Leonid Brekhovskikh facts for kids

Leonid Maksimovich Brekhovskikh (born May 6, 1917 – died January 15, 2005) was an important Russian and Soviet scientist. He was famous for his work in acoustical oceanography, which is the study of how sound travels in the ocean. He also studied physical oceanography, which looks at the physical properties of the ocean.

Early Life and Education

Leonid Brekhovskikh was born into a farming family in a small village called Strunkino in Russia. He graduated from Perm State University in 1939. After that, he went to the Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN) to continue his studies. There, he learned from a very famous scientist named Igor Tamm.

In 1941, Leonid earned his PhD in Physics. His research was about how X-rays can show the structure of crystals. After getting his PhD, he joined the acoustics labs at FIAN. He worked on a special project to help protect ships. This project aimed to develop ways to stop underwater mines that exploded when they heard sounds.

Later, he created a new theory. This theory explained how sound waves travel through different layers of water or ground. For this important work, he received an even higher degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1947.

Discovering Ocean Secrets

In 1946, Leonid Brekhovskikh did research in the Sea of Japan. During this time, he made a huge discovery: the deep sound channel. Imagine a special layer deep in the ocean where sound can travel for incredibly long distances without losing much energy. This discovery was a big step for modern acoustical oceanography. Interestingly, other scientists in the US, Maurice Ewing and Lamar Worzel, found the same thing around the same time.

In 1953, Brekhovskikh left FIAN. He then started a new place called the Andreev Acoustics Institute in Moscow. He was the director there until 1961. Even after that, he continued to lead a department at the institute until 1980.

At the Acoustics Institute, he helped design and build two special research ships. These ships were named the Sergey Vavilov and the Pyotr Lebedev. These ships took part in an experiment called the Polygon experiment. During this experiment, they observed large swirling currents in the ocean, called eddies, for the first time. This confirmed what another scientist, Henry Stommel, had predicted years earlier.

Teaching and Leadership

From 1953 to 1966, Leonid Brekhovskikh was a professor of physics at Moscow State University. He also led a department there. From 1969 until the end of the Soviet Union in 1992, he was a member of the top leadership group of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This was a very important role in Soviet science.

He also taught physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology from 1975 to 1997. In 1980, he moved to the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology. There, he led the acoustics department until he passed away.

Awards and Honors

Leonid Brekhovskikh received many important awards and was a member of prestigious scientific groups:

• Lenin Prize (1970)
• Rayleigh Gold Medal from the UK Institute of Acoustics (1977)
• Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences
• Foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences