Albert von Ettingshausen (30 March 1850 – 9 June 1932) was an
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
.
He was professor of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
at
Graz University of Technology
Graz University of Technology (german: link=no, Technische Universität Graz, short ''TU Graz'') is one of five universities in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research ...
, where he also taught
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
.
Earlier he was an assistant to
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics, and the statistical explanation of the second law of thermodyn ...
at the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
History
The unive ...
.
In 1886, he and his colleague
Walther Nernst
Walther Hermann Nernst (; 25 June 1864 – 18 November 1941) was a German chemist known for his work in thermodynamics, physical chemistry, electrochemistry, and solid state physics. His formulation of the Nernst heat theorem helped pave the wa ...
, then a PhD student at the University of Graz, jointly discovered the
thermoelectric
The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice versa via a thermocouple. A thermoelectric device creates a voltage when there is a different temperature on each side. Conversely, when ...
phenomena now known as the
Ettingshausen effect
The Ettingshausen effect (named for Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon that affects the electric current in a conductor when a magnetic field is present.
Ettingshausen and his PhD student Walther Nernst w ...
and
Nernst effect
In physics and chemistry, the Nernst effect (also termed first Nernst–Ettingshausen effect, after Walther Nernst and Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon observed when a sample allowing electrical conducti ...
.
Biography
Albert Konstantin Karl Josef von Ettingshausen was born in Vienna as first of two children to Karl von Ettingshausen and Friederike Ettingshausen, née Kaltschmied. In 1854 the family moved to Graz. Albert’s sister Anna was born on February 11, 1856. Albert’s uncle was the mathematician and physicist
Andreas von Ettingshausen
Andreas Freiherr von Ettingshausen (25 November 1796 – 25 May 1878) was an Austrian mathematician and physicist.
Biography
Ettingshausen studied philosophy and jurisprudence at the University of Vienna. In 1817, he joined the University of Vi ...
, his cousin the botanist
Constantin von Ettingshausen
Constantin Freiherr von Ettingshausen (or Baron Constantin von Ettingshausen) (16 June 1826 in Vienna – 1 February 1897 in Graz) was an Austrian botanist known for his paleobotanical studies of flora from the Tertiary era. He was the son of ...
Albert von Ettingshausen studied physics and mathematics at the University of Graz. Still a student, he became an assistant professor for physics. From 1878 to 1888 he worked as associate professor at the University of Graz side by side with Ludwig Boltzmann. In 1888 he succeeded professor Jakob Pöschl, who held the chair of theoretical and experimental physics and was teacher of
German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...
. Ettingshausen was a knight 3rd class of the
Order of the Iron Crown (Austria)
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown (german: Kaiserlicher Orden der Eisernen Krone; it, Ordine imperiale della Corona ferrea) was one of the highest orders of merit in the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary until 1918. It was founded in 1815 b ...
and was elected two times rector of Graz University of Technology namely in 1893/94 and 1912/13. He served as dean several periods as well. He died aged 82 in the morning of June 9, 1932 due to diabetes mellitus and arteriosclerosis.
See also
*
Ettingshausen effect
The Ettingshausen effect (named for Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon that affects the electric current in a conductor when a magnetic field is present.
Ettingshausen and his PhD student Walther Nernst w ...
*
Nernst effect
In physics and chemistry, the Nernst effect (also termed first Nernst–Ettingshausen effect, after Walther Nernst and Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon observed when a sample allowing electrical conducti ...