. Firstly, this is, of course, the invention of radio. Although this issue is still disputed by many scientists and historians different countries, nevertheless, the fact of Popov’s demonstration of the radio receiver he invented at a meeting of the physics department of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society April 25, 1895- we won’t dispute anything. His radio receiver was based on an improved coherer ( electronic key) English physicist and inventor Joseph Lodge. Almost a year before the demonstration of the radio receiver in August 1894 Alexander Stepanovich received a radio signal at a distance of 40 m.
In the same 1895 During experiments, the scientist discovered that his receiver responded to lightning discharges in the atmosphere. He creates a device that records the intensity on paper electromagnetic radiation atmospheric electrical discharges. Two years later, working on improving the design of the radio receiver, Alexander Stepanovich was able to achieve a radio communication range of 600 m. And after a few months, the radio signal could be received wirelessly at a distance of up to 5 km. He discovered the effect of the metal hulls of ships on the radio signal and proposed a method for determining the direction of a working radio signal transmitter.
In 1897 While working on studying the properties of X-rays, Popov took the first photographs of human objects and limbs in Russia. In addition, scientists created in 1901 ship radio receiving station adopted by the Black Sea Fleet. Its communication range was about 150 km.
Alexander Stepanovich died December 31, 1906 and was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg. A small planet, numerous museums, institutes, enterprises, and a motor ship were named after him. Prizes, diplomas and medals were established. Monuments were erected in many cities of Russia.
Having devoted his life to electromagnetic waves, Alexander Popov not only developed radio, but also laid the foundation for current technologies wireless transmission data.
Biography of Alexander Popov
Alexander Popov belonged to a spiritual dynasty. Born on March 16, 1859 in a mining village in the Perm province in the family of a priest. The elder brother taught Latin at the Dolmatovo Theological School. The sister married a priest who held a responsible post in the Yekaterinburg diocese. And five other brothers and sisters also had one way or another to do with the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. And this family ministry began in ancient times. Hence the family surname - Popov.
Alexander Stepanovich studied at the Dolmatovsky Theological School for two years. Then he transferred to the third grade of the Yekaterinburg Theological School. And, finally, the Perm Theological Seminary.
However, things did not come to the point of being ordained. After graduating from general education classes in 1877, Popov radically changed his fate by entering the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. Which upset my father a lot.
It is clear that such a sharp turn did not happen overnight. Even in his adolescence, Popov became interested in physics and the technical miracles that it promises for humanity. The time was like this - the era of steam and coal was ending, the era of electricity was beginning.
During his student years, Alexander Popov worked part-time as an electrician on lighting installations. He led excursions at the St. Petersburg Electric Exhibition, introducing visitors to the operating principles and features of certain machines.
After university, the young scientist became a teacher of mathematics, physics and electrical engineering at the Mine Officer Class in Kronstadt. There was an excellent laboratory base for practicing practical electrical engineering. And in 1890, Alexander Stepanovich Popov was invited to lecture on physics at the Technical School of the Maritime Department in Kronstadt.
Even in his adolescence, Popov became interested in physics and the technical miracles that it promises for humanity. The time was like this - the era of steam and coal was ending, the era of electricity was beginning.
Hertz vibrator
Alexander Popov's scientific interests belonged to problems shaped by the discoveries of outstanding British physicists Michael Faraday and James Maxwell, the fathers of the theory of electromagnetic induction. His university thesis was devoted to research into “the conditions for the most advantageous operation of a dynamo-electric machine.” He was actively involved in the problem of electricity. Every summer he came to the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where he supervised the work of the electrical installations department. Later, under a contract with a joint stock company "Electrician" led the construction of power plants in Moscow, Ryazan and other Russian cities.
There was a period when Popov became so carried away by the newly discovered x-rays, that he created an X-ray tube of his own design and took the first X-ray or, as they were called then, “hidden” photographs in Russia. On his initiative, advanced high-tech equipment was introduced at the Kronstadt Hospital for diagnostic purposes. The doctors did not understand well the principles of operation of the unprecedented technology, but quickly appreciated it.
