Otto Wiener (physicist)

Otto Wiener (physicist)
Otto Wiener

Otto Wiener, experimental physicists in Leipzig since 1899
Born 15 June 1862(1862-06-15)
Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden (present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
Died 18 January 1927(1927-01-18) (aged 64)
Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
Nationality Germany
Fields Physics (eperimental)
Institutions Technical University of Karlsruhe
University of Strasbourg
University of Leipzig
Known for Standing electromagnetic waves in the visible range

Otto Heinrich Wiener (15 June 1862 – 18 January 1927) was a German physicist.

Contents

Life and Work

Otto Wiener was a son of Christian Wiener and Pauline Hausrath. Orphan of mother at the age of 3, he married Lina Fenner at 32. [1]

He was a pupil of August Kundt at the University of Strasbourg, where he received his doctorate in 1887 with a thesis on the phase change of light upon reflection, and methods to determine the thickness of thin films. [2] [3]

Wiener is known for the experimental proof of standing light waves. In 1890 he succeeded in determining the wavelength of light.[4]

He was professor at the University of Giessen from 1895. In 1899 he became professor at the Physics Institute of the University of Leipzig,[5] where he succeeded Gustav Wiedemann. Together with Theodor des Coudres, he built an excellent physical institute there, and appointed Peter Debye and Gregor Wentzel.[6]

In his academic inaugural lecture at Leipzig of 1900 on The Extension of our Senses, he presented the theory of physical education in the context of evolutionary theory. He took up Heinrich Hertz's theory that separates internal images —a conceptualization of reality— from descriptions of experiment(Principles of Mechanics, 1894). It was the dawn of media technology. Wiener added to Hertz's work, and theorized cinematography as an extension of our senses (1900).[7]

The Standing Lightwaves Experiment

Otto Wiener's fame is mostly due to the experiment where he visualized light waves in steady conditions. Although it could considered equivalent to Hertz's detection of radio waves, their intent differed. Hertz aimed at validating Maxwell's theory, while Wiener's purpose was to determine the plane of vibration light waves, as they were conceived in mechanical theory. Note that both scientists, like most of their contemporaries, assumed the existence of aether. With the rise of quantum mechanics, the concept of luminous field changed dramatically. Nowadays, quantum optics replaced the problem of visualizing light waves with that of simultaneously measuring their phase and amplitude.[8]

Drude's critique

Wiener's film was transparently thin, about 2x10−6 cm, exposed to carbon arc light. He added benzene to the wedge after having been criticized for not considering the possibility of having photographed thin-film interference fringes rather than standing waves. His interpretation validated Fresnel's interpretation rather than Neumann's. Paul Drude criticized Wiener for this.[9] With Nernst, he repeated Wiener's experiment using a fluorescent film as detector, in order to prove that the effect was due to electric fields.

Relationship with interferential photografy

A photographic experiment for validating Fresnel's theory had already been suggested by Wilhelm Zenker (1829-1899), after a call by the French Academy of Sciences in 1865. Zenker's proposal didn't delve into the thikness of the film, though. By exposing a thicker film, to be observed by reflection rather than by transparency, Gabriel Lippmann discovered interferential color photography, which he was awarded the Nobel prize for. Wiener contributed to Lippmann's theory thereafter. [10] [11][12]

Further repetitions of the experiment

Repetition of the experiment under different conditions was carried out by Leistner, a Wiener's student, to better characterize the radiation. Leistner modified a Mach–Zehnder interferometer so as to insert the film between the mirrors.[13] Another repetition was the thesis of Ernst Schult, commissioned by Nernst and Max von Laue for comparing light intensity with the energy as measured with a micropyrometer, along the verification of the energy quantization hypothesis with respect to the simple wave theory.[14] A further notable repetition, aimed at evaluating the dependence of a cesium film's photoelectric emission upon illumination conditions. Ives and Fry controlled bands formation using a thicker film to be dissected upon development.[15] More recent repetitions avail of laser technology.[16]

Bibliography

  • Die Erweiterung unserer Sinne, Academic inaugural lecture held on 19 May 1900. Leipzig 1900th, Leipzig 1900.
  • Der Zusammenhang zwischen den Angaben der Reflexionsbeobachtungen an Metallen und ihrer optischen Konstanten, Teubner 1908.
  • Über Farbenphotographie und verwandte naturwissenschaftliche Fragen, Paper presented at the 80th Scientific Congress at Cologne on the Rhine in the general meeting of the two main groups on 24 September, 1908, in: Verh. der Ges. Dt. Naturforscher und Ärzte. 80. Vers. zu Köln. Tl. 1. Vogel, Leipzig 1909.
  • Vogelflug, Luftfahrt und Zukunft, mit einem Anhang über Krieg und Völkerfriede. Barth, Leipzig 1911.
  • Die Theorie des Mischkörpers für das Feld der stationären Strömung. 1. Abhandlung: Die Mittelwertsätze für Kraft, Polarisation und Energie. Transactions of the mathematical-physical class of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, Volume 32, No. 6, Leipzig 1912.
  • Physik und Kulturentwicklung durch technische und wissenschaftliche Erweiterung der menschlichen Naturanlagen, Leipzig, Berlin 1919.
  • Fliegerkraftlehre, Hirzel, Leipzig 1920. (Works on aeronautical problems, introduction to aviation and aerodynamics for aspiring pilots.)
  • Das Grundgesetz der Natur und die Erhaltung der absoluten Geschwindigkeit im Äther, Transactions of the Saxon Academy of Sciences, Mathematics and Physical Class IV, Teubner, Leipzig 1921.
  • Schwingungen elastischer Art im kräftefreien Strömungsäther, in: Phys. Zeitschrift, vol. 25, 1924, pp. 552–559.
  • Weiten, Zeiten, Geschwindigkeiten. Ein Gespräch über grundlegende naturwissenschaftliche Fragen, Düsseldorf 1925.
  • Natur und Mensch. Die Naturwissenschaften und ihre Anwendungen. 4 vols. Edited by CW Schmidt Edit. by HH Kritzinger, CW Schmidt, Otto Wiener, Hugo Kauffmann, K. Keilhack, G. Kraitschek, F. Cappeller, C. Schäffer including de Gruyter, Berlin 1926–1931.
  • Zur Theorie des Strömungsäthers. In: Phys. Zeitschrift, vol. 26. 1928, S. 73–78.

