Robert Wichard Pohl (10 August 1884 – 5 June 1976) was a German physicist at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
.
Nevill Francis Mott
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (30 September 1905 – 8 August 1996) was a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, especially amorphous semiconductors. ...
described him as the "father of
solid state physics
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the l ...
".
[ See also: "Components of the solid state", Nevill Mott, New Scientist, Vol. 69, No. 993, p. 663-666 (1976)]
Early years and education
![Göttingen Stadtfriedhof Grab Madelung - Pohl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/G%C3%B6ttingen_Stadtfriedhof_Grab_Madelung_-_Pohl.jpg)
Robert Wichard Pohl was born in Hamburg as the son of the naval engineer Eugen Robert Pohl and his wife Martha. She was the daughter of , founder of the private 'Dr. Wichard Lange School', and granddaughter of , who founded the first German kindergarten, together with
Friedrich Fröbel
Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique need ...
.
After completing the Dr. Wichard Lange School, Pohl entered the '
Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
The ''Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums'' ( ''Academic School of the Johanneum'', short: Johanneum) is a Gymnasium (or Grammar School ) in Hamburg, Germany. It is Hamburg's oldest school and was founded in 1529 by Johannes Bugenhagen. The school's f ...
' in 1895 and obtained his ''
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
''. In the summer semester of 1903, he enrolled for studies of natural science at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. There, he met
James Franck
James Franck (; 26 August 1882 – 21 May 1964) was a German physicist who won the 1925 Nobel Prize for Physics with Gustav Hertz "for their discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom". He completed his doctorate in ...
, who up until Franck's death in 1964 remained a close friend. In the winter semester of 1903, Pohl transferred to the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
, where he majored in physics. Beginning in the summer semester of 1904, he had already begun scientific work in the Physics Institute with
Emil Warburg
Emil Gabriel Warburg (; 9 March 1846 – 28 July 1931) was a German physicist who during his career was professor of physics at the Universities of Strassburg, Freiburg and Berlin. He was president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 1899 ...
on the topic which became his doctoral thesis.
[''"Über die Einwirkung stiller elektrischer Entladung auf Ammoniak und Sauerstoff",'' R. Pohl, Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, VIII. Jahrgang Nr. 2 (1906), p. 11, and dissertation with the same title (1906)] His first publication dates from this period,
[''"Über das Leuchten bei Ionisation von Gasen. Zur Deutung der Versuche von Herrn B. Walter",'' R. Pohl, ''Annalen der Physik'' 4. Folge (1905), Vol. 17, p. 375] motivated by Bernhard Walter of the Hamburg State Physical Laboratory, where Pohl worked during his vacations, in particular attempting to observe the diffraction of X-ray radiation.
[''"Weitere Versuche über die Beugung der Röntgenstrahlen",'' B. Walter und R. Pohl, '']Annalen der Physik
''Annalen der Physik'' (English: ''Annals of Physics'') is one of the oldest scientific journals on physics; it has been published since 1799. The journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers on experimental, theoretical, applied, and mathe ...
'' 3. Vol. 29 (1909), p. 331
Monorail: RWP demonstrates the stabilization of a monorail vehicle using a gyroscope (R. W. Pohl, Mechanics. all editions).
Career up to World War I
In the summer of 1906, Pohl completed his doctorate (Dr. Phil.) and took an assistantship in Berlin, working as instructor in the physics teaching labs under
Heinrich Rubens
Heinrich Rubens (30 March 1865, Wiesbaden, Nassau, Germany – 17 July 1922, Berlin, Germany) was a German physicist. He is known for his measurements of the energy of black-body radiation which led Max Planck to the discovery of his radiation l ...
