Polak, Lev Solomonovich

Born in 1908 in the family of an engineer who worked then in Germany. In 1912, the family returned to Russia. After graduating from high school he worked as an apprentice printer in a printing house ^[1] . In 1929, the young man graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of National Economy. Then he entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Leningrad University, which he graduated in 1933. In 1931–1936, he worked at the Leningrad Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics , where he soon became a professor and head of the department of physics; at the same time he worked at the Institute of Chemical Physics and at the Institute of the History of Science and Technology ^[2] .

In 1936, Polak defended his thesis (the leaders were academicians A. N. Krylov and S. I. Vavilov ) ^[3] . A year later, the Institute of the History of Science and Technology, whose director was N. I. Bukharin , was defeated and was soon closed, many of its employees, including Polak, were declared "pests" and arrested ^[2] . Despite the active efforts of Academician A. N. Krylov, who characterized his pupil as a brilliant scientist, Polak was convicted (May 1937) of "complicity in the counter-revolutionary terrorist activities of the Trotsky-Zinoviev organization" ^[2] . The verdict read: 10 years in the camps, 5 years in rights, with confiscation of property ^[1] .

Over the next eighteen years, as Polak himself later recalled, he visited twelve prisons, three camps and two exiles. He worked on loading barges, on the extraction of peat bog. According to the denunciation, he got into the penal point "for complicity in the escape". Some relief came in 1940, Polak was sent to work by the head of the geological party, was engaged in the search for oil fields. Even in the harshest conditions of the camps and the exile, Polak sometimes managed to do science. He was the first in the USSR to develop the scientific foundations of gamma-neutron logging , designed and practically tested a number of instruments for oil exploration. This method is widely used in the oil industry. Reports about these works are preserved in the archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ^[4] .

In 1946, Polak was released without the right to reside in Moscow, but he returned illegally to Moscow, where he worked for some time in the Special Laboratory of the Institute of Oil. In 1948, he was again arrested and exiled to the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where he refused to work as a digger and was accused of sabotage. In the end, the scientist was sent to work tanker aircraft. In the meantime, well-known scientists were busy with the fate of Polak; As a result, he was transferred to the position of a techno-engineer of a geological exploration party engaged in the search for iron ore deposits. In 1950-1955 - a link in the city of Guryev ^[1] .

In 1955, the scientist was fully rehabilitated, he returned to Moscow and again took up his two favorite themes - the history of science and chemical physics. He worked at the restored Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology, as well as at the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis , where from 1957 he headed the laboratory (since 1988 - Chief Researcher) ^[3] .

In 1957, Polak defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “ Variational principles of mechanics, their development and some applications in physics (1622–1926). ” He was a member of the editorial board of the famous academic series of translations of the works of the founders of the “ Classics of Science ”, under his editorship and with his extensive commentaries eight volumes of this series were published. Polak supervised (as deputy editor-in-chief) the preparation and publication of the fundamental two-volume book Development of Physics in the USSR, 1917-1967.

During these years, Polak was active in the field of chemical physics.

• He was the first in the USSR to apply ionizing radiation to produce stabilized hydrocarbon free radicals.
• He developed a method for producing stereoregular polymers or radiation polymerization of layer and channel inclusion compounds.
• Investigated radiation-catalytic processes for the implementation of directional organic synthesis.
• First applied the Mössbauer effect to the chemical analysis of ores and minerals, to study the processes of adsorption, chemisorption and catalysis .
• He created (in the mid-1960s) a new direction - plasma chemistry , about which he wrote a monograph and led the rapid development of this science until the end of his life.

Under the leadership of Polak, more than 60 PhD and doctoral theses were defended.

He died in 2002, was buried in Donskoy Cemetery (Columbus 18, Hall 20) ^[5] .

Solomon Davidovich (1881–1964) and Elena Abramovna (1886–1968) Pole were the parents of L. S. Polak; the change of the son’s last name to Polak probably occurred after returning to Russia during the translation of the German birth certificate. The family had a younger sister, Sarah Solomonovna (1913-1997), she worked for Academician N. N. Semenova at the Institute of Physical Chemistry. During his exile to Guriev, Polak met the girl Elizabeth, who became his wife ^[6] .

Autobiographical essays

• Polak L. S. It was like that. Essays: [Afterword. A. Ovsyannikov]. - M.: B. and., 1996. - 154, [3] with.

