Michał Gryziński

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Michał Gryziński (29 September 1930 – 1 June 2004) was a Polish nuclear physicist who specialized in plasma physics. Born in Warsaw, he studied engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology and began working at the Institute of Nuclear Studies (IBJ) in Świerk, under Andrzej Sołtan. He wrote a doctoral thesis in theoretical physics in 1965 but was not awarded the degree, and he never earned a PhD. From 1959 he led the plasma research group at IBJ, and in 1973 he became the head of the new plasma physics department, a position he held until 1981. His team helped build PF-1000, one of the world’s largest plasma focus devices, and also used ion beams to modify the surfaces of solid materials.

In his research, Gryziński developed a series of influential classical models in 1965 to describe how electrons scatter off atoms. He emphasized the importance of the orbital motion of electrons in slowing down charged particles. The Gryziński model provided cross sections that matched experiments well, especially at low energies (below about 40 eV), and it was extended to various ionization problems. He also contributed to ideas behind the Ionotron plasma accelerator, later adapted to create pulsed ion beams for surface treatment. He published further works, including True and False Achievements of Modern Physics (1996) and a 2002 book on classical atomic theory. Eryk Infeld noted that while Gryziński’s classical approach was insightful, his views on quantum theory and the state of science were often controversial.

Gryziński received several honors, including the Knight’s Cross of Polonia Restituta and the First Class Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and he was awarded the Soltan Medal from the Institute of Nuclear Studies upon retirement. He died of cancer in 2004. He had two children, Hanna and Michał A. Gryziński.