Brian Pippard

Sir Alfred Brian Pippard ScD FRS (September 7, 1920 – September 21, 2008) was a British physicist. He was Cavendish Professor of Physics from 1971 until 1984. He was an Honorary Fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

Brian Pippard demonstrated the reality (as opposed to a mere abstract concept) of Fermi surface in metals by establishing the shape of the Fermi surface in copper through measuring the reflection and absorption of microwave electromagnetic radiation [A. B. Pippard, "Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc." A 250, 325 (1957).] (see the anomalous skin effect [N. W. Ashcroft, and N. D. Mermin, "Solid State Physics" (Thompson Learning, Inc., London, 1976), Chapter 14, "Measuring the Fermi Surface", p. 277, "Anomalous Skin Effect". ISBN 0030839939.] ). He also introduced the notion of coherence length in superconductors in his proposal for the non-local generalisation of the London equation [F. London, "Superfluids", Vol. I: "Macroscopic Theory of Superconductivity" (Dover Publications, New York, 1961), p. 152.] concerning electrodynamics in superfluids and superconductors. The non-local kernel proposed by Pippard [A. B. Pippard, "Proc. Roy. Soc." (London), A 216, 547 (1953).] (inferred on the basis of Chambers' non-local generalisation of the Ohm law) can be deduced within the framework of the BCS (Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer) theory of superconductivity [J. Bardeen, L. N. Cooper, and J. R. Schrieffer, "Theory of Superconductivity", Phys. Rev., Vol. 108, No. 5, pp. 1175-1204 (1957). [http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PR/v108/i5/p1175_1 APS (Free Download)] ] (a comprehensive description of the details of the London-Pippard theory can be found in the book by Fetter and Walecka [A. L. Fetter, and J. D. Walecka, "Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems" (Dover Publications, New York, 2003), Chapter 13, "Superconductivity", Section 49, "London-Pippard Phenomenological Theory". ISBN 0486428273.] ).

Sir Brian was the author of "Elements of Classical Thermodynamics for Advanced Students of Physics", [A. B. Pippard, "Elements of Classical Thermodynamics for Advanced Students of Physics" (Cambridge University Press, 1957). ISBN 0521091012.] "Dynamics of Conduction Electrons", [A. B. Pippard, "Dynamics of Conduction Electrons", Documents on Modern Physics (Gordon & Beach, 1965).] and "The Physics of Vibration". [A. B. Pippard, "The Physics of Vibration" (Cambridge University Press, 2007). ISBN 0521033330.] He is also a co-author of the three-volumes encyclopaedia "Twentieth Century Physics". [Laurie M. Brown, Abraham Pais, and Brian Pippard, "Twentieth Century Physics" (Institute of Physics Publishing, 1995): Vol. I, 808 p., ISBN 0750303530, Vol. II, 808 p., ISBN 0750303549, Vol. III, 960 p., ISBN 0750303557.] As the Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, he instituted "Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics" [A. B. Pippard, "Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics" (Pamphlet) (Cambridge University Press, 1962). A. B. Pippard, "Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics" (Pamphlet), 64 p. (Cambridge University Press, 1971). ] as a part of the examination of the graduating students of physics in Cambridge.

Pippard was the doctoral supervisor of Brian David Josephson (awarded PhD in Physics in 1964) who in 1973 received the Nobel Prize in Physics (together with Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever) for his discovery of what is known as the Josephson effect. [B. D. Josephson, "Possible new effects in superconductive tunnelling", Phys. Lett., Vol. 1, pp. 251-253 (1962).]

References

External links

* [http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/research/QM/pippard/ Brian Pippard's homepage]
* [http://www.cambridge2000.com/cambridge2000/html/0006/P6271538.html The Brian Pippard Building, Cambridge]