Ernst Karl Abbe

Infobox_Scientist
name = Ernst Abbe

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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 German physicist and professor at the University of Jena. He was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and died in Jena. Abbe is best known for his work in optics.

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 the Abbe number, a measure of any transparent material's variation of refractive index with wavelength. Already a professor in Jena, he was hired by Carl 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 of microscope design, which became essential for the later preeminent position of the Zeiss company. In particular, he discovered the Abbe sine condition, a breakthrough in lens design. He also invented the Abbe 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 with Carl 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. 6-9

External 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= German Physicist
DATE OF BIRTH= January 23, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH= Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DATE OF DEATH= January 14, 1905
PLACE OF DEATH= Jena, Germany