Gustav Jaumann
Encyclopedia
Gustav Jaumann was an Austria
n physicist
.
An assistant to the physicist Ernst Mach
, he was gifted in mathematics and an opponent of the reality of small particles like electron
s and atom
s. Between 1901 and 1924 he taught physics
at the German Technical University
in Brno
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
An assistant to the physicist Ernst Mach
Ernst Mach
Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as the Mach number and the study of shock waves...
, he was gifted in mathematics and an opponent of the reality of small particles like electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
s and atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s. Between 1901 and 1924 he taught physics
at the German Technical University
in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
.
Remembered for
- Corotational derivative expresses the stress tensor in a rotating body.
- Jaumann was offered a professorship at Prague University in 1911, but refused the position. The candidate who was the faculty's first choice, Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, would accept the offer after it was turned down by Jaumann, who is alleged to have said in an unsubstantiated quotation from Philipp Frank: "If Einstein has been proposed as the first choice because of the belief that he has greater achievements to his credit, then I will have nothing to do with a university that chases after modernity and does not appreciate merit." The actual reason is alleged by the Austrian Minister of Education in his official report to the Emperor, Franz Josef, seems to have been about money. The beleaguered situation of Germans in Prague at the tine about which Jaumann was familiar with may also have been a factor in declining the post. Jaumann was apparently the candidate preferred by the Austro-Hungrarian ministry presumably because he was Austrian and not a foreigner. Einstein, under the impression he would not receive the job, however, blamed his "Semitic origin [that] the ministry did not approve [of]".
External links
- Gustav Jaumann in German Wikipedia
- Einstein's Job Search