Walter Gerlach
Encyclopedia
Walter Gerlach (1 August 1889 - 10 August 1979) was a German
physicist
who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect
.
, Hessen-Nassau.
He studied at the University of Tübingen from 1908, and received his doctorate in 1912, under Friedrich Paschen
. The subject of his dissertation was on the measurement of radiation. After obtaining his doctorate, he continued on as an assistant to Paschen, which he had been since 1911. Gerlach completed his Habilitation
at Tübingen in 1916, while serving during World War I
.
. He worked on wireless telegraphy at Jena
under Max Wien
. He also served in the Artillerie-Prüfungskommission under Rudolf Ladenburg
.
Gerlach became a Privatdozent
at the University of Tübingen in 1916. A year later, he became a Privatdozent at the Georg-August University of Göttingen
. From 1919 to 1920, he was the head of a physics laboratory of Farbenfabriken Elberfeld, formerly Bayer-Werke.
In 1920, he became a teaching assistant and lecturer at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main
. The next year, he took a position as extraordinarius professor at Frankfurt. It was in November 1921 that he and Otto Stern
discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, known as the Stern-Gerlach effect
.
In 1925, Gerlach took a call and became an ordinarius professor at the University of Tübingen, successor to Friedrich Paschen
. In 1929, he took a call and became ordinarius professor at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
, successor to Wilhelm Wien
. He held this position until May 1945, when he was arrested by the American and British Armed Forces.
From 1937 until 1945, Gerlach was a member of the supervisory board of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (KWG). After 1946, he continued to be an influential official in its successor organization after World War II
, the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
(MPG).
On 1 January 1944, Gerlach officially became head of the physics section of the Reichsforschungsrat
(RFR, Reich Research Council) and Bevollmächtigter (plenipotentiary) of nuclear physics, replacing Abraham Esau
. In April of that year, he founded the Reichsberichte für Physik, which were official reports appearing as supplements to the Physikalische Zeitschrift.
From May 1945, Gerlach was interned in France and Belgium by British and American Armed Forces under Operation Alsos
. From July of that year to January 1946, he was interned in England at Farm Hall under Operation Epsilon
, which interned 10 German scientists who were thought to have participated in the development of atomic weapons .
Upon Gerlach’s return to Germany in 1946, he became a visiting professor at the University of Bonn
. From 1948, he became an ordinarius professor of experimental physics and director of the physics department at the University of Munich, a position he held until 1957. He was also rector of the university from 1948 to 1951.
From 1949 to 1951, Gerlach was the founding president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
, which promotes applied sciences. From 1949 to 1961, he was the vice-president of the Deutsche Gemeinschaft zur Erhaltung und Förderung der Forschung (German Association for the Support and Advancement of Scientific Research); also known in short as the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft (DFG), previously the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
.
In 1957, Gerlach was a co-signer of the Göttingen Manifesto
, which was against rearming the Federal Republic of Germany with atomic weapons.
He died in Munich in 1979.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect
Stern–Gerlach experiment
Important in the field of quantum mechanics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment, named after Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, is a 1922 experiment on the deflection of particles, often used to illustrate basic principles of quantum mechanics...
.
Education
Gerlach was born in BiebrichBiebrich, Rhineland Palatinate
Biebrich is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
, Hessen-Nassau.
He studied at the University of Tübingen from 1908, and received his doctorate in 1912, under Friedrich Paschen
Friedrich Paschen
Louis Karl Heinrich Friedrich Paschen , was a German physicist, known for his work on electrical discharges. He is also known for the Paschen series, a series of hydrogen spectral lines in the infrared region that he first observed in 1908...
. The subject of his dissertation was on the measurement of radiation. After obtaining his doctorate, he continued on as an assistant to Paschen, which he had been since 1911. Gerlach completed his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at Tübingen in 1916, while serving during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Career
From 1915 to 1918, during the war, Gerlach did service with the German ArmyGerman Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
. He worked on wireless telegraphy at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
under Max Wien
Max Wien
Max Wien was a German physicist and the director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Jena. He was born in Königsberg, Prussia.Wien studied under Helmholtz and Kundt. He invented the "Löschfunkensender" during the years 1906 to 1909 and the Wien bridge in 1891...
