Vilho Väisälä
Encyclopedia
Vilho Väisälä (ˌʋæi̯sælæ ˈʋilho̞, September 28, 1889 – August 12, 1969) was a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 meteorologist and 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...

, and founder of Vaisala
Vaisala
Vaisala is a Finnish company that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for environmental and industrial measurement.The major customer groups and markets are national meteorological and hydrological services, aviation authorities, defense forces, road authorities, the weather...

.

After graduation in mathematics in 1912, Väisälä worked for the Finnish Meteorological Institute
Finnish Meteorological Institute
The Finnish Meteorological Institute is the government agency responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Finland. It is a part of the Ministry of Transport and Communications but it operates semi-autonomously....

 in aerological measurements, specializing in the research of the higher troposphere
Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 80% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols....

. At the time the measurements were conducted by attaching a thermograph to a kite.

In 1917 he published his dissertation in mathematics Ensimmäisen lajin elliptisen integralin käänteisfunktion yksikäsitteisyys (The single-valuedness of the inverse function of the elliptic integral of the first kind). His dissertation was the first and still is the only mathematical doctoral thesis written in Finnish language.

Väisälä participated in development of radiosonde
Radiosonde
A radiosonde is a unit for use in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver. Radiosondes may operate at a radio frequency of 403 MHz or 1680 MHz and both types may be adjusted slightly higher or lower as required...

, a device attached to a balloon and launched to measure air in the higher atmosphere. In 1936 he started his own company
Vaisala
Vaisala is a Finnish company that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for environmental and industrial measurement.The major customer groups and markets are national meteorological and hydrological services, aviation authorities, defense forces, road authorities, the weather...

, manufacturing radiosondes and - later - other meteorological instruments.

In 1948 Väisälä was nominated a Professor of Meteorology in the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...

.

Vilho Väisälä's two brothers, Kalle Väisälä and Yrjö Väisälä
Yrjö Väisälä
Yrjö Väisälä was a Finnish astronomer and physicist.His main contributions were in the field of optics, but he was also very active in geodetics, astronomy and optical metrology...

, also made successful careers in science.

Vilho Väisälä knew Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...

, and played an active role in the Esperanto movement. During the World Congress of Esperanto
World Congress of Esperanto
The World Congress of Esperanto has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run of more than a hundred years. The congresses have been held since 1905 every year, except during World Wars I and II...

 of 1969, which was held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

shortly before his death, he served as the rector of the so-called Internacia Kongresa Universitato ("International Congressual University"), and coordinated the specialistic lectures in Esperanto given by various academicians to the congressists.

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