In the early morning of June 12, 1903, 45-year-old St. Petersburg chemist Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov was found dead in his laboratory at his apartment, house number 37 on Zhukovsky Street. The scientist was lying face down on the floor without a frock coat. The abrasions on his face indicated that he fell as if knocked down, not even having time to put his hands in front of him.
In my early youth I read from Buckle that the invention of gunpowder made wars less bloody. Since then, I have been haunted by the possibility of an invention that would make war almost impossible. Surprisingly, the other day I made a discovery, the practical development of which will actually abolish war. We are talking about a method I invented for electrical transmission of an explosion wave over a distance, and, judging by the method used, this transmission is possible at a distance of thousands of kilometers, so , having made an explosion in St. Petersburg, it will be possible to transfer its effect to Constantinople. The method is amazingly simple and cheap. But with such warfare at the distances I have indicated, war actually becomes madness and must be abolished. I will publish the details in the fall in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences. The experiments are slowed down by the extraordinary danger of the substances used, some very explosive, like NCl3 (nitrogen trichloride), and some extremely poisonous.” This letter to the newspaper “Russian Vedomosti” was written by the famous Russian scientist and writer M. M. Filippov on June 11, 1903. That same day in the evening, he warned his family that he would work late and asked them to wake him up the next day no earlier than noon. It was on this day, June 12, 1903, that M. M. Filippov was found dead on the floor near a table covered with instruments and retorts. Attempts to bring him back to life were unsuccessful. The called doctor Polyansky was unable to determine the cause of death and wrote down on the medical certificate: death from an unknown cause. The police soon appeared at the scene. After a thorough search, the correspondence of the deceased, his documents, records of experiments and all instruments were confiscated... The secret of the last experiment, like the entire discovery made by M. M. Filippov, was behind seven secret police locks.
M. M. Filippov was a truly encyclopedic person. He freely used foreign primary sources, reading in the originals the works of ancient authors, the latest literature of Germany, France, Italy, England and the Western Slavs. He owns more than 500 published works - on sociology, political economy, philosophy, natural science, mathematics, chemistry, and literary criticism. There are also works of art among them. He was a man of progressive thoughts and extraordinary capacity for work. Just look at how many different works came from his pen: “The Sociological Ideas of Auguste Comte”, “Prometheus” a story from ancient Greek life, “The Struggle for Existence and Cooperation in the Organic World”, “A Course in Mathematics by Seret, Fiedler, Salmon , Schlemilch, Dorezh, A. Meyer", "The Sun" - a popular conversation, "Human Races", "The Posthumous Work of Karl Marx" - about the second volume of "Capital", "Simplification of basic algebraic operations", "Results of Pasteur's grafting", " Ostap" - a historical story from the time of Khmelnitsky, "Czech Folk Theater", "Besieged Sevastopol" - a historical novel, biographical essays from the series "Life of Remarkable People" about Jan Hus, Newton, Pascal, Leibniz, Kant, Leonardo da Vinci, Lessing and al., “Psychological research. The law of perception”, “Lobachevsky space and multidimensional space”, “On the nature of X-rays”, “Heredity according to Virchow”, “Subjectivism and populism”, “Experience of a self-education program”, “Elementary theory of probability” - for people unfamiliar with the principles of higher education mathematics, “Encyclopedic Dictionary” in three volumes (almost all articles were written by M. M. Filippov), “Individualism in modern French literature”, “Karl Marx and his teaching”... M. Filippov’s literary talent was reflected in his purely scientific works and especially in popular science articles addressed to a wide range of readers. In 1884, he brilliantly passed exams at St. Petersburg University for the entire course of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics and received the title of Candidate of Sciences, and in 1892 in Germany, at the University of Heidelberg, defends his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Invariants of linear homogeneous differential equations.” And finally, in 1894 he became the editor of the journal Scientific Review, which he founded. Collaborators in the journal: V. I. Lenin, G. V. Plekhanov, V. I. Zasulich, D. I. Mendeleev, K. E. Tsiolkovsky, N. N. Beketov, S. P. Glazenap, P. F. Lesgaft, V. M. Bekhterev, V. A. Wagner, F. F. Erisman; Translations of works by K. Marx, F. Engels, C. Darwin, G. Helmholtz, and W. Roentgen were published on the pages of the magazine. The last issue of the journal “Scientific Review” was published in May 1903 - the year of M. Filippov’s death. In this issue, next to Mendeleev’s “Treasured Thoughts,” Tsiolkovsky’s famous article “Exploration of World Spaces with Reactive Instruments” was published... The October Revolution opened access to the archives of the police department, but the documents and records of experiments seized during a search from M. M. Filippov could not be found managed. It is possible that all this was lost during a fire in the building of the security department, set on fire by the guards themselves during the February Revolution of 1917. However, something was still discovered. First of all, a “top secret” note from the St. Petersburg Security Department to the director of the police department about the sudden death of M. M. Filippov, dated June 16, 1903. It is clear from it that the secret police tried in every possible way to hide the true causes of the scientist’s death. The conclusions made by the police contradict each other. Police doctor Reshetnikov, who examined the body of the deceased, determined that death was caused by cardiac paralysis as a result of an organic heart defect. And three days after the mysterious death of the scientist, the clerk of the main artillery committee, Colonel Gelfreich, was invited. He was assigned to carry out an examination of the experiments carried out by M. M. Filippov. On the night of June 15, the scientist’s body, by order of the judicial