References

  1. ^ Fritz Fraunberger (2008). "Wiener, Otto". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904649.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011. 
  2. ^ "Obituaries", Nature 120 (3030): 777, 26 November 1927, doi:10.1038/120777a0, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v120/n3030/abs/120777a0.html 
  3. ^ "Prof. Dr. phil. Otto Heinrich Wiener". Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig. University of Leipzig. http://www.uni-leipzig.de/unigeschichte/professorenkatalog/leipzig/Wiener_178/. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  4. ^ K.B. Hasselberg (December 10, 1908). "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1908: Gabriel Lippmann". Award Ceremony Speech. Nobelprize.org. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1908/press.html. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  5. ^ http://www.2iceshs.cyfronet.pl/2ICESHS_Proceedings/Chapter_17/R-9_Schlote.pdf
  6. ^ Grinberg, Farida & Heitjans, Paul (2005), Taro Ito, ed., Diffusion Fundamentals Leipzig 2005, Leipziger Universitätsverlag, pp. 605-606, ISBN 9783865830739, http://books.google.com/books?id=4YKWiN2TMbQC&pg=PA606&lpg=PA606&dq=otto+wiener+leipzig&source=bl&ots=u2RqtzYjq8&sig=4P8YZ3HaDyaS4dgHUI_2UlnllZE&hl=en&ei=7FbCTpnID4inhAf_ppmJDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFwQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=otto%20wiener%20leipzig&f=false, retrieved 15 November, 2011 
  7. ^ Hans Esselborn (2009), Ordnung und Kontingenz: das kybernetische Modell in den Künsten, Königshausen & Neumann, p. 47, ISBN 9783826037801, http://books.google.com/books?id=OvJ0lSGILkYC&dq=%22Ordnung+und+Kontingenz:+das+kybernetische+Modell+in+den+K%C3%BCnsten%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s, retrieved 19 November, 2011 
  8. ^ Leonhard, U.; Paul, H. (1995), "Measuring the quantum state of light", Prog. Quant. Electr. 19 (2): 89-130, doi:10.1016/0079-6727(94)00007-L 
  9. ^ Paul Drude (1890), "Bemerkungen zu der Arbeit des Hrn. O. Wiener: “Stehende Lichtwellen und die Schwingungsrichtung polarisirten Lichtes”", Ann. Physik 277 (9): 154–160, doi:10.1002/andp.18902770912 
  10. ^ Otto Wiener (1899), "Ursache und Beseitigung eines Fehlers bei der Lippmann'schen Farbenphotographie, zugleich ein Beitrag zu ihrer Theorie", Ann. Physik 305 (10): 488–530, doi:10.1002/andp.18993051010 
  11. ^ P Connes (1987), "Silver salts and standing waves: the history of interference colour photography", J. Opt. 18 (4): 147-166, doi:10.1088/0150-536X/18/4/001 
  12. ^ Lucien Poincare (2006), The New Physics and Its Evolution, Echo Library, pp. 90-91, ISBN 9781406812091, http://books.google.com/books?id=fOXDEJhzmV8C&dq=Neumann+fresnel+plane+vibration&source=gbs_navlinks_s 
  13. ^ Kurt Leistner (1924), "Über stehende Lichtwellen in großer Entfernung von reflektierenden Flächen", Ann. Physik 379 (12): 325–346, doi:10.1002/andp.19243791203 
  14. ^ Ernst Schult (1927), "Intensitätsmessungen an Interferenzerscheinungen (nebst Untersuchungen stehender Lichtwellen)", Ann. Physik 387 (8): 1025–1050, doi:10.1002/andp.19273870803 
  15. ^ Herbert E. Ives; Thornton C. Fry (1933), "Standing Light Waves; Repetition of an Experiment by Wiener, Using a Photoelectric Probe Surface", JOSA 23 (3): 73-83, doi:10.1364/JOSA.23.000073 
  16. ^ H-J Büchner et al. (2003), "An optical standing-wave interferometer for displacement measurements", Meas. Sci. Technol. 14 (3): 311, doi:10.1088/0957-0233/14/3/309 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Vienna Circle —    / Wiener Kreis    The Vienna Circle dominated this discipline at the University of Vienna in the interwar period. Its members and their students had a great influence throughout Europe and the United States even after World War II, because so… …   Historical dictionary of Austria

  • positivism — positivist, adj., n. positivistic, adj. positivistically, adv. /poz i teuh viz euhm/, n. 1. the state or quality of being positive; definiteness; assurance. 2. a philosophical system founded by Auguste Comte, concerned with positive facts and… …   Universalium

  • List of Russian people — The Millennium of Russia monument in Veliky Novgorod, featuring the statues and reliefs of the most celebrated people in the first 1000 years of Russian history …   Wikipedia

  • Werner Heisenberg — Infobox Scientist box width = 300px name = Werner Heisenberg image size = 250px caption = Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901 1976). Photo taken circa 1926. birth date = birth date|1901|12|5|df=y birth place = Würzburg, Germany death date = death date… …   Wikipedia

  • German nuclear energy project — Germany nuclear energy project The German experimental nuclear pile at Haigerloch. Active …   Wikipedia

  • Döbling Cemetery — Döblinger Friedhof A cross at the cemetery dating from the 19th century Details Year established 1880 Country Austria …   Wikipedia

  • Chaos theory — This article is about chaos theory in Mathematics. For other uses of Chaos theory, see Chaos Theory (disambiguation). For other uses of Chaos, see Chaos (disambiguation). A plot of the Lorenz attractor for values r = 28, σ = 10, b = 8/3 …   Wikipedia

  • Georg Stetter — (1895 ndash; 1988) was an Austrian German nuclear physicist. Stetter was Director of the Second Physics Institute of the University of Vienna. He was a principal member of the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranium Club. In the… …   Wikipedia

  • 11th century — As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century is the period from 1001 to 1100 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era. In the history of European culture, this period is considered the early part of the… …   Wikipedia

  • PHYSICS — The material presented in this entry emphasizes those contributions which were important in arriving at verified present day scientific results, rather than those that may have appeared important at the time. Unavoidably it will overlap in parts… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”