MCI visits Sweden today to celebrate the life of Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén, who was born today, 30 May in 1908. He is close to our hearts because he was an electrical engineer, a plasma physicist and winner of the Nobel prize in 1970 for physics. His Nobel prize was for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves.
He trained as an electrical engineer in Sweden, then later moved further into the field of physics by researching and teaching both plasma physics and electrical engineering. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behaviour of the Aurora Borealis, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth’s magnetic field, the dynamics of plasmas in the Milky Way, the terrestrial magnetosphere and the Van Allen radiation belts. The areas of technology that benefitted from Alfvén’s work include particle accelerators, Hypersonic flight, rocket propulsion, the braking systems of space vehicles re-entering planetary atmosphere and controlled thermonuclear fusion.
As you can see, his work had an amazing influence on science, especially given the era within which he was working.
Sadly, Alfvén was always seen as an outsider by his contemporaries, even after he won the Nobel prize. We at MCI don’t see Alfvén as an outsider, but as a visionary – a man ahead of his time.
He’s to the people that think differently, long may they change the world for the better.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!