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History of Agrophysics: Abram Ioffe and the Physical-Technical Aspects of

Agrophysics

Article  in  European Agrophysical Journal · December 2015

DOI: 10.17830/j.eaj.2015.02.118

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http://www.agrophysical.eu/ojs/index.php/eajournal/index EAJ, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2015

History of Agrophysics: Abram Ioffe and the Physical-

Technical Aspects of Agrophysics

Victor Yakushev1, Dmitry Kurtener2

1
Agrophysical Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia
2
European Agrophysical Institute, Amriswil, Switzerland

Correspondence: D. A. Kurtener, European Agrophysical Institute, Alpenstr. 1, 8580 Amriswil,

Switzerland, e-mail: dmitrykurtener@hotmail.com

Received: November 2, 2015; Accepted: December 8, 2015; Online: December 30, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.17830/j.eaj.2015.02.118

Abstract
Abram Ioffe (1880-1960), was an outstanding Russian physicist and organizer of science. October 29,
2015 marks 115 years since his birth. In this paper several facts of the biography of Abram Ioffe
related to the development of the physical-technical aspects of agrophysics and his activities as
director of the Agrophysical Institute are considered.
Keywords: Abram Ioffe, agrophysics

How to cite this paper: Kurtener, Dmitry, & Yakushev, Victor (2015). History of Agrophysics: Abram Ioffe
and the physical-technical aspects of agrophysics. European Agrophysical Journal, 2(4), 116 -122.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17830/j.eaj.2015.02.118

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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Abram Ioffe (1880-1960), was an outstanding Russian

physicist and organizer of science. He was a member of
many academies of sciences, including: Goettingen
(1924), Berlin (1928), the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences (1929), honorary member of the Academy of
Sciences of the German "Leopoldina" (1958), the Italian
Academy of Sciences (1959), an honorary doctor of the
University of California (1928), the Sorbonne (1945),
university of Graz (1948), and Bucharest and Munich
(1955). A portrait of Abram Ioffe is shown in Fig. 1.
October 29, 2015 marks the 115 years since his birth,
therefore in this paper several facts of the biography of
Abram Ioffe related to the development of the physical-
technical aspects of agrophysics and his activities as
director of the Agrophysical Institute are considered.
Fig. 1. Abram Ioffe portrait Creative activity of A.F. Ioffe was multifaceted and is
(http://www.agrophys.ru/history). fairly well documented. However, his activity in some
areas and, in particular, in the field of the physical-
technical aspects of
agrophysics, have not been
sufficiently described. It
should also be noted that
most of the document
history of A.F. Ioffe is
written in Russian. Since
most readers who lives
outside of Russia do not
read Russian, but are still
interested in the history of
agrophysics, the activities
A.F. Ioffe is not well known
and will be of interest.
Fig. 2. N. I. Vavilov and A.F. Ioffe (http://www.agrophys.ru/history).
In 1930-1931, A.F. Ioffe
organized the agrophysical
researches at the Leningrad Physical-Technical Institute. In 1932, on a joint initiative between
himself and N.I. Vavilov, the Leningrad Agrophysical Institute was created. N. I. Vavilov and A.F. Ioffe
are showed by Fig. 2. A.F. Ioffe was the permanent director of the institute for 28 years. Initially in
the 1930s, the Agrophysical Institute was located at number 4 on St. Isaac's Square, shown in Fig. 3.

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In the 1950s, through the efforts of A.F. Ioffe, a vast territory near the Leningrad Physical-Technical
Institute was allocated for Institute for Agrophysical and the main building built (Fig. 4).

Fig. 3. House number 4 on St. Isaac's Square where the Agrophysical Institute was
placed in the 1930s. In the foreground is a monument to Emperor Nicholas I
(www.visit-petersburg.ru).

Fig. 4. The main building of the Agrophysical Institute built in the 1950s.
(http://www.agrophys.ru/history).

The definition of agrophysics was discussed by Uskov & Yakushev (2011), in which they cited
publications by A.F. Joffe (1955, 1959). In this publication they wrote the following:
“…he pointed out the principal and important points about the time directions of investigations in
this new branch of natural and agricultural sciences. These included development of research and

