Workaholic

In 1927, Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov married Marina Dmitrievna Sinelnikova, the sister of his friend Kirill Sinelnikov. They met in Crimea back in their childhood and were friends for all these years. Marina became his good friend and aide. They had no children, so Marina gave all her attention to Igor. She created the atmosphere of true amiability, which was felt by everyone who stepped inside their home. Kurchatov worked at home just as intensively as he did at the institute.

In 1933, Kurchatov was appointed as director of the nuclear physics department at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology (LIPT). In April 1935, when studying artificial radioactivity that occurs when nuclei are irradiated with neutrons, or the Fermi effect, as it was known back then, Igor Kurchatov, along with his brother Boris, as well as L.V. Mysovskiy and L.I. Rusinov, discovered the phenomenon of nuclear isomerism. After this, nuclear isomers were heavily studied in many laboratories of different countries. Their research considerably determined the development of understanding the atomic nucleus structure.

Simultaneously, Kurchatov performed other experiments with neutrons. Together with Lev Artsimovich, he conducted research on slow neutron absorption and attained fundamental results. The scientists managed to document the process of a proton capturing a neutron, forming a nucleus of heavy hydrogen — deuteron, and reliably measure the crosssection of this reaction. Kurchatov is searching for the answer to the main question: does neutron multiplication occur in various uranium-moderator compositions? Kurchatov delegated this delicate experimental task to his young associates — Flerov and Petrzhak, who completed it brilliantly.

Uranium in the Center of Attention

In the beginning of 1940, Flerov and Petrzhak submitted a short message about the new phenomena they just discovered — spontaneous uranium fission — to the American magazine Physical Review, which published the majority of messages on uranium. The letter was published, but weeks passed with no response. Americans classified all their operations on the atomic nucleus. The world has entered the Second World War.

In 1941, the program of scientific work outlined by Kurchatov was interrupted, and instead of nuclear physics, he participated, along with A.P. Alexandrov and other LIPT associates, in operations on protecting ships from magnetic mines.

Not before the end of 1942 did the research on the possibility of using nuclear power was resumed. In 1943, Igor Kurchatov took charge of the Soviet atomic project, being the head of the Laboratory #2, which has later become the Institute of Atomic Energy. The year 1944 was marked by the launch of the cyclotron that was built in just one year. Soon, it was used to obtain, for the first time in the USSR, a beam of deuterons. On this occasion, Kurchatov gathered at his home the participants of that launch and made a toast to the first victory of the new team.

In 1946, a cottage was built for I.V. Kurchatov on the territory of the Laboratory #2, not far from the main building. He walked to his work through the forest and soon enough stamped a trail. Even today it can be seen weaving among the trees. Associates jokingly called his house the “forester’s hut.”