The theory of reception and transmission of electromagnetic waves was fully developed in the first half of the 19th century, primarily by the same Faraday and Maxwell. The idea of a wireless telegraph was in the air.
The German physicist Heinrich Hertz has already demonstrated a vibrator he invented, through which a wave is generated “in a spark-like manner.” The Hertz vibrator is the first radio transmitter in history, or rather, its immediate predecessor. There were also electromagnetic wave receivers, but they all operated at a distance of no more than 10 meters and could only serve as demonstration devices during lectures.
Popov in 1892 made his own transmitter, which differed from the Hertz vibrator by the presence of a spark gap placed in a vessel with oil, an induction coil and - which was fundamentally important - an antenna in the form of two square metal sheets with a side length of 40 cm.
In 1893, Popov visited the International Electrical Exhibition in Chicago. There he touched with his own hands and tested the equipment of Hertz and other scientists working in the field of studying and practical application electromagnetic waves.
Having studied overseas experience, appreciating positive results and having seen the dead-end branches along which some inventors rushed, Popov continued his research in St. Petersburg with renewed energy.
Radio Day
If everything was more or less clear with the transmitter, then with the receiver we had to tinker. Ultimately, Popov settled on the coherer of the English physicist Oliver Lodge as an indicator of electromagnetic waves. This device was a glass tube with metal filings, which, when waves passed through them, “stuck together” and sharply reduced the resistance electric current, which was recorded by the galvanometer needle.
The undoubtedly effective coherer had one significant drawback: before receiving the next wave, the tube had to be shaken thoroughly to “fluff” the sawdust. Lodge solved this problem by installing an electric bell on a common plate with the coherer. When a signal was received, the bell shook the sawdust due to the vibration running along the plate. However, the system did not work reliably: approximately every fifth pulse did not shake the sawdust properly, and “sticking” occurred.
By 1895, Popov managed to cope with this task. He placed the bell hammer in a neutral position between the sawdust tube and the cup. Now the call clearly registered every wave coming from the airwaves. Subsequently, the inventor attached the receiving device to a telegraph apparatus that recorded information transmitted in Morse code. Another important element is a three-meter antenna, which has increased the sensitivity of the receiving circuit several times.
In the spring of 1895, Alexander Stepanovich tested his design. In the Mine Officer Class garden, by changing the relative position of the receiver and transmitter, he achieved reliable reception of electromagnetic signals at a distance of up to 80 meters.
And on May 7 (April 25, old style) 1895, Popov presented his invention at a meeting of the physics department Russian Physical and Chemical Society (RFCS), conducting a visual radio communication session at a distance of 64 meters. A few days later, the Kronstadt Messenger newspaper responded to this significant event with a note. In the January issue of the “Journal of the RFKhO” for 1896, a detailed article by Popov was published with detailed description transmitter and receiver. In the same year, his publications appeared in the magazines “Electricity” and “Meteorological Bulletin”. Abstracts of the article were also published in a number of reputable foreign journals.
Further events developed as follows. In March 1896, Popov made another report to the Russian Federal Chemical Society, and in addition, he connected his apparatus with a telegraph and transmitted a two-word radiogram over a distance of 250 meters: “Heinrich Hertz.” These words were imprinted on a tape that is kept in the Popov Museum.
Italian Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated the transmission of radio telegrams over a distance of 3 kilometers on September 2, 1895. At the end of the same month, he was issued a patent for the invention of a transceiver radio device. So who invented the radio, Popov or Marconi?
This dispute will apparently continue forever. Supporters of Marconi's priority argue that there is no documentary evidence of the operation of Popov's equipment before December 1897. The records of St. Petersburg professors that they observed the transmission of radio signals and wireless telegrams in both 1895 and 1896 are not taken into account. In fact, of course, the invention of radio is a collective achievement, which humanity owes to Popov, Marconi, Hertz, Lodge, Faraday and Maxwell, and the hitherto unmentioned Nikola Tesla. But Popov was subsequently more careful about his copyrights. In particular, in 1901 he patented a device for receiving radiograms on headphones. And in Russia, Radio Day is celebrated on May 7 - in honor of the day in 1895 when Alexander Popov presented his invention to his colleagues.