authorities, was transported to the Mariinsky Hospital for an autopsy. Under pressure from the security department, both police doctor Reshetnikov and Colonel Gelfreich changed their conclusions twice. On the one hand, the colonel stated that the scientist’s death was due to the careless extraction of hydrocyanic acid vapor. On the other hand, the conclusion contains the following words: “A stone pot with some kind of (?!) salt and liquid was found among the material evidence. If this salt is yellow salt, and the liquid is dilute sulfuric acid, then there can be no doubt that this operation was carried out by M. Filippov solely for the purpose of self-poisoning.” What can be said about such contradictory conclusions? The colonel's first opinion does not coincide with the second, and both of them disagree with the doctor's conclusions. Secondly, from the fact that there was “some” salt in the pot, the version of “self-poisoning”, that is, suicide, cannot in any way follow. Neither of the two conclusions of the “scientific” expert was accompanied by a chemical analysis of the substances to which references were made to substantiate one version or another. ..Apparently, there were serious reasons to hide the records of M. Filippov’s experiments and bury the discovery he made. The sad fate of this bright man was summed up by a note in the Small Soviet Encyclopedia: “Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov (1858-1903) - publicist and scientific figure, one of the first Russian Marxists. Founder and editor of the journal Scientific Review. Filippov discovered the possibility of transmitting explosion waves over long distances. Died from gas poisoning during experiments. Fearing that Filippov’s discovery would be used for revolutionary purposes, the secret police took away after his death all his instruments and notes, which disappeared without a trace.” Maybe so. In any case, this assumption is quite logical. But what was the discovery itself? Can modern specialists, more than sixty years later, decipher and at least a little concretize this mysterious idea of transmitting an explosion wave over long distances through electric current? Is it possible? What did Filippov mean when he briefly talked about his discovery in his last letter on June 11, 1903? Does something similar exist now? Or will the discovery made at the beginning of the century remain a “blank spot” in science? “The method of electrical transmission of an explosion wave” - these words of M. M. Filippov still remain mysterious, despite the fact that they were written more than 60 years back. If the scientist correctly formulated his idea from the point of view of modern terminology, then we are clearly dealing with a synthesis of electronics and explosion physics. True, transmission of an “explosion wave” over a distance is possible without the intervention of radio and electrical engineering, because it was long ago noticed that with the explosion of one explosives warehouses often exploded and neighboring, although isolated, but closely located warehouses. In 1872, the French Pamar and Coville discovered the phenomenon of detonation at a distance - detonation through influence. Two years later, engineer-Colonel A. Shulyachenko (who died, by the way, 13 days before Filippov’s death) and Captain Konyukhov not only investigated this phenomenon, but also established the ability of dynamite to detonate through influence both in the air, underground and in water . Since then, through the works of many scientists, including Soviet ones, the processes occurring during detonation have been studied quite thoroughly. The charge that excites detonation is called active, and the charge in which it is excited is called passive. The wave, reaching the surface of the passive charge, produces local heating, excites its own shock wave in the passive charge substance and causes an explosion. All other things being equal, the magnitude of the active charge has a significant influence on the detonation transmission range. A sample of 15 g of hexogen can cause detonation in a passive charge located 3 cm from it; 50 g - 6 cm; 400 g -24 cm; 1.5 kg - 45 cm; 6.25 kg - 80 cm. These experimental data are well described by the formula
Where K is the range of transmission of detonation through influence in meters, K is the correction factor and C is the weight of the active charge in kg. It does not matter what shape the charges have, how they are mutually located and where the point of initiation of the explosion is located. For comparison, let’s take two cylindrical charges, which, being mutually perpendicular, produce detonation at a distance of 15 cm. By simply turning one of these cylinders until the axes coincide, the range increases to 75 cm. If we now connect the charges with a light tube, the range will reach 125 cm. The type of environment in which the detonating charges are located is also important. Let's say, for some particular case, the range in the air is 26 cm. A partition made of wood installed between the charges reduces the distance to 3 cm, of clay - to 2 cm, and of steel - to 1 cm. The maximum range in a vacuum. Calculations show , that in the conditions of the earth’s atmosphere, even with an explosive charge of 10 tons, the range does not exceed several tens of meters. But Filippov talks about transmitting an “explosion wave” over 1000 km! A light tube significantly increases the range. Perhaps some “tube” contained the scientist’s secret? We need some kind of “bridge” through which the shock wave will pass without losing its energy to overcome the resistance of the environment... The trends of the times and the situation could have prompted Filippov to the idea of synthesizing electronics and explosion physics. It should not seem too fantastic, because in our time it has been established that the epicenter of large explosions is a source of electromagnetic waves... The answers to these questions constitute the still unsolved secret of the Russian inventor. But since he had just begun his experiments and was going to consult with Berthelot, it is most likely that this idea arose from him in general outlines, perhaps still far from the possibility of practical implementation. Or maybe... our guesses have nothing in common with Filippov's idea? Perhaps its principle was unexpectedly new? Perhaps the scientist was standing on the threshold of a great discovery, brilliant in its simplicity, really holding in his hands the threads leading to the discovery of a means capable of making wars, if not impossible, then extremely difficult...