. He also served in the Artillerie-Prüfungskommission under Rudolf Ladenburg
Rudolf Ladenburg
Rudolf Walter Ladenburg was a German atomic physicist. He emigrated from Germany as early as 1932 and became a Brackett Research Professor at Princeton University...
.
Gerlach became a Privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
at the University of Tübingen in 1916. A year later, he became a Privatdozent at the Georg-August University of Göttingen
Georg-August University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen , known informally as Georgia Augusta, is a university in the city of Göttingen, Germany.Founded in 1734 by King George II of Great Britain and the Elector of Hanover, it opened for classes in 1737. The University of Göttingen soon grew in size and popularity...
. From 1919 to 1920, he was the head of a physics laboratory of Farbenfabriken Elberfeld, formerly Bayer-Werke.
In 1920, he became a teaching assistant and lecturer at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main
The Goethe University Frankfurt was founded in 1914 as a Citizens' University, which means that, while it was a State university of Prussia, it had been founded and financed by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt am Main, a unique feature in German university history...
. The next year, he took a position as extraordinarius professor at Frankfurt. It was in November 1921 that he and Otto Stern
Otto Stern
Otto Stern was a German physicist and Nobel laureate in physics.-Biography:Stern was born in Sohrau, now Żory in the German Empire's Kingdom of Prussia and studied at Breslau, now Wrocław in Lower Silesia....
discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, known as the Stern-Gerlach effect
Stern–Gerlach experiment
Important in the field of quantum mechanics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment, named after Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, is a 1922 experiment on the deflection of particles, often used to illustrate basic principles of quantum mechanics...
.
In 1925, Gerlach took a call and became an ordinarius professor at the University of Tübingen, successor to Friedrich Paschen
Friedrich Paschen
Louis Karl Heinrich Friedrich Paschen , was a German physicist, known for his work on electrical discharges. He is also known for the Paschen series, a series of hydrogen spectral lines in the infrared region that he first observed in 1908...
. In 1929, he took a call and became ordinarius professor at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , commonly known as the University of Munich or LMU, is a university in Munich, Germany...
, successor to Wilhelm Wien
Wilhelm Wien
Wilhelm Carl Werner Otto Fritz Franz Wien was a German physicist who, in 1893, used theories about heat and electromagnetism to deduce Wien's displacement law, which calculates the emission of a blackbody at any temperature from the emission at any one reference temperature.He also formulated an...
. He held this position until May 1945, when he was arrested by the American and British Armed Forces.
From 1937 until 1945, Gerlach was a member of the supervisory board of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (KWG). After 1946, he continued to be an influential official in its successor organization after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
(MPG).
On 1 January 1944, Gerlach officially became head of the physics section of the Reichsforschungsrat
Reichsforschungsrat
The Reichsforschungsrat was created in Germany in 1937 under the Education Ministry for the purpose of centralized planning of all basic and applied research, with the exception of aeronautical research...
(RFR, Reich Research Council) and Bevollmächtigter (plenipotentiary) of nuclear physics, replacing Abraham Esau
Abraham Esau
Robert Abraham Esau was a German physicist.After receipt of his doctorate from the University of Berlin, Esau worked at Telefunken, where he pioneered very high frequency waves used in radar, radio, and television, and he was president of the Deutscher Telefunken Verband...
. In April of that year, he founded the Reichsberichte für Physik, which were official reports appearing as supplements to the Physikalische Zeitschrift.
From May 1945, Gerlach was interned in France and Belgium by British and American Armed Forces under Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos was an effort at the end of World War II by the Allies , branched off from the Manhattan Project, to investigate the German nuclear energy project, seize German nuclear resources, materials and personnel to further American research and to prevent their capture by the Soviets, and...
