Wolfgang Finkelnburg

Wolfgang Karl Ernst Finkelnburg (1905 – 1967) was a German physicist who made contributions to spectroscopy, atomic physics, the structure of matter, and high-temperature arc discharges. His vice-presidency of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 1941-1945, was influential in that organization’s ability to assert its independence from National Socialist policies.

Education

Finkelnburg began his studies of physics and mathematics in 1924 at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelms University at Bonn am Rhein. He acquired his doctorate in 1928 under Heinrich Konen, and remained as Konen’s teaching assistant. In 1931 he became a teaching assistant at the Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe, and in 1932 he became a Privatdozent there. [ Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Wolfgang Finkelnburg.]

Career

Early career

In 1933 and 1934, Finkelnburg took a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship and did postdoctoral research and studies on continuous spectra, with Robert Andrews Millikan at the California Institute of Technology. In 1936, he became an extraordinarius professor at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. From 1942 to 1945, he was and extraordinarius professor and director of the physics department at the University of Strasbourg. At Strasbough, he worked on high-temperature carbon arcs, which had applications to anti-aircraft searchlights. Some of his scientific endeavors after the war carried on with themes related to the carbon arcs. [ Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Wolfgang Finkelnburg.]

National Socialism: Politics & Physics

When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, the concept of " deutsche Physik" took on more favor. "Deutsche Physik" was anti-Semitic and anti-theoretical physics, especially including modern physics, i.e., quantum mechanics. As applied in the university environment, political factors took priority over the historically applied concept of scholarly ability, [ Beyerchen, 1997, 141-167.] even though its two most prominent supporters were Nobel Laureates Philipp Lenard [ Beyerchen, 1977, 79-102.] and Johannes Stark. [ Beyerchen, 1977, 103-140.] Supporters of "deutsche Physik" launched vicious attacks against leading theoretical physicists, such as Max Planck, Arnold Sommerfeld, and Werner Heisenberg; one of these attacks was published in the Schutzstaffel’s organ "Das Schwarze Korps". [ Document 55: "‘White Jews’ in Science", 15 July 1937, in Hentschel, 1996, 152-157.] In the political environment of National Socialism, these attacks were taken seriously.

During the period in which "deutsche Physik" was gaining prominence, a foremost concern of the great majority of scientists was to maintain autonomy against political encroachment. [ Beyerchen, 1977, 199-210.] Some of the more established scientists, such as Max von Laue, could demonstrate more autonomy than the younger and less established scientists. [ Hoffmann, 2005, 293-329.] This was, in part, due to political organizations, such as the Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund (NSDDB, National Socialist German University Lecturers League), whose district leaders had a decisive role in the acceptance of an Habilitationsschrift, which was a prerequisite to attaining the rank of Privatdozent necessary to becoming a university lecturer. [ Hentschel, 1996, Appendix C; see the entry for the NSDDB.] While some with ability joined such organizations out of tactical career considerations, others with ability and adherence to historical academic standards joined these organizations to moderate their activities. This was the case of Finkelnburg. [ Beyerchen, 1977, 176-179.] [ Hentschel, 1996, 341-342.] It was in the summer of 1940 that Finkelnburg became an acting director of the NSDDB at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. [ Hentschel, 1996, 290.] As such, he organized the Münchner Religionsgespräche, which took place on 15 November 1940 and was known as the “Munich Synod.” The Münchner Religionsgespräche was an offensive against "deutsche Physik". [ Finkelnburg invited five representatives to make arguments for theoretical physics and academic decisions based on ability rather than politics: [Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker] , Otto Scherzer, Georg Joos, Otto Heckmann, and Hans Kopfermann. Alfons Bühl, a supporter of "deutsche Physik", invited Harald Volkmann, Bruno Thüring, Wilhelm Müller, Rudolf Tomaschek, and Ludwig Wesch. The discussion was led by Gustav Borer, with Herbert Stuart and Johannes Malsch as observers. See Document 110: "The Fight against Party Politics" by Wolfgang Finkelnburg in Hentschel, 1996, 339-345. Also see Beyerchen, 1977, 176-179.] While the technical outcome may have been thin, it was a political victory against "deutsche Physik". [ Beyerchen, 1977, 176-179.] Also, in part, it was Finkelnburg’s role in organizing this event that influenced Carl Ramsauer, as president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, to select Finkelnburg in 1941 as his deputy. [ Document 86: "Letter to Ludwig Prandtl" by Carl Ramsauer, 4 June 1944, in Hentschel, 1996, 267-268.] Finkelnburg served in this capacity until the end of World War II.