Short, round, thick-cheeked, with large horn-rimmed glasses, clean, neat gray hair, always cheerful and lively, always in trouble, indeed, a kind of good-natured, caring gnome or brownie. Even the book of his memoirs, which he published in his declining years, was called “Notes of a Brownie.” However, he received this nickname not so much because of his external resemblance, but because of his position. Because Boris Mikhailovich was the director of houses, first of the Central House of Artists (Central House of Artists), and then of the Central House of Writers (Central House of Writers). Of course, his good acquaintances and even friends included almost all the outstanding cultural figures and classics of Soviet literature of those years. When it came to the fact that he was from a good family, some asked with a significant look: “What, one of those same Filippovs?” - referring, of course, to the famous pre-revolutionary baker Filippov.
No, what kind of bakers are there! Kind, hard-working, rich Boris Mikhailovich was the son of a completely different Philip. The one who, at the beginning of the century, could unwittingly bring our civilization to the brink of self-destruction. However, Russian society did not realize the possible catastrophe at that time. Boris Mikhailovich did not understand this either, although he published the book “The Thorny Path” about the fate of his father.
Three hundred and first work
Boris Mikhailovich was only a few months old when, on an autumn night in 1903, Mikhail Filippov, his father, was found dead in his personal laboratory.
Shortly before his death, Mikhail wrote to his friends:
“Once in my youth, while studying the works of Buckle, I came across the idea that the invention of gunpowder influenced the bloodshed of wars towards a decrease. Not so long ago, I remembered those lines, thanks to my discovery, which would radically change the very concept of war. I have "in view of the way the blast wave spreads over several thousand kilometers around. Thus, having carried out an explosion in St. Petersburg, its echoes can be felt in Constantinople."
So, on the eve of what a discovery engineer Filippov was! Or even already made this discovery. But could this statement be taken seriously? You never know what statements are not made to “the city and the world” by dozens of madmen every now and then in all corners of the world! And what kind of benefits they promise humanity - from extracting electricity from cucumbers to perpetual motion. And in general, was engineer Filippov a serious person?
The answer is clear: serious, talented and very efficient. One can only be surprised at how much he managed to do in his short life - he was killed when he reached 45 years old. Filippov was not only a famous scientist, but also a journalist. He prepared for publication one of the first popular science magazines of the Russian Empire - "Scientific Review". It was there that Tsiolkovsky’s “Investigation of World Spaces with Reactive Instruments,” which at first caused ridicule from “serious” scientists and which later became famous, was first published. So, at the origins of modern cosmonautics, next to the name of the “Kaluga dreamer” should be the name of Filippov. He wrote the novel “Besieged Sevastopol,” which created a sensation in the literary world of that time. Both Tolstoy and Gorky praised this work. Mikhail Filippov translated Mendeleev’s work “Fundamentals of Chemistry” to the French, in which the latter derived the well-known law and presented the periodic table to everyone.
Best of the day
In total, Mikhail Filippov, as his son later calculated, published exactly three hundred of his works during his life. The three hundred and first work caused the death of the scientist.
The police who arrived at the crime scene seized the manuscript of the book “Revolution through Science, or the End of Wars.” Many were sure that the secret police organized the murder. So, according to researcher Jacques Bergier, the only reader of this book was Nicholas II himself. There is an assumption that many rulers belonged to the Black Order.