, the Institute's director. He published joint articles with
James Franck
James Franck (; 26 August 1882 – 21 May 1964) was a German physicist who won the 1925 Nobel Prize for Physics with Gustav Hertz "for their discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom". He completed his doctorate in ...
on ionic mobility in gases and on the propagation velocity of X-rays. From 1909 onward, he carried out research on the normal and the selective
photoelectric effect
The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physics, and solid st ...
in metals, and from 1910 he worked with
Peter Pringsheim
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
,
[''"Die lichtelektrischen Erscheinungen",'' R. Pohl und P. Pringsheim, Verlag Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914] on, among other things, the technically important problem of the fabrication of metal mirrors.
[''"Über die Herstellung von Metallspiegeln durch Destillation im Vakuum",'' ''Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft'' Band 14 (1912), S. 506] In 1910, his monograph on the remote transmission of images
[''"Die elektrische Fernübertragung von Bildern",'' R. Pohl, Verlag Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1910] appeared, and in 1912 he completed the ''
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
''. In an addendum, his ''Habilitation'' thesis
[''"Die Physik der Röntgenstrahlen",'' R. Pohl, Verlag Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1912] contains a discussion of von Laue's discovery of X-ray diffraction.
Following his ''Habilitation'', Pohl began giving lecture courses on experimental physics, which also motivated him to start acquiring a private collection of lecture-demonstration apparatus. He also performed demonstration experiments at the meetings of the Physical Society.
[Sitzung vom 20. Nov. 1914: "… Ferner demonstriert Hr. R. Pohl einige Vorlesungsversuche". Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, 30. Nov. 1914] By the outbreak of WW I, he had published 54 scientific articles and three books.
[
When war broke out, Pohl attempted unsuccessfully to volunteer for military service, but was refused for health reasons. His suggestion, together with ]Erich Regener
Erich Rudolf Alexander Regener (12 November 1881 – 27 February 1955) was a German physicist known primarily for the design and construction of instruments to measure cosmic ray intensity at various altitudes. He is also known for predicting ...
, to set up and operate privately-funded diagnostic X-ray apparatus in two military reserve hospitals was gratefully accepted. In November 1914, he began cooperating with military radio operators on locating enemy transmission stations; this led to his appointment to a position as chief engineer with the rank of captain on the Board of Transport Examiners (VPK), which he held until the end of the war.
Professorship in Göttingen
In February 1916, Pohl received the offer of an associate professorship in Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
(as successor to Eduard Riecke
Eduard Riecke (1 December 1845 – 11 June 1915) was a German experimental physicist.
Riecke studied physics at the Polytechnic in Stuttgart, at the University of Tübingen and at the University of Göttingen under Wilhelm Weber and Friedrich ...
), but due to the war, he was unable to accept the position until early 1919. In his baggage for the move to Göttingen were more than 40 boxes with apparatus for his lectures.
Because of the offer of a professorship at the Technical University of Stuttgart in September 1919, Pohl was promoted to Full Professor in Göttingen in December 1920 and became director of the 1st Physical Institute there. In June, 1922, he was offered a position in Würzburg, which he also refused. Thus, he was a participant in the Golden Age of physics in Göttingen during the 1920s as one of the three full professors there, along with James Franck (director of the 2nd Physical Institute) and the theoretician Max Born
Max Born (; 11 December 1882 – 5 January 1970) was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a n ...
.
On Christmas 1922, Pohl married Tussa Madelung, the sister of Erwin Madelung
Erwin Madelung (18 May 1881 – 1 August 1972) was a German physicist.
He was born in 1881 in Bonn. His father was the surgeon Otto Wilhelm Madelung. He earned a doctorate in 1905 from the University of Göttingen, specializing in crystal struct ...
, who was a research assistant in Göttingen when Tussa moved there from Strasbourg with her family in May, 1920. Robert and Tussa had three children: Ottilie, Eleonore, and Robert Otto, later physics professor at Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
file:n-p-Leitung.jpg, left, n- and p-type conduction: visualization of n-type conduction (at left by electrons, green) and of p-type conduction (at the right by holes, brown) in a KI crystal. The cathode (at left) and the anode (right) are Pt needles which have been melted into the crystal. From R.W. Pohl, Electromagnetism, from the 10th edition (1944) on.
Photoelectric observations – however not from surfaces, as in Berlin, but rather in bulk insulators – were started by Pohl together with his assistant Bernhard Gudden in 1919. (The research work from this period was described in detail in [Biographische Notizen von Robert Wichard Pohl: ''"Erinnerungen an die Anfänge der Festkörperphysik in Göttingen und Lebenslauf und politische Haltung von R. W. Pohl"'']
R. Pohl und H. Pick(first part).) They discovered that diamond crystals become electrically conducting after irradiation with light.[''"Über lichtelektrische Leitfähigkeit von Diamanten",'' B. Gudden und R. Pohl, im September 1919 '']Zeitschrift für Physik
''Zeitschrift für Physik'' (English: ''Journal for Physics'') is a defunct series of German peer-reviewed physics journals established in 1920 by Springer Berlin Heidelberg. The series stopped publication in 1997, when it merged with other journ ...
'' Band 3 (1920), p. 123 Later, they observed the same effect in the alkali halide sodium chloride
Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...
; however only after it had been colored as a result of X-ray irradiation. Systematic observations of this coloration effect using artificially-prepared crystals [''"Electron conductivity and photochemical processes in Alkali-Halide crystals. R.W. Pohl, Proc. Phys. Soc. vol. 49, extra part, p. 3, 1937" and "Zusammenfassender Bericht über Elektronenleitung und photochemische Vorgänge in Alkalihalogenidkristallen",'' R. Pohl, '']Physikalische Zeitschrift
''Physikalische Zeitschrift'' (English: ''Physical Journal'') was a German scientific journal of physics published from 1899 to 1945 by S. Hirzel Verlag. In 1924, it merged with ''Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik''. From 1944 onwards, ...
'' Vol. 39 (1938), pp. 36-54 led to the discovery of color centers, which were investigated in detail in the following years.[''"Ein Verfahren zur Herstellung großer Kristalle",'' S. Kyropoulos, '']Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie
The ''Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie'' (''Journal of Inorganic and General Chemistry'') is a semimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering inorganic chemistry, published by Wiley-VCH. The editors-in-chief are Thomas F. ...
'' Vol. 154 (1926), p. 308 By inserting three electrodes into a potassium bromide
Potassium bromide ( K Br) is a salt, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with over-the-counter use extending to 1975 in the US. Its action is due to the bromide ion (sodium bromide is equall ...
crystal, Pohl and Rudolf Hilsch were able to demonstrate the first model of a transistor
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
based on color centers in 1938.[''"Steuerung von Elektronenströmen mit einem Dreielektrodenkristall und ein Modell einer Sperrschicht",'' R. Hilsch und R. Pohl, ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Vol. 111 (1938), p. 399]
Alongside this research work in his own institute, Pohl collaborated with his scientific colleagues in a variety of ways. With the zoologist Alfred Kühn, he investigated the color perception of bees;[''"Dressurfähigkeit der Bienen auf Spektrallinien",'' A. Kühn und R. Pohl, '']Die Naturwissenschaften
''The Science of Nature'', formerly ''Naturwissenschaften'', is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media covering all aspects of the natural sciences relating to questions of biological significance. I ...
'' Vol. 9 (1921), p. 1 for the chemist Adolf Windaus
Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus (; 25 December 1876 – 9 June 1959) was a German chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928 for his work on sterols and their relation to vitamins. He was the doctoral advisor of Adolf Butenandt who also won ...
, he applied optical spectroscopy to the separation of Ergosterol
Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. Because many fungi and protozoa cannot survive without ergosterol, the ...
from Cholesterol
Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...