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measuring tools for agriculture, biology, and agrochemistry, light-physiology and light-culture of
plants, artificial soil structure formation, measures against droughts, frosts, and other unfavorable
weather conditions, use of polymers in arable farming and plant growing, study of soil hydrophysics
and designing methods of active water and heat regulation in soil and plants, and the creation, in
future, of the so-called electronic agronomist”.
In this passage, the physical-technical aspects of agrophysics was not discussed. However, in the
1930s at the initiative of A.F. Ioffe at the Agrophysical Institute, several works were carried out
which have made a significant contribution to the development of technical physics. In particular,
B.P. Aleksandrov and A.V. Kurtener elaborated on the fundamentals of technology for measuring
absorption / emission of infrared radiation on the soil surface. Specifically this included:
a) Theoretical basis: the “binary method” was developed (Alexandrov & Kurtener, 1936, 1937,
1937a, 1937b, 1938, 1940, Alexandrov et al., 1937). This method provide a means of measuring the
surface temperature and of studying the problem of absorption of infrared by gases and vapors. A
method of filtering infrared radiation by a layer of selenium was also developed.
b) Technological basis: He invented a method and device for measuring surface temperatures of
soil, invented a device for measuring the effective radiation of the earth, proposed a new design for
a highly sensitive thermopile, developed selenium filters with good optical properties, and
conducted experiments which demonstrated the feasibility of the technology (Kurtener & Malyshev,
1941). There is an autograph document (Kurtener, 2012) in which A.V. Kurtener wrote that the high-
sensitivity thermopile had been produced. In this document it is indicated that several hundred
pieces of the device for measuring soil surface temperatures were produced. Also A.V. Kurtener in
and A.F. Chudnovsky developed the analytical theory of heat transfer in soil and elaborated a
number of methods for determining the thermal characteristics of soil (Kurtener, 1938; Kurtener &
Chudnovsky, 1937, 1938, 1938a, 1939, 1939a).
A.F. Ioffe paid considerable attention to the publication of the physical-technical research results.
Many of the study results of agrophysical researches appeared in in the Journal of Technical Physics
and other physics journals (Alexandrov & Kurtener, 1937b, 1938; Kurtener & Malyshev, 1941;
Kurtener, 1938; Kurtener & Chudnovsky, 1937, 1938, 1938a, 1939, 1939a). He called attention to
the promotion of agrophysics in the world of science. The embodiment of the Ioffe’s wishes has
been carried out after his death when the two agrophysical journals appeared: the International
Agrophysics (http://www.international-agrophysics.org/) and the European Agrophysical Journal
(EAJ) (http://www.agrophysical.eu/ojs/index.php/eajournal/index).
It is necessary to pay attention to the character traits of A.F. Ioffe. On the website for the Physical-
Technical Institute (http://www.uniphys.ru/ioffe.html, in Russian) there is a listing of the publication
that have been produced by the Institute. In many of the articles that have emerged from the walls
of the Physical-Technical Institute in the 1920s-1940s the name of Ioffe was not among the authors,
although his contribution to them are clearly visible to anyone familiar with his work. This is a result
of his moral principles and the exceptional generosity he provided to the other scientist. We can say
that this statement applies to the publications of scientists of Agrophysical Institute. For example, in
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the early 1930s at the initiative of A.F. Ioffe, a study of the practical possibilities of artificial impact
on the thermal balance of the soil was started. Among the works on this subject, the most
significant was a monograph entitled "Physical basis of heat balance of the soil" (Alexandrov &
Kurtener, 1935). While he initiated the research effort, as always, A.F. Ioffe limited himself with the
role of editor for the publication. In another example, in 1959 an outstanding work on the
fundamentals of agrophysics was published entitled “Foundations of agrophysics” (1959). And
again, while it is clear that A.F. Ioffe work is represented in the manuscript, he is not among the
authors of this book.
In conclusion, it must be emphasized that the concept regarding the development of the physical-
technical aspects of agrophysics which were proposed by A.F. Ioffe, were successfully developed in
the Physical-Technical Institute and this area of agriculture research continues today.

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References
Alexandrov, B.P., & Kurtener, A.V. (1935). The physical basics of heat balance of soil (In Russian).
Moscow: Agricultural Publ.
Alexandrov, B.P., & Kurtener, A.V. (1936). A new method for measuring the radiation constants of
the soil (in Russian). Proceedings of the sector of soil physics of FAI, 16, Moscow: WASKHIL
Press.

Alexandrov, B.P., & Kurtener, A.V. (1937). Determination of the radiation constants of solid and
dispersed bodies (in Russian). Transactions of the sector of soil physics of FAI, 2, Moscow:
WASKHIL Press.
Alexandrov, B.P., & Kurtener, A.V. (1937a). Method and device for measuring the temperature of
surfaces, such as the surface of the soil (in Russian). Description of the invention to the
author's certificate, № 51477. Class 42 8 i.
Alexandrov, B.P., & Kurtener, A.V. (1937b). The new design of high-sensitivity thermopile (in
Russian). Technical Physics, (7)9, 974-975.
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thermal constants of disperse bodies (in Russian). Technical Physics of the USSR, (8)2, 1071-
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Kurtener, A.V., & Chudnovsky, A.F. (1939). About the temperature field of soil under variable
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