Leopold Pfaundler von Hadermur (14 February 1839 – 6 May 1920) was an Austrian
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 cau ...
and
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...
born in
Innsbruck. He was the father of
pediatrician Meinhard von Pfaundler (1872-1947), and the father-in-law of pediatrician
Theodor Escherich (1857-1911).
He studied under chemist
Heinrich Hlasiwetz
Heinrich Hlasiwetz (7 April 1825 – 7 October 1875) was an Austrian chemist born in Reichenberg, Bohemia.
Son of a pharmacist, he studied at the University of Jena, where his instructors included Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780-1849), H ...
(1825-1875) at Innsbruck, with
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
, and with
Henri Victor Regnault
Henri Victor Regnault (21 July 1810 – 19 January 1878) was a French chemist and physicist best known for his careful measurements of the thermal properties of gases. He was an early thermodynamicist and was mentor to William Thomson in ...
(1810-1878) and
Charles Adolphe Wurtz
Charles Adolphe Wurtz (; 26 November 181710 May 1884) was an Alsatian French chemist. He is best remembered for his decades-long advocacy for the atomic theory and for ideas about the structures of chemical compounds, against the skeptical opinio ...
(1817-1884) in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. In 1861 he received his doctorate, and in 1867 was appointed professor of physics at the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...
. In 1891 he succeeded
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 ther ...
(1844-1906) as professor of physics 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 univers ...
. In 1887 he became a full member of the
Vienna Academy of Sciences.
[Pfaundler, Leopold (1839-1920), Chemiker und Physiker]
at Kipnis de.
Pfaundler is remembered today for his
kinetic-molecular explanation of gas reactions under the condition of equilibrium. He was the inventor of a number of scientific apparatuses — devices he often utilized in classroom demonstrations. These included a
temperature regulator (1863), a ''Stromkalorimeter'' (1869), a differential air
thermometer
A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer ...
(1875), a
seismograph (1897) and a distance meter (1915), to name a few.
[ He is also credited with creating a device for optical demonstration of Lissajous figures (1873).
In 1863-64 he performed a survey of the Stubaier Alps with Ludwig Barth zu Barthenau (1839-1890), and in 1864 he was the first person to ascend to the summit of the ''Hofmannspitze'' (3112m).
]
Selected written works
* ''Die Physik des täglichen Lebens, gemeinverständlich dargestellt'' (1906).
* ''Die physik des täglichen Lebens mit 467 Abbildungen'' (1913).
* ''Ueber die Wärmekapazität des Wassers und eine Methode den Ort ihres Minimums zu messen'' (1915).
* ''Ueber einen neuen Distanzmesser'' (1915).
* ''Chronik der Familie Pfaundler von 1486 bis 1915'' (1915).
* ''Die Innsbrucker Studenten-Kompagnie 1859 und 1866'' (1917).
* ''Das chinesisch-japanische GO-Spiel: eine systematische Darstellung und Anleitung zum Spielen desselben''.
He also published ''Müller-Pouillet's Lehrbuch der Physik und Meteorologie'' (" Johann Heinrich Jakob Müller–Claude Pouillet
Claude Servais Mathias Pouillet (16 February 1790 – 14 June 1868) was a French physicist and a professor of physics at the Sorbonne and member of the French Academy of Sciences (elected 1837).
Biography
He studied sciences at the École n ...
's textbook of physics and meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
"), (9th edition, 1886–98, 3 volumes).
Worldcat Identities
Awards and honors
Pfaundler’s 1867 publication entitled “Beiträge zur chemischen Statik”
A Contribution to Chemical Statics”ref name="Pfaundler-translation">
was a major contribution to the kinetic theory of chemical reactions.
This publication was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society presented to the University of Innsbruck in 2016.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfaundler, Leopold
Austrian chemists
19th-century Austrian physicists
1839 births
1920 deaths
Academic staff of the University of Graz
Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck
Scientists from Innsbruck