Mikhail Sergejewitsch Molodensky
Mikhail Molodenskii ( Russian Михаил Сергеевич Молоденский ; born June 3 . Jul / 16th June 1909 greg. In Epifan ( Tula Governorate ), Russian Empire ; † 12. November 1991 ) was a Soviet geophysicist and geodetic astronomer .
He graduated from Moscow University . From 1932 he worked on investigations into the theoretical shape of the earth and its external gravitational field . His main scientific task was to develop a theory for determining the figure of the earth without hypotheses .
Since this did not seem possible to him on the basis of metrological and physical principles - this was where Molodenski was in a sometimes heated dispute with the Austrian Karl Ledersteger - he suggested a primarily geometrically defined surface instead of the geoid , which was later called the quasigeoid , as a reference surface for height measurement .
In this context, he was instrumental in the scientific and practical justification of the normal heights that were introduced in the Soviet hegemony ( Eastern Bloc ) around the 1960s . In the past decade this has also been discussed in western countries.
Due to the theoretical advantage of not needing a partially uncertain density for the earth's crust for geoid determination , some western countries have also switched to the Molodensk normal heights. However, compared to a physical definition of height (e.g. dynamic or orthometric height ), they have the disadvantage that two points of the same normal height are not on the same level surface, i.e. water can flow between them.
In addition to this great theoretical achievement by Molodenski, other fundamental investigations in the field of geophysics and geodesy can be traced back to him. He received the State Prize of the Soviet Union and the Lenin Prize , among others .
Works
- MS Molodenski: Basic concepts of geodetic gravimetry ; German adaptation Berlin 1958
Web links
- Literature by and about Michail S. Molodenskij in the catalog of the German National Library
- Article Michail Sergejewitsch Molodensky in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Molodensky, Michail Sergejewitsch |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Молоденский, Михаил Сергеевич (Russian spelling) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Soviet geophysicist and geodetic astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 16, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Epifan , Tula Governorate , Russian Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 12, 1991 |