Boris Borisovich GolitsynBorn 2 Mar 1862; died 17 May 1916 at age 54.Prince Boris Borisovich Golitsyn was a Russian physicist and seismologist who developed scientific methods and instruments for earthquake observations and mineral prospecting. His early studies were in molecular physics, mathematical physics and electromagnetism, From 1899 his interests turned to seismology. In 1906, he invented the first effective electromagnetic seismograph and continued to improve it. It had a pendulum carrying a coil of insulated wire around a magnetic core fixed to the ground. The small current generated in the coil by relative motion caused by earth tremors is amplified to operate a pen recorder. The part of the Earth's mantle at a depth of 400-800 km, in which seismic waves travel rapidly, is named the Golitsyn layer in recognition of his work.«[Name also spelled Galizin ot Golicyn. Death given as 17 May in EB, but 16 May in DSB. Old style dates on the Russian calendar of that time: b 18 Feb; d 4 May.] |
