- Hans Benndorf
Hans Benndorf (
December 13 ,1870 -February 11 ,1953 ) was an Austrianphysicist who was born inZurich , Switzerland. In 1895 he earned his doctorate from theUniversity of Vienna , and subsequently became an assistant to Franz Serafin Exner (1849-1926). In 1904 be became a professor (extraordinary) at theUniversity of Graz , and from 1910 to 1936 was a full professor of physics atGraz . He was the son ofarchaeologist Otto Benndorf (1838-1907) and the grandson ofphysiologist Rudolf Wagner (1805-1864).Benndorf made several contributions in his research of
atmospheric electricity andseismology . In 1907 he was winner of the IgnazLieben Prize for his work on the propagation ofseismic wave s. In a mine-shaft atPribram he was able to differentiate between long-distanceearthquakes and local microseismic activity with the use ofseismometer s. He was also the first to solve the problem concerningrefraction of seismic rays in spherical layers. A device known as a "Benndorfelectrometer " is used for atmospheric electrical measurements.References
* "This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia."
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