After World War II

During the period 1946 to 1952, Finkelnburg was a guest lecturer at The Catholic University of America. In 1952, he became a member of the research department, and in 1955, he became head of the department of reactor development. While at the University, he also worked for the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, at nearby Fort Belvoir. [ Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Wolfgang Finkelnburg.] [ For his association with the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, see some of literature, which made the citation.]

In 1963, Finkelnburg returned to Germany and took the position of general manager of the Siemens-Schuckert plant in Erlangen. From 1966 to 1967, he was also president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. [ Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Wolfgang Finkelnburg.]

elected Literature

*W. Finkelnburg "Über die Deutung der Hg Ar-Banden bei 2365 und 2285 Å und des Hg2-Bands bei 1690 Å", "Zeitschrift für Physik" Volume 81, Numbers 11-12, 781-784 (1933). The author is cited as being at the Institut für Theoretische Physik der Technischen Hochschule Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe. Article received: 15 February 1933.

*W. Finkelnburg "Über die Spektren von van der Waals-Molekülen" "Zeitschrift für Physik" Volume 96, Numbers 11-12, 699-713 (1935). The author is cited as being at the Institut für theoretische Physik, Karlsruhe. Article received: 27 July 1935.

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Zur Theorie der Detonationsvorgänge", "Annalen der Physik", Volume 418, Issue 2, 116-120 (1936)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Continuous Electron Radiation in Gas Discharges", "Phys. Rev. " Volume 45, Issue 5, 341 - 342 (1934). The author is cited as being at the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, California Institute of Technology, as a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation. Received 3 February 1934.

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Electrode Vapor Jets in Arc and Spark Discharges", "Phys. Rev. " Volume 74, Issue 2, 222 - 223 (1948). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 3 June 1948.

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "A Theory of the Production of Electrode Vapor Jets by Sparks and Arcs", "Phys. Rev." Volume 74, Issue 10, 1475 - 1477 (1948). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 14 July 1948.

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Ionization Potentials of Higher Atomic Ions", "Phys. Rev." Volume 77, Issue 2, 304 - 304 (1950). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 2 December 1949.

Books

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Kontinuierliche Spektren" (Springer 1938)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Einführung in die Atomphysik" (Springer-Verlag, 1948)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Hochstromkohlebogen. Physik und Technik einer Hochtemperatur-Bogenentladung" (Springer, 1948)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "15 Sonderabdrucke 1934-47" [A collection of 15 articles by Wolfgang Finkelnburg published from 1934 to 1947]

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Atomic Physics" [International Series in Pure and Applied Physics] (McGraw-Hill, 1950)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Structure of Matter" [Translated from the 9th/10th edition of "Einführung in die Atomphysik" by the author in cooperation with Dr. Ottlie Matossi-Riechemeier] (Academic Press, 1964)

*Wolfgang Finkelnburg "Der Physiker" von Wolfgang Finkelnburg (Verl. Moderne Industrie, 1967)

Bibliography

*Beyerchen, Alan D. "Scientists Under Hitler: Politics and the Physics Community in the Third Reich" (Yale, 1977) ISBN 0-300-01830-4

*Hentschel, Klaus, editor and Ann M. Hentschel, editorial assistant and Translator "Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources" (Birkhäuser, 1996) ISBN 0-8176-5312-0

*Hoffmann, Dieter "Between Autonomy and Accommodation: The German Physical Society during the Third Reich", "Physics in Perspective" 7(3) 293-329 (2005)

*Hoffmann, Dieter and Mark Walker "The German Physical Society Under National Socialism", "Physics Today" 57(12) 52-58 (2004)

Notes