. From July of that year to January 1946, he was interned in England at Farm Hall under Operation Epsilon
Operation Epsilon
Operation Epsilon was the codename of a program in which Allied forces near the end of World War II detained ten German scientists who were thought to have worked on Nazi Germany's nuclear program. The scientists were captured between May 1 and June 30, 1945, and interned at Farm Hall, a bugged...
, which interned 10 German scientists who were thought to have participated in the development of atomic weapons .
Upon Gerlach’s return to Germany in 1946, he became a visiting professor at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
. From 1948, he became an ordinarius professor of experimental physics and director of the physics department at the University of Munich, a position he held until 1957. He was also rector of the university from 1948 to 1951.
From 1949 to 1951, Gerlach was the founding president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Fraunhofer Society
The Fraunhofer Society is a German research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science . It employs around 18,000, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion...
, which promotes applied sciences. From 1949 to 1961, he was the vice-president of the Deutsche Gemeinschaft zur Erhaltung und Förderung der Forschung (German Association for the Support and Advancement of Scientific Research); also known in short as the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft (DFG), previously the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft was founded on 30 October 1920 on the initiative of leading members of the Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften – Fritz Haber, Max Planck, and Ernst von Harnack – and the former Preußischen...
.
In 1957, Gerlach was a co-signer of the Göttingen Manifesto
Göttinger Manifest
The Göttingen Manifesto was a declaration of 18 leading nuclear scientists of West Germany against arming the West German army with tactical nuclear weapons in the 1950s, the early part of the Cold War, as the West German government under chancellor Adenauer had suggested.-Historical situation:In...
, which was against rearming the Federal Republic of Germany with atomic weapons.
He died in Munich in 1979.
Other positions
- From 1935 – Chairman of the committee to appoint a successor to Arnold SommerfeldArnold SommerfeldArnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and groomed a large number of students for the new era of theoretical physics...
. - From 1939 – Member of the Comerlin working group on ship degaussing and torpedo physics.
- From 1948 – a member of the Göttingen, Halle, and Munich Academies of Sciences.
- Member of the Ordre pour le Mérite.
Literature
- Walther Gerlach and Otto Stern Das magnetische Moment des Silberatoms, Zeitschrift für Physik Volume 9, Number 1, 353-355 (1922). The article was received on 1 April 1922. Gerlach is cited as being at the University of Frankfurt am Main and Stern is cited as being at the University of Rostock.
Books
- Walter Gerlach Matter, Electricity, Energy: The Principles of Modern Atomistic and Experimental Results of Atomic Investigations (D. Van Nostrand, 1928)
- Mac Hartmann and Walther Gerlach Naturwissenschaftliche Erkenntnis und ihre Methoden (Springer, 1937)
- Walther Gerlach Die Quantentheorie. Max Planck sein Werk und seine Wirkung. Mit einer Bibliographie der Werke Max Plancks (Universität Bonn, 1948)
- Walther Gerlach Probleme der Atomenergie (Biederstein Verlag, 1948)
- Walther Gerlach Wesen und Bedeutung der Atomkraftwerke (Oldenbourg, 1955)
- Walter Gerlach and Martha List Johannes Kepler. Leben und Werk (Piper, 1966)
- Gerlach, Walter (editor) Das Fischer Lexikon - Physik (Fischer Bücherei, 1969)
- Walter Gerlach Physik des täglichen Lebens - Eine Anleitung zu physikalischem Denken und zum Verständnis der physikalischen Entwicklung (Fischer Bücherei, 1971) ISBN 3436013412
- Walter Gerlach (editor) Physik. Neuasugabe Unter Mitarbeit Von Prof. Dr. Josef Brandmüller (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1978) ISBN 3596400198
- Walther Gerlach Otto Hahn (WVG, 1984)
- Gerlach, Walther; List, Martha Johannes Kepler : Der Begründer der modernen Astronomie München, (Piper Verlag GmbH, 1987) ISBN 3492152481