- Ernst Karl Abbe
Infobox_Scientist
name = Ernst Abbe
|300px
caption = Ernst Karl Abbe (1840-1905)
birth_date = birth date|1840|1|23|mf=y
birth_place =Eisenach ,Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
death_date = death date and age|1905|1|14|1840|1|23|mf=y
death_place =Jena ,German Empire
residence =
nationality =
field =Physicist
work_institution =University of Jena
alma_mater =University of Göttingen University of Jena
doctoral_advisor =Wilhelm Weber Carl Snell
doctoral_students =Heinrich Friedrich Weber
known_for =Abbe number
prizes =
religion =
footnotes =Ernst Karl Abbe (
January 23 ,1840 –January 14 ,1905 ) was a Germanphysicist and professor at theUniversity of Jena . He was born inEisenach ,Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , and died inJena . Abbe is best known for his work inoptics .Life Work
He designed the first
refractometer , which he described in a booklet published in 1874. [cite book | author = Abbe, E. | title = Neue Apparate zur Bestimmung des Brechungs - und Zerstreuungsvermögens fester und fluüssiger Körper | year = 1874 | publisher = Mauke's Verlag | location = Jena ] He created theAbbe number , a measure of any transparent material's variation ofrefractive index withwavelength . Already a professor inJena , he was hired byCarl Zeiss to improve the manufacturing process of optical instruments, which back then was largely based on trial and error. In a long and fruitful collaboration, Abbe created the mathematical foundation ofmicroscope design, which became essential for the later preeminent position of theZeiss company. In particular, he discovered theAbbe sine condition , a breakthrough in lens design. He also invented theAbbe condenser , used for microscope illumination. [cite web | title = Abbe, Ernst - Encyclopædia Britannica - Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service | url = http://wwwa.britannica.com/eb/article-9003239 | access-date = 2008-05-11 ] During his association withCarl Zeiss 'microscope works, he also introduced the eight-hour workday, in remembrance of the 14-hour workday of his own father.The Abbe crater on the
Moon was named in his honour.See also
*
Abbe condenser
*Abbe number
*Abbe prism
*Abbe refractometer
*Abbe sine condition
*Abbe error
*Aberration in optical systems
*Calculation of glass properties References
Further reading
* cite journal
last = Gunther | fisrt = N.
title = Abbe, Ernst
journal =Dictionary of Scientific Biography
year = 1970 | location = New York, NY, USA | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons | volume = 1 | pages = pp. 6-9External links
*
* [http://www.atago.net/USA/mame.html Basic Principles of Refractometers (and Polarimeters} ]
*
* [http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/abbe.html Molecular Expressions's biography]
*Persondata
NAME= Abbe, Ernst Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= GermanPhysicist
DATE OF BIRTH=January 23 ,1840
PLACE OF BIRTH=Eisenach ,Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DATE OF DEATH=January 14 ,1905
PLACE OF DEATH=Jena ,Germany
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