Francis Simon (2.07.1893-31.10.1956) — physicist. Born in Berlin. Graduated from the University of Berlin, where he worked in 1924 — 31, and in 1931—33 was a professor at the University of Breslau. From 1933 he was at the University of Oxford (a professor from 1945).
His work was in low-temperature physics, low-temperature plasma, magnetism, nuclear physics, isotope separation and high-pressure physics. In 1926 he used the adiabatic desorption of helium from charcoal to obtain temperatures below that of liquid hydrogen (Simon's desorption method). In 1932, by modernising the method of isentropic expansion, he developed the so-called expansion method of liquefying helium. Independently of C. Gorter he put forward in 1935 (jointly with N. Kurti) the idea of nuclear cooling and analysed in detail the experimental conditions needed to realise it; he assembled the equipment with the help of which Kurti reached a temperature of 0.00001 K (1956). He studied the properties of matter at the temperatures of liquid helium.
A Fellow of the Royal Society (1941). The medals of B. Rumford (1948), H. Kamerlingh Onnes (1952), C. Linde (1952) and others.