.[''"Zum optischen Nachweis eines Vitamins",'' R. Pohl , ''Die Naturwissenschaften'', Vol. 15 (1927), p. 433] He helped the archeologist to photograph antique vases without disturbing highlights.[''"Über die Vermeidung störender Reflexe beim Fotografieren griechischer Vasen",'' Kurt Müller, ''Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Altertumswissenschaften'', Vol. II, Nr. 5 (1937), p. 103] He gave active support to his student Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (14 December 191113 March 1998) was a German physicist, engineer, and the designer of the first operational jet engine. Together with Frank Whittle he is called the "father of the jet engine". His first test unit ran ...
when the latter began the first experiments on jet propulsion
Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Reaction engines operating o ...
following completion of his doctoral thesis, in the Physics Institute but privately financed.[''"Meine Liebe war die reine Physik"'']
(PDF; 2,1 MB), Gespräch mit H. J. Pabst von Ohain, Georgia Augusta Universität Göttingen, Spektrum, Vol. 2 (1995). p. 10
Introductory lecture courses on physics
For Pohl, the introductory lecture courses on physics were important from the very beginning; he frequently contributed new ideas for demonstration experiments, which he had developed and used in his lectures and textbooks, to the scientific literature. The first edition of his famous introductory texts in physics, his "''Electromagnetism''", was published in 1927. In 1930, the companion volume on "''Mechanics and Acoustics''" appeared, and it was extended from the third edition on to include "''Thermodynamics''". The third volume of the series, "''Optics''", was first published in 1941, and from the 9th edition in 1954 it was extended to include "Atomic Physics".
An intense spatial optical-interference field, projected onto the wall of the lecture hall (R.W. Pohl, "Optik", 1941. Since the 22nd edition in 2006 titled "Elektrizitätslehre und Optik")
A new chapter on "Quantum Optics of Solids" summarized the research work at Pohl's Göttingen Institute. The electrical properties of solids were treated in the volume on "''Electromagnetism''" as well, from the 15th edition (1955) on, including the results of Pohl's work in Göttingen. After his death in 1976, the three volumes were reduced to two and these chapters were removed. In their modern form, both volumes contain videos with all together 110 experiments, many carried out using Pohl's original apparatus. Volume two also includes a video with a biography of Pohl by Ekkehard Sieker (Video 1). It also includes a video on current amplification by a three-electrode crystal,[ and also an audio recording of the conferral of an honorary doctorate on ]Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics.
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...
in Göttingen by the Dean Max Born
Max Born (; 11 December 1882 – 5 January 1970) was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a n ...
(1931). The later editions of the textbooks were edited by Klaus Lüders and Robert Wichard Pohl's son Robert O. Pohl.
Post–World War II reception
Pohl's attitude towards the Nazi regime was described in his autobiographical résumé at the request of the Occupying Forces [(second part). According to this source, he never joined a political party, and his attitude towards the National Socialists ranged from reserved to hostile; he was convinced from the beginning of the eventual defeat of Germany in the Second World War (he had contacts to the Goerdeler Group; his contact, the teacher lecturer Hermann Kaiser, was sentenced to death and was executed on the 23 January 1945 in Berlin-Ploetzensee). Following the War, he was active in re-establishing the University of Göttingen, until 1948 as a member of the Denazification Commission.
The work of Pohl's Institute became internationally known only shortly before the outbreak of WW II, when Pohl and his research assistant Hilsch were invited to a conference on ''The conduction of electricity in solids'' at Bristol in 1937.][ In 1946, the first review article on color centers appeared in the USA.][''"Color Centers in Alkali Halide Crystals",'' Federick Seitz, Reviews of Modern Physics Vol. 18 (1946), p. 384, Part II , Vol. 26 (1954), p. 7] This resulted in a 1951 invitation to the University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
in Urbana, including visits to Bell Telephone Laboratories
Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984),
then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996)
and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007),
is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mul ...
, the Naval Research Laboratory and other research institutes. On this occasion, Pohl once again encountered James Franck and they renewed their friendship which had been interrupted in 1933 by Franck's forced emigration.[''"James Franck – Robert Wichard Pohl, Briefwechsel 1906 – 1964",'' Florian Ebner, Deutsches Museum preprint, Heft 8, http://www.deutsches-museum.de/verlag/aus-der-forschung/preprint] In 1956, the first International Color Center Conference took place at Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
; it was