Edwin E. Salpeter facts for kids

Edwin Ernest Salpeter (born December 3, 1924 – died November 26, 2008) was a brilliant scientist who studied space and stars. He was an astrophysicist, which means he focused on the physics of the universe. He was born in Austria, became an Australian citizen, and later lived in America.

Life Story of Edwin Salpeter

Edwin Salpeter was born in Vienna, Austria. His family was Jewish. When he was a teenager, he had to leave Austria to escape the Nazis. He moved to Australia.

In Australia, he went to Sydney Boys High School. Then he studied at the University of Sydney. He earned his first degree there in 1944 and a master's degree in 1945. That same year, he won a scholarship to study in England.

He went to the University of Birmingham in England. There, he earned his PhD in 1948. His supervisor was a famous scientist named Sir Rudolf Peierls. After finishing his studies, Edwin Salpeter moved to the United States. He spent the rest of his career teaching and researching at Cornell University. He was a very respected professor there. Edwin Salpeter passed away in 2008 in Ithaca, New York, due to leukemia.

Edwin Salpeter's Amazing Discoveries

Edwin Salpeter made many important discoveries about stars and the universe. His work helped us understand how stars are born and how they create elements.

How Stars Make Carbon

In 1951, Salpeter helped explain how stars create carbon-12. Stars burn helium-4 to make carbon. He suggested that this process, called the Triple-alpha process, doesn't happen directly. Instead, it goes through a short-lived step involving beryllium-8. This idea was very important for understanding how elements are made in stars.

The Salpeter Initial Mass Function

Later, Salpeter figured out a special rule for how stars form. This rule is called the initial mass function (IMF). It shows how many stars of different sizes are born in our Galaxy. In 1955, he found that the number of stars quickly goes down as their mass gets bigger. This means there are many small stars but fewer very large ones.

Understanding Particle Interactions

With another scientist named Hans Bethe, Salpeter wrote two important articles in 1951. They introduced an equation called the Bethe–Salpeter equation. This equation helps scientists understand how tiny particles interact with each other. It's used in a field of physics called quantum field theory.

Black Holes and Quasars

In 1964, Salpeter and another scientist, Yakov B. Zel'dovich, had a big idea. They suggested that the huge amounts of energy coming from quasars are caused by accretion discs around giant black holes. Quasars are super bright centers of galaxies. This idea is now the most accepted explanation for how these powerful objects work. It also explains the strong jets of energy that shoot out from them.

Molecules in Space

In the early 1970s, Salpeter made another discovery. He found that many molecules, like hydrogen, form in space. But they don't just form in the gas around stars. They mostly form on the surfaces of tiny dust particles floating in space. This was a new way to think about how molecules appear in the universe.

Edwin Salpeter's Family Life

In 1950, Edwin Salpeter married Miriam (Mika) Mark. She was born in Riga, Latvia. Miriam was also a brilliant scientist, a neurobiologist. She even led the neurobiology department at Cornell University for several years.

After Miriam's passing, the Society for Neuroscience created an award in her memory. It's called the Mika Salpeter award. This award celebrates scientists who have achieved great things in neuroscience and have also helped women advance in the field. Edwin and Miriam had two daughters, Judy Salpeter and Dr. Shelley Salpeter. After Miriam died, Edwin married Antonia Shouse.

Awards and Honors

Edwin Salpeter received many awards for his important scientific work:

• Carnegie Institution for Science Award for Research in Astrophysics (1959)
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1967)
• Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (1967)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1973)
• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1974)
• J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize (1974)
• Member of the American Philosophical Society (1977)
• Karl Schwarzschild Medal (1985)
• Bruce Medal (1987)
• Dirac Medal (1996)
• Crafoord Prize (with Fred Hoyle) (1997)
• Hans Bethe Prize (1999)

See also

A friendly robot

• In Spanish: Edwin Salpeter para niños