On May 7, 1895, Popov presented his invention at a meeting of the physics department of the Russian Physical-Chemical Society, conducting a radio communication session at a distance of 64 meters.
Live
Since 1897, Popov has been actively introducing wireless telegraphy on naval vessels. At the same time, he is constantly improving the equipment, increasing the range and clarity of signal reception. In 1898, wireless communication was established between the training ship "Europe" and the cruiser "Africa" at a distance of 10 kilometers. Three years later, the range of maritime radio communications already exceeds 150 kilometers, and more than two dozen ship radio stations operate on a permanent basis in the Russian fleet.
In 1899, the battleship Admiral General Apraksin ran aground off the island of Gotland. To carry out large-scale rescue operations, a fixed radio connection was established between Gotland and the island of Kutsalo (47 km), which was connected by cable to St. Petersburg through intermediate telegraph stations. The Gotland-Kutsalo radio link operated for 84 days. During this time, 440 official radiograms were transmitted and received. Messages from private individuals were also transmitted. This marked the beginning of the civilian use of radio communications.
In 1900, the Naval Ministry allocated significant funds for the installation of ship radio stations and the training of relevant specialists. And Popov, at the request of the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral S. O. Makarov, was paid a bonus in the amount of 33 thousand rubles.
The inventor was invited as a professor at the Department of Physics of the Electrotechnical Institute of Emperor Alexander III. In 1905, the scientific council of the institute elected Popov as rector. He was also an honorary member of the Imperial Russian Technical Society, chairman of the Physics Department and president of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society. And in 1901 he became a state councilor.
Among his awards are the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd and 2nd degree, the Order of St. Stanislaus, and the medal “In memory of the reign of Emperor Alexander III.” And also the gold medal of the Paris World Industrial Exhibition of 1900 - Popov received this award for the ship radio station, mass-produced by the Parisian company Eugene Ducretet.
Alexander Stepanovich Popov died suddenly on December 31, 1906 from a cerebral hemorrhage. He passed away in the prime of his creative powers, not having had time to implement a whole series of planned scientific and technical measures to introduce radio broadcasts into all spheres of human activity. But what he managed to do is more than enough to rank him among the pantheon of great inventors.
RRussian physicist and electrical engineer
inventor of radio
Alexander Stepanovich Popov was born in the Urals in the village of Turinskie Rudniki in the family of a priest. There were six more children in the family. Alexander successfully graduated from theological school, seminary, and in 1882, university.
Popov became a professor at the St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute, and then the director of this institute.
The history of radio begins with the world's first radio receiver, created in 1895 by Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov. He designed a device that responded to electromagnetic waves. At first, the receiver could only “feel” atmospheric electrical discharges from lightning. And then, he learned to receive and record on tape telegrams transmitted by radio.
5 years after the creation of the first receiver, a regular wireless communication line began to operate. Thanks to a radiogram transmitted over this line, in the winter of 1900, the icebreaker Ermak removed fishermen from the ice floe, who had been carried out to sea by a storm. Radio, which began its practical history by saving people, has become a new progressive form of communication.
Today it is difficult to imagine life without radio. All types of aircraft, sea and river vessels, and scientific expeditions are equipped with radio communications. Radio communications are used on railways, construction sites, and mines. Space radio communications make it possible to travel vast distances, and with its help we obtain valuable scientific information.
On January 13, 1906, the life of the scientist-genius who gave radio to humanity was cut short.
But radio is not only radiotelephone and radiotelegraph communications, radio broadcasting and television, but also radiolocation, radio astronomy, radio control and many other areas of technology that arose and are successfully developing thanks to the outstanding invention of our compatriot Alexander Stepanovich Popov.
