Moscow university, its past and present

The most famous and prestigious Moscow State University was founded by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1755. At first the University had three faculties –philosophy, medicine and law. Later new faculties were organized including the first department of agronomical sciences in the world.

The University grew and the so-called “new” buildings were built in the XIX century. However, they, too, proved inadequate to house the rapidly growing faculties. Therefore, the main building, 36 stories high, and the complex of buildings for faculties of natural sciences, students’ dormitories and teachers’ flats were all built in Lenin (now Vorobyovy) Hills in 1950s.

The main University building is unique. The departments and faculties, libraries, assembly halls, museums are all in the central tall structure. The teachers' apartments and students’ rooms are in the wings.

The University campus is a large students’ town with its own shops, all kinds of services, several gymnasia and swimming facilities.

Today 21 faculties of the University have 50,000 students. The University has a lot of laboratories, research centres, museums, botanical gardens and observatories.

Many famous people studied at Moscow University. Among its graduates are Griboyedov, Lermontov, Pirogov, Sechenov and many others.

Unit 7 l.D. Landau

Lev Davidovich Landau is a famous Soviet physicist. He worked in such fields as low-temperature, atomic, nuclear and plasma physics. Several physical terms bear his name. He was awarded the 1962 Noble Prize for the development of liquid helium theory.

He was born in 1908. At the age of 13 he finished the Gymnasium and, because he was too young to go to the university, attended Baku Economical Technical School. In 1922 he entered Baku University to study physics and chemistry and soon transferred to Leningrad. Having graduated from Leningrad State University in 1927 he continued his research at Leningrad Physical and Technical Institute.

In 1929 he went abroad. For about a year he worked in N. Bohr’s Institute in Copenhagen. He always considered himself a pupil of Bohr, his attitude to physics being greatly influenced by Bohr’s example.

In 1932 Landau went to Kharkov to become the head of the Theoretical Division of Ukrainian Physical and Technical Institute. There he began to build a Soviet school of theoretical physics. He started to write with his friend and former student E.M. Lifshitz the well-known Course of Theoretical Physics. At the age of 27 he became a professor of physics. In 1937 Landau moved to Moscow to head the Theory Division of the Vavilov Institute.

In Moscow he made contributions to almost all parts of physics and showed close interest in experimental physics. That led to his explanation of superfluidity in helium II, the work for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

On January 7, 1962 Landau was involved in a car accident. He was unconscious for six weeks and was several times declared clinically dead but he somehow revived. He died six years later in 1968.

Besides the Noble Prize, L.D. Landau received many other Russian and foreign honours.

I. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. When was Landau born?

2. At what age did Landau finish the Gymnasium?

3. At what Institute did he study?

4. Did he study abroad?

5. When did he become a professor?

6. When and where did he begin to build a Soviet school of theoretical physics?

7. For what work was he awarded the Noble Prize?

8. Did Landau make significant contribution to almost all parts of physics?

9. What book did Landau write with his friend and former student E.M. Lifshitz?

II. Переведите на русский язык.

1. Liquid helium being super fluid, it had less resistance against moving through a tube than any other known liquid.

2. To save Landau's life many distinguished specialists from several countries helped him.

3. While willing to help anybody he hated pomposity.

4. Having visited Cambridge and Zurich Landau returned home.

5. The development of present-day theoretical physics is known to owe more to Bohr’s Institute than to any other place in the world.

6. We know almost all of the leading theoretical physicists of the 1920-30s to spend some time at this institute.

7. His great interest being the teaching of physics, he planned to write “Course of Gen­eral Physics” and even a series “Physics for Everybody”.

8. Landau required all his students to master all necessary mathematical techniques before coming to him.

9. After that he expected them to master the so-called theoretical minimum.

III. Переведите на английский язык следующие предложения:

1. Ландау родился в 1908 году.

2. В 1922 году он поступил в Бакинский университет.

3. В 1927 он закончил Ленинградский Государственный университет.

4. Ландау всегда считал себя учеником Бора.

5. В 1932 году, в Харькове, Ландау начал создавать советскую школу теоретической физики.

6. В возрасте 27 лет он стал профессором.

7. За разработку теории жидкого гелия он получил Нобелевскую премию.

IV. Прочитайте и переведите текст без словаря: