Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (or Fok, ) (December 22 1898–December 27 1974) was a Soviet physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics.

He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1922 he graduated from Petrograd University, then continued postgraduate studies there. He became a professor there in 1932. In 1919–1923 and 1928–1941 he collaborated with the State Institute of Optics, in 1924–1936 with the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1934–1941 and 1944–1953 with the Lebedev Physical Institute.

His primary scientific contribution lies in the development of quantum physics, although he also contributed significantly to the fields of mechanics, theoretical optics, theory of gravitation, physics of continuous medium. In 1926 he generalized the Klein-Gordon equation. He gave his name to Fock space, the Fock representation and Fock state, and developed the Hartree-Fock method in 1930. He made many subsequent scientific contributions, during the rest of his life.

Historians of science, such as Loren Graham, see Fock as a representative and proponent of Einstein's theory of relativity within the Soviet world. At a time when most Marxist philosophers objected to relativity theory, Fock emphasized a materialistic understanding of relativity that coincided philosophically with Marxism.

He was a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

See also

• Fock matrix

References

Graham, L. (1982). "The reception of Einstein's ideas: Two examples from contrasting political cultures." In Holton, G. and Elkana, Y. (Eds.) Albert Einstein: Historical and cultural perspectives. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, pp. 107-136