The contents of the book remained a mystery: drafts, notebooks and calculation sheets were stolen and, most likely, destroyed. However, somewhere in the recesses of the laboratory, some notes were still found, from which one could get an idea of the approximate principle of operation of the “explosion-telegram”. All the energy of the detonated charge turns into a wave beam of small amplitude and, in such a concentrated form, diverges along the growing electromagnetic wave. As a result, without moving a leaf on a tree in Moscow, the explosion will turn huge buildings thousands of kilometers away, somewhere “in Constantinople,” into ruins.
In other words, as Mikhail Filippov once wrote to his friends: “the use of this type of bomb in the impending revolution will lead to an uprising of peoples and wars will begin to resemble peace negotiations more than bloody skirmishes.”
How is the road to hell paved?
Filippov, who argues, had good intentions. With his invention, he pursued not militaristic, but revolutionary goals.
However, all of them, the so-called advanced society, had exclusively good intentions then. But, unfortunately, what roads are paved with them has been known for a long time. After all, Alfred Nobel believed that his invention of dynamite would stop wars.
Probably, primitive man already dreamed of abolishing wars. But at all times, methods have been invented for this in such a way that wars only became more destructive. There is such a parable. One of the warriors of the tribe came to the shaman and said: “You know, father, how we fight: we come face to face and stab with a pike, chop with an ax. The strong kill the weak, two weak - one strong. Then we disperse - until next time. How many people There are countless people dying in wars. But I came up with a weapon that kills at a distance. Now the whole old order is changing. The weak can kill the strong, and not just one - three, five and even more. Now all wars lose their meaning. Otherwise, soon there will be no people left on the ground". - "Show me your weapon." - “I called it “bow,” - said the warrior, handing his invention to the shaman. - “So, so, how to handle it?”... “Eh-he-he, son,” muttered the old weak shaman, pulling out an arrow from the chest of a mighty warrior. - You went the wrong way. We haven't grown up to these toys yet..."
Obviously, that cautious shaman was the first of the “men in black”.
Is there any reason to worry about Filippov’s innovative ideas? Was there any real scientific support for his discovery? Modern researchers believe that the energy of an explosion can, under certain conditions, be transmitted over a conventional distance, like light and sound waves.
It is not without reason that researcher Jacques Bergier proposes to become a prosecutor for a moment in the “case of engineer Filippov” and pose the question in a different way: couldn’t Nicholas II, with his decision to kill Filippov and search his laboratory, save humanity from inevitable death? After all, it’s scary to even imagine where history would have turned, what the already terrifying World Wars I and II, or any war, even the smallest one at first, could have resulted in. And so, at the very least, we have entered the 21st century and are living...
Filippov, Mikhail Mikhailovich
M. M. Filippov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov(June 30 (July 12), Osokino village, Zvenigorod district, Kiev province - June 12, St. Petersburg) - Russian writer, philosopher, journalist, physicist, chemist, economist and mathematician, science popularizer and encyclopedist.
Biography
As a teenager, he studied French, German and English, and in preparation for entering university, he studied Latin and Greek. He received his education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, and then at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. He received a doctorate in natural philosophy from the University of Heidelberg (the topic of his dissertation was “Invariants of linear homogeneous differential equations”). Trained with Berthelot and Meyer.
Filippov was the founder, publisher and editor of the Scientific Review magazine. Author of 300 scientific papers.
Links
- Filippov, Mikhail Mikhailovich- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- The mysterious invention of Doctor Filippov (Material by G. Chernenko).
- The superweapon that Nicholas II abandoned (Essay by Z. Oskotsky).
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See what “Filippov, Mikhail Mikhailovich” is in other dictionaries:
Russian scientific encyclopedist, positivist philosopher, writer, journalist. Studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (1858 1903) Russian scientist, writer, journalist. Works on natural science, philosophy, novel Besieged Sevastopol (1889). Published the journal Scientific Review (1894 1903) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Filippov (Mikhail Mikhailovich) writer, son of the previous one; born in 1858. He received his education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University. Literary... ... Biographical Dictionary
Writer, son of M. A. Mikhailov (see); genus. in 1858. He received his education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg. University and at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University. He began his literary activity in the journal of prof. I. P. Wagner... ...
- (1858 1903), Russian writer, scientist, journalist. Works on natural science, philosophy, novel “Besieged Sevastopol” (1889). Published the journal “Scientific Review” (1894 1903). * * * FILIPOV Mikhail Mikhailovich FILIPOV Mikhail Mikhailovich (1858 1903),… … encyclopedic Dictionary
FILIPOV Mikhail Mikhailovich- (30.06 (12.07). 1858, Oknino, now Zvenigorod district in the Cherkasy region. 12 (25.06.1903, St. Petersburg) historian of philosophy, naturalist, writer and publicist. Peru F. owns more than 300 scientific works. In 1878–1881 studied law... Russian Philosophy. Encyclopedia
I writer, son of M. A. Mikhailov (see); genus. in 1858. He received his education in law. fak. St. Petersburg Univ. and in physics and mathematics. Faculty of Novoross. Univ. He began his literary activity in the journal of prof. I. P. Wagner Thought articles The struggle for... ...