Plasmochemistry

• Radiolysis of hydrocarbons (Some physico-chemical problems). Ed. A.V. Topchieva, L.S. Polak. M. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962, 208 p.
• Kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical reactions in low-temperature plasma. Ed. L.S. Polaka, M .: Science, 1965, 254s.
• The use of computational mathematics in chemical and physical kinetics. Ed. L.S. Polak, M .: Science, 1969, 278p.
• Polak L. S. Nonequilibrium chemical kinetics and its application. M .: Science, 1979, 248c.
• Essays on plasma physics and chemistry. Ed. L.S. Polak. M .: Science, 1971, 433s.
• Modeling and calculation methods of physicochemical processes in low-temperature plasma. Ed. L.S. Polak. M .: Science, 1973, 272 p.
• Polak L.S., Ovsyannikov A.A., Slovetsky D.I., Wurzel FB. Theoretical and applied plasma chemistry. M .: Science, 1975.
• Plasmochemical reactions and processes. Ed. L.S. Polak. M .: Science, 1977.
• Kompaniets V.Z., Ovsyannikov A.A., Levitsky A.A., Polak L.S. Chemical reactions in turbulent gas and plasma flows. M .: Science, 1978.
• Parkhomenko V.D., Polak L.S., Soroka P.I. and others. Processes and apparatus of plasma-chemical technology. Kiev: “Vishcha School”, 1979.
• Ivanov Yu. A., Lebedev Yu. A., Polak L. S. Methods of contact diagnosis in a non-equilibrium plasma. M .: Science, 1981, 142 p.
• Polak L. S., Mikhailov A. S. Self-organization in non-equilibrium physicochemical systems, M., Nauka. 1983, 283 s.
• Polak L. S. Goldenberg M. Ya., Levitsky A. A. Computational methods in chemical kinetics. M. Science, 1984, 279 p.
• M. N. Bodyako, F. B. Wurzel, E. V. Kremko, I. L. Kupriyanov, V. F. Nazarov, L. S. Polak, L. I. Trusov, K. I. Chepizhny, A. A. Shipko . Thermal processing of ceramic oxides. Minsk, Science and technology, 1988, 223p.
• Bugaenko L. T., Kuzmin M. G., Polak L. S. High Energy Chemistry, Moscow: Chemistry, 1988.
• Zhukov M. F ,, Kalinenko R. A., Levitsky A. A., Polak L. S. Plasma-chemical processing of coal. M .: Science, 1990, 200 p.
• Low-temperature plasma, V.3. Plasma Chemistry, ed. L.S. Polak and Yu.A. Lebedeva, Novosibirsk, Science, 1991, 328 p.
• Bugaenko LT, Kuzmin MG, Polak LS High Energy Chemistry. Ellis Horwood and Prentice Hall. NY, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, 1993, 403 p.
• Plasma Chemistry, Ed. LSPolak and Yu. A. Lebedev, Cambridge Interscience Publ., London, 1998.

History of Physics and Mathematics

• Polak L.S.V. R. Hamilton and the principle of stationary action // Proceedings of the Institute of the History of Science and Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. M. —L .: Izd. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1936. VIII + 272 p.
• Max Planck. 1858-1958. Collection of the centenary of the birth of M. Planck. Under. ed. A.F. Joffe and A.T. Grigorian. M .: Izd. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1958, 276 p. (contains a detailed article by L. S. Polak: "Quantum physics from M. Planck to N. Bohr (1900-1913)", pp. 143-220).
• Essays on the development of basic physical ideas. Ed. ed. A.T.Grigorian and L.S. Polak. M .: Izd. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1959, 512 p. (contains the section “The Emergence of Quantum Physics”, pp. 323–389, written by L. S. Polak).
• Variational principles of mechanics. Collection of classic works. Ed., Epilogue and footnote. L. S. Polak. M .: GIFML, 1959, 932 p.
• Polak L. S. Variational principles of mechanics, their development and application in physics. M .: GIFML, 1960, 600 p.
• G. Kirchhoff . Mechanics. Lectures on mathematical physics. Ed. A. T. Grigorian and L. S. Polak. M .: Izd. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962, 402 p.
• J. Sing . Classic dynamics. Per. and foreword by L.S. Polak. M .: GIFML, 1963, 449 p.
• K. Lanczos . Variational principles of mechanics. Red and preface L. S. Polak. M .: Mir, 1965, 408 p.
• The development of physics in the USSR. In two books. Ch. ed. - L. A. Artsimovich, deputy. Ch. ed. L.S. Polak. Kn.1, xv + 452 s .; Prince 2, 364 s. M .: Science, 1967.
• L.S. Polak . Variational principles of mechanics // in the book: The history of mechanics from ancient times to the end of the XVIII century. Ed. A. T. Grigorian and I. B. Pogrebysky. M .: Science, 1971 (Ch. 8, p. 191-223).
• L.S. Polak . Ludwig Boltzmann. 1844-1906. "Scientific and biographical series" of the USSR Academy of Sciences. M .: Science, 1987, 208 p.
• L.S. Polak . William Hamilton. 1805-1865. "Scientific and Biographical Series" RAS. M .: Science, 1993, 272 p.
• V. Shtiller . Arrhenius equation and nonequilibrium kinetics. Ed. L.S. Polak and A.V. Khachoyan. M .: Mir, 2000, 176 p.

Series "Classics of Science"

• G. Hertz. The principles of mechanics set forth in the new connection. Ed. ed. and afterword A. T. Grigorian and L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Izd. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1959, 386 p.
• A. A. Friedman. Selected Works. Ed. and foreword by L.S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1966, 463 p.
• M. Plank. Selected Works. Ed. ed. and the article-epilogue of L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1975, 788.
• E. Schrödinger. Selected Works on Quantum Mechanics. Ed. ed. and the article-epilogue of L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1976, 424 p.
• L. Boltzman. Selected Works. Ed. ed. and the article-epilogue of L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1984, 590 p.
• G. R. Kirchhoff. Selected Works. Ed. ed. and the article-epilogue of L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1988, 430 p.
• I. Newton. Mathematical principles of natural philosophy. Per. and comments A.N.Krylova. Ed. L.S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1989, 690 p.
• W. R. Hamilton. Selected Works. Ed. ed. and article-epilogue L. S. Polak. Series "Classics of science." M .: Science, 1994, 560 p.

• Asinovsky EI, Vizgin V.P. , Ginzburg V.L. , Fortov V.E. and others. In memory of Lev Solomonovich Polak // Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk . - 2002. - № 172 (August). .

• Lev Solomonovich Polak (Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences) (Neopr.) . The appeal date is July 30, 2018.
• Lev Solomonovich Polak (memories of the gulag) (Neopr.) . The appeal date is July 30, 2018.
• On the centenary of the birth of Lev Solomonovich Polak (Neopr.) . The appeal date is July 30, 2018.
  • Appendix: memories of students and friends of L. S. Polak.
• Kozhevnikov D. A. In memory of Lev Solomonovich Polak (Neopr.) . The appeal date is July 30, 2018.