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29 August 2020

Simon Immanuel Khaikin, an outstanding physicist, the founder of the national experimental radio-astronomy, a pioneer in discovering radio-emission of solar crown was born into the family of pedagogues in Minsk in August 1901. He graduated from Minsk vocational school and entered Moscow high technical vocational school the same year simultaneously joining Advanced electrotechnical courses. S.I.Khaikin worked as a radiotechnician and a lab assistant while continuing his studies and it was in 1928 when he graduated from the Physics Department of Moscow State University.

After joining Leningrad Physics and Technical Laboratory of the All-union Electrotechnical Institute as an engineer he was transferred to the Physics Department of the Moscow State University where he started his scientific and pedagogical career. Simon Khaikin worked as an assistant, fellow and a chief in the section of vibration, general physics, chaired the laboratory of phased radiolocation elaboration and radionavigation.

In February 1935 S.I.Khaikin was awarded a professor’s title and PhD in Physics and Mathematics.

During the Great Patriotic War he continued charing the section of general Physics of the Physics Department in the Moscow State University and was also the head in the laboratory where his proposed systems of phased radiolocation and radionavigation were elaborated. After the war his main duty station was in the Physics Institute named after P.N.Lebedev (FIAN), USSR Academy of Sciences, where he chaired the section of radioastronomy in laboratory of vibration. At the same time he led the creation of the first Soviet FIAN radioastronomical station equipped with a large for the time mirror radiotelescope RT-22 in millimetre wave range.

In 1947 S.I.Khaikin led the USSR Academy of Sciences expedition to Brazil where it was the first ever observation experience of the total eclipse of the sun in radiorange. It showed that the radio emission in meter waves range is generated from the solar crown.

It was in 1953 when he set up and chaired the Department of Radioastronomy in the Chief astronomical observatory in Pulkovo until he passed away. Having assessed the exceptional perspectives of radio-astronomical research in a short wave range of a transparent earthly atmosphere “radio-window” S.I.Khaikin guided the efforts of Pulkovo radio-astronomers in a new direction of centimetre radiowaves range. This work resulted into creation of a new type of radiotelescope – antenna with a variable profile. It enabled then to discover and explore in detail a strong circular polarisation of solar active areas emissions, “radio spots” and linear polarisation of lunar thermal radio emission in centimetre wave range. Furthermore, they assessed lunar surface “roughness”, for the first time explored the distribution of radio-brightness across the Venus disc and structures of the powerful radiation Jupiter belts, made precise coordinates measurements of extra-galactic radio sources. What they discovered was that over 40% of bright sources in centimetre range had quasi-stellar origin; the structure and polarisation of complex extra-galactic sources was studied.

Radioastronomical studies and work of S.I.Khaikin exemplifies his multifaceted nature, energy and intuition. He managed some very diverse tasks ranging from practical issues of measurement techniques to analysis of specialised theoretical issues by always finding original solutions.

He was not only a prominent scientist but also a talented pedagogue breeding the whole generation of Soviet physicists and engineers. As a part of his extensive scientific and pedagogical activities he lectured at the Physics Department of Moscow State University, Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute, Moscow Institute of Communications Engineers and also initiated school Olympiads.

S.I.Khaikin chaired the Commission on Radioastronomy of the USSR Academy of Sciences Astronomical Council, was a member of the editorial board in such journals as “Radio engineering”, “Astronomical journal” and others. He was awarded a medal of the Labour Red Banner in 1953 and a golden medal of A.S.Popov by the USSR Academy of Sciences Presidium for the outstanding work in Radiophysics and Radiostronomy.

Source: database of the National scientific and technical library.

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