Joseph Zähringer (often written ''Josef'', March 15, 1929 – July 22, 1970) was a German
physicist.
From 1949 until 1954 he attended the
Universität Freiburg
The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland.
The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisiu ...
, studying
physics,
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
and
mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
. In 1955 he became an assistant at the university, and in 1956 he came to the
Brookhaven National Laboratory in
Upton, New York. By 1958 he joined the
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik ("MPI for Nuclear Physics" or MPIK for short) is a
research institute in Heidelberg, Germany.
The institute is one of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max Planck Society), an independent, n ...
in
Heidelberg, Germany
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
as an assistant. He eventually became the director of the institute in 1965.
His contributions to
astronomy included the study of gas isotopes in
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
s and lunar materials. The crater
Zähringer on the
Moon is named after him.
At Brookhaven National Laboratory, Zahringer worked with Oliver Schaeffer's cosmochemistry group applying mass spectrometry techniques to the study of rare gases in meteorites. These studies were largely related to determining the exposure ages of meteorites to cosmic rays in space. Zahringer contributed much of the mass spectrometer technology from the MPI-Heidelberg. From this period until his death, Zahringer collaborated with Schaeffer who had moved on to found the Earth and Space Sciences Department at Stony Brook University. This collaboration included work on the Apollo 11 & 12 missions.
External links
Max Planck societybrief biography (in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
).
Astronomy/Planetary Databaseentries.
1929 births
1970 deaths
20th-century German physicists
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