FILIPOV Mikhail Mikhailovich- (30.06 (12.07).1858, Oknino, now Zvenigorod district in the Cherkassy region. 12 (25.06.1903, St. Petersburg) historian of philosophy, naturalist, writer and publicist. Peru F. owns more than 300 scientific works. In 1878 1881 studied at law school... Russian philosophy: dictionary
Writer; died in 1903... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
- - statesman of the time of Alexander? and Nicholas I (1772-1839). I. Speransky was born on January 1, 1772 in the village of Cherkutin, Vladimir district, where his father, Mikhail Vasilyevich, was a priest. At the age of seven he was given away by his father to... ... Large biographical encyclopedia
Books
- Mikhail Skobelev. His life, military, administrative and social activities, Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov. These biographical essays were published about a hundred years ago in the series “Life of Remarkable People”, carried out by F.F. Pavlenkov (1839-1900). Written in a new genre for that time...
From the point of view of the history of those discoveries that could harm this world, the story of one Russian scientist, killed, as they say, in the prime of his life, is interesting.
Filippov Mikhail Mikhailovich (June 30, 1858 - June 12, 1903) - Russian writer, scientist, philosopher, journalist, physicist, chemist. Born in the village of Oknino, now Katerinopil district, Cherkasy region. He received his education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, and then at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. In 1892 he received a doctorate in natural philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. Main works: “Philosophy of Reality”, a series of essays “The Fate of Russian Philosophy”, acted as a prose writer and critic. He was engaged in research on creating a death ray and transmitting an explosion over a distance.
June 12, 1903 Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov was found dead in his laboratory. They killed him, undoubtedly, on the orders of the tsarist secret police. The police took all the scientist's papers, including the manuscript of the book, which was supposed to be his 301st publication. Emperor Nicholas II personally studied the case, after which the laboratory was destroyed and all the papers were burned.
The seized manuscript was called "Revolution through Science or the End of Wars." This was not a purely theoretical work. Filippov wrote to friends - and his letters must have been opened and read by the secret police - that he had made an amazing discovery. He actually found a way to reproduce the effect of an explosion using a directed beam of short radio waves. “I can reproduce the full force of an explosion with a beam of short waves,” he wrote in one of the found letters. - The blast wave is completely transmitted along the carrier electromagnetic wave, and thus a charge of dynamite detonated in Moscow can transmit its effect to Constantinople. Experiments I have carried out show that this phenomenon can be caused at a distance of several thousand kilometers. The use of such weapons in the revolution will lead to the fact that peoples will rebel, and wars will become completely impossible.”
It is clear that a threat of this kind did not leave the emperor indifferent, and everything necessary was done quickly and effectively.
A small digression. This outstanding scientist published the work of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky “Exploration of world spaces using jet instruments.” If it weren’t for Filippov, no one would have known Tsiolkovsky, so we indirectly owe Filippov the first satellite and modern astronautics. In addition, Filippov translated it into French and thereby gave the whole world the opportunity to get acquainted with Mendeleev’s main work - “Fundamentals of Chemistry”, where the famous Mendeleev’s law was formulated and the periodic system of elements was given.
Filippov founded the first serious popular science magazine in Russia, Scientific Review.
He was a convinced Marxist and, despite the danger to which he exposed himself, he spread the ideas of Marxism. On November 19, 1900, Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “I argued about Marxism with Filippov; he spoke very convincingly.”
But Filippov did not limit himself to science; he was one of the major Russian writers. In 1889 he published the novel “Besieged Sevastopol”; Tolstoy and Gorky unanimously admired him. It’s amazing how such a short life - Filippov was killed at the age of forty-five - could contain so much. He compiled an encyclopedia and founded a magazine that brought together all Russian scientists and published articles by such writers as Tolstoy and Gorky.
How to assess how real his invention was? Let us first remember that a similar invention has just been successfully tested in the United States: it is inaccurately called an argon bomb.
The principle of this invention is known: the energy from the explosion of a charge of dynamite or other type of explosive placed in a quartz cylinder compresses argon gas, which begins to glow intensely. This light energy is concentrated into a laser beam and in this form is transmitted over a long distance.
Thus, it was possible to set fire to an aluminum model of an airplane at an altitude of a thousand meters. Currently, aircraft are prohibited from flying over certain regions of the United States where such experiments are being conducted. (We are talking about the currently implemented plans for the latest missile defense systems in the USA - Nandzed)
Therefore, Filippov’s idea, albeit in a truncated form, was actually implemented.
Filippov, of course, did not know the laser, but he studied ultrashort waves about a millimeter in length, which he received using a spark generator. He published several works on this topic. But even today, the properties of such waves are not fully understood, and Filippov could well have found a way to convert the energy of the explosion into a narrow beam of ultrashort waves.
Some may find it unreal that a scientist alone made such an important discovery, which is now completely lost. But there are many arguments against this objection.
First of all, Filippov was not a lone scientist in the full sense of the word. He maintained relationships with the most prominent figures in science around the world, read all the journals and was gifted with an encyclopedic mind, capable of working at the intersection of many sciences and synthesizing them.
However, despite everything that is said about teams of scientists, no one has yet refuted the fact that discoveries, as before, are made by individuals. As Winston Churchill said, “a camel is a horse perfected by a committee.”
Filippov was killed in 1903. If he had time to make his method public, this method would undoubtedly have been perfected and used in the First World War. And all the major cities of Europe, and possibly America, would have been destroyed. And the wars of 1939-1945. Wouldn't Hitler, armed with Filippov's method, completely destroy England, and the Americans - Japan?
From the book "Cursed Books" by Jacques Bergier...
In parallel with Tesla, Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov conducted experiments in Russia on transmitting energy over long distances. As an experiment, he lit a chandelier from St. Petersburg in Tsarskoe Selo. In June 1903, in St. Petersburg, while carrying out laboratory work during the transmission of explosion waves over long distances, M. M. Filippov died under unclear circumstances. The police seized his devices and papers.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov, Doctor of Natural Philosophy (there was such a science), was called the last Russian encyclopedist. Indeed, he “threw himself around” as widely as, perhaps, none of his contemporaries. Mathematician, chemist, fiction writer, critic, economist, philosopher. And all this in one person!
Historical article
In January 1894, Filippov began publishing the weekly journal Scientific Review in St. Petersburg. Mendeleev, Bekhterev, Lesgaft, Beketov collaborated in it. Tsiolkovsky was published more than once. It was in “Scientific Review” that Konstantin Eduardovich’s historical article “Exploration of world spaces using jet instruments” was published, which forever secured his primacy in the theory of space flight. “I am grateful to Filippov,” wrote the founder of astronomy, “for he alone decided to publish my work.”
The magazine's editorial office was located in Filippov's apartment on the fifth floor of building No. 37 on Zhukovsky Street. In the same apartment, a scientific laboratory was also equipped, in which Mikhail Mikhailovich worked for many hours, staying up on experiments long after midnight, or even until the morning.
What kind of scientific work this was and what goal the St. Petersburg scientist set for himself became clear from his open letter sent by him to the editor of the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” on June 11 (old style) 1903. This document is so interesting and important that we present it in full.
An extraordinary letter
“In my early youth,” Filippov wrote, “I read from Buckle (English historian and sociologist) that the invention of gunpowder made wars less bloody. Since then, I have been haunted by the possibility of an invention that would make war almost impossible. Surprisingly, the other day I made a discovery, the practical development of which will actually abolish war.
We are talking about a method I invented for electrically transmitting an explosion wave over a distance, and, judging by calculations, this transmission is possible over a distance of thousands of kilometers, so that, having made an explosion in St. Petersburg, it will be possible to transmit it to Constantinople. The method is amazingly simple and cheap. But with such warfare at the distances I have indicated, war actually becomes madness and must be abolished. I will publish the details in the fall in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences.”
As already mentioned, the letter was sent on June 11, and the next day Filippov was found dead in his home laboratory.
The scientist’s widow, Lyubov Ivanovna Filippova, said that on the eve of his death, Mikhail Mikhailovich warned his relatives that he would work for a long time, and asked them to wake him up no earlier than 12 noon. The family did not hear any noise, much less an explosion, in the laboratory that fateful night. Exactly at 12 we went to wake up. The door to the laboratory was locked. They knocked and, hearing no answer, broke down the door.
"It is so simple!"
Filippov lay without a frock coat on the floor, face down, in a puddle of blood. The abrasions on his face indicated that he had fallen as if knocked down. The police conducted a search in Filippov's laboratory and an investigation. But the latter was done somehow hastily and very unprofessionally. Even medical experts differed widely on the cause of the tragedy.
The funeral of Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov took place on the morning of June 25, and was very modest and not crowded. Only relatives of the deceased, members of the magazine's editorial board, and a few representatives of the literary world were present. The scientist’s body was interred on the “Literary Bridges” of the Volkov cemetery - not far from the graves of Belinsky and Dobrolyubov. Filippov died, and along with him his journal “Scientific Review” ceased to exist.
Meanwhile, rumors about the mysterious invention did not stop. A friend of the deceased, Professor A.S., gave an interesting interview to Petersburgskie Vedomosti. Trachevsky. Three days before the tragic death of the scientist, they saw each other and talked. “To me, as a historian,” said Trachevsky, “Filippov could speak about his plan only in the most general terms. When I reminded him of the difference between theory and practice, he firmly said: “It’s been tested, there have been experiments and I will do it again.” He outlined the essence of the secret to me approximately, as in a letter to the editor. And he said more than once, hitting the table with his hand: “It’s so simple, and cheap! It’s amazing how they haven’t thought of it yet.” I remember the inventor added that this was approached a little in America, but in a completely different and unsuccessful way.”
Mysterious case
The debate surrounding the amazing discovery of M.M. Filippov gradually calmed down. Time passed, and in 1913, in connection with the tenth anniversary of the death of the scientist, the newspapers again returned to the old topic. At the same time, new important details became clear and recalled. For example, the Moscow newspaper “Russkoye Slovo” wrote that Filippov traveled to Riga back in 1900, where he conducted experiments on explosions at a distance in the presence of some specialists. Returning to St. Petersburg, “he said that he was extremely pleased with the results of the experiments.”
We also remembered such a mysterious incident: at the moment when the police were searching the laboratory, far from Zhukovsky Street, on Okhta, a powerful explosion occurred! A multi-story stone house collapsed in an instant without any apparent reason and turned into ruins. This house and Filippov’s laboratory were on the same straight line, not blocked by buildings! “So, didn’t Filippov’s device work when strangers, inexperienced hands began to touch it?” - asked one of the capital's newspapers.
But there was especially a lot of talk about the fate of M.M.’s scientific manuscript. Filippov, which contained “mathematical calculations and results of experiments in detonation at a distance.” As the scientist’s widow told reporters, the day after his death, this manuscript was taken by an employee of Scientific Review, the then famous publicist A.Yu. Finn-Enotaevsky. He promised to make a copy of the manuscript and return the original in a few days.
Missing manuscript
However, months passed, and Finn-Enotaevsky did not even think about returning the important manuscript. When Filippov’s widow firmly demanded a return, he declared that he no longer had the manuscript and that he burned it, fearing a search. The matter was clearly unclean. Finn-Enotaevsky lived until Stalin's times and was repressed in 1931. What if Filippov’s manuscript still lies among his papers in some secret archive?
The inventor was never known for bragging. He, of course, wrote the pure truth. But already in 1903, immediately after the tragedy, articles appeared in newspapers questioning Filippov’s correctness. Novoye Vremya journalist V.K. especially tried. Petersen. In the note “A Gloomy Mystery,” he called on D.I. Mendeleev to speak on this matter and, so to speak, dot the i's.
And the famous chemist spoke in the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti”, however, not in support of a pseudoscientific note, but in defense of the late scientist-inventor. “Ideas of M.M. Filippova, Mendeleev said, “may well withstand scientific criticism.”
In a conversation with Professor Trachevsky (it was also published), he expressed himself even more clearly, saying that “there is nothing fantastic in Filippov’s main idea: the wave of an explosion is transferable, like a wave of light and sound.”
Well, what is now the view on the mysterious discovery of M.M. Filippova? It was suggested that the St. Petersburg scientist came up with the idea (at the beginning of the 20th century!) of a laser beam weapon. Laser specialists, in principle, do not deny the attempt to create a laser 100 years ago. True, huge doubts arise here. But, perhaps, over time, other hypotheses will appear or new documents will be found. And then, finally, this age-old mystery will be resolved.
Mikhail Filippov (physicist)
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov. Born June 30 (July 12), 1858 in the village. Osokino, Zvenigorod district, Kyiv province - died on June 12, 1903 in St. Petersburg. Russian engineer, writer, philosopher, journalist, physicist, chemist, historian, economist and mathematician. Founder, publisher and editor of the Scientific Review magazine.
Mikhail Filippov was born in the village of Osokino, Zvenigorod district, Kyiv province (now Oknino, Katerinopol district, Cherkasy region). The estate belonged to his maternal grandfather Lavrenty Vasylkivsky, whose genealogy was traced back to Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
As a teenager, Mikhail studied French, German and English, and in preparation for entering university, he learned Latin and Greek. He received his education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, and then at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University in Odessa.
In 1892 he received a doctorate in natural philosophy from the University of Heidelberg (the topic of his dissertation was “Invariants of linear homogeneous differential equations”). Trained with Berthelot and Meyer.
In 1889, Filippov wrote and published the historical novel “Besieged Sevastopol,” marked by a sympathetic review from a Sevastopol veteran.
In 1890, in collaboration with the Croatian historian Marko Doshen, Filippov wrote and published the book “The Croats and Their Struggle with Austria” (“Hrvati i njihova borba s Austrijom”). The book was published under the pseudonym “M. D. Bilaygradsky.”
He was the author and editor of the three-volume Encyclopedic Dictionary (St. Petersburg, 1901, publishing house P. P. Soykin). He acted as a translator of the works of Darwin and other foreign scientists into Russian, as well as the works of Mendeleev into French. He was the author-biographer in the ZhZL series.
Filippov was the author of the first review in Russia of the 2nd volume of Capital. In 1895-1897 Filippov published the work “Philosophy of Reality”, where he assessed the main stages of the development of European philosophy from a materialistic point of view. In his essays “The Fate of Russian Philosophy” (published in 1898 in the magazine “Russian Wealth”), Filippov identified two trends in the history of Russian thought, which were associated with the influence of English empiricism and German idealism.
He adhered to left-wing, Marxist views, and therefore was under police surveillance since 1881 and was exiled to Terijoki (1901-1902). Filippov sharply criticized the religious and philosophical direction of Vladimir Solovyov.
In 1903, in the article “New Idealism,” he criticized the collection “Problems of Idealism” and its authors (N. A. Berdyaev, S. N. Bulgakov, E. N. Trubetskoy).
Filippov was the founder, publisher and editor of the journal Scientific Review (which ceased with his death).
Filippov's beam
He was engaged in research of millimeter electromagnetic waves and experiments on the transfer of explosion energy over a distance (hypothetical Filippov beam).
The scientist’s letter to the editor of the St. Petersburg Vedomosti newspaper, written on the eve of his death, is known: “In my early youth, I read from Buckle that the invention of gunpowder made wars less bloody. Since then, I have been haunted by the possibility of an invention that would make war almost impossible. Surprising as it may seem, the other day I made a discovery, the practical development of which will actually abolish war. We are talking about a method I invented for electrical transmission of an explosion wave over a distance, and, judging by the method used, this transmission is possible over a distance of thousands of kilometers, so that, having made an explosion in St. Petersburg, it will be possible to transmit its effect to Constantinople. The method is amazingly simple and cheap. But with such warfare at the distances I have indicated, war actually becomes madness and must be abolished. I will publish the details in the fall in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences. The experiments are slowed down by the extraordinary danger of the substances used, some very explosive, like nitrogen trichloride, and some extremely poisonous.”
Death rays. Hyperboloid of engineer Filippov
Killed under unclear circumstances in St. Petersburg: on June 12, 1903, Filippov was found dead in his own home laboratory on the 5th floor of a building on the street. Zhukovsky, 37 (owned by Saltykov-Shchedrin’s widow, Elizaveta). The official version is apoplexy.
The press became interested in the mysterious death of the scientist. Filippov’s friend, Professor A. S. Trachevsky, gave an interview to St. Petersburg Gazette, in which, in particular, he said: “As a historian, Mikhail Mikhailovich could tell me about his plan only in general terms. When I reminded him of the difference between theory and practice, he firmly said: “It’s been tested, there have been experiments, and I will do it again.” Filippov outlined the essence of the secret to me approximately, as in a letter to the editor. He repeated more than once, hitting the table with his hand: “It’s so simple, and cheap! It’s amazing how they haven’t figured it out yet.” I remember Mikhail Mikhailovich added that this problem was approached in America, but in a completely different and unsuccessful way.”
still from the series "Hunting the Devil"
Filippov's documents and instruments were confiscated and are considered lost.
Filippov is survived by his son Boris (1903-1991), a Soviet theater figure, director of the Central House of Artists and the Central House of Writers.
Bibliography of Mikhail Filippov:
♦ Filippov B. M. The thorny path of the Russian scientist: The life and work of M. M. Filippov / Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960;
♦ Filippov B. M. Thorny Path / Ed. and with a preface. acad. S. G. Strumilina. - Ed. 2nd, revised and additional - M.: Nauka, 1969;
♦ Filippov B. M. The thorny path of the Russian scientist: The life and work of M. M. Filippov / Rep. ed. B. M. Kedrov. - Ed. 3rd, revised and additional - M.: Nauka, 1982;
♦ Filippov M. M. Sketches of the past: Selected essays, scientific works, fiction, literary criticism. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1963;
♦ Smirnov-Sokolsky N.P. Stories about books. - Ed. 2nd. - M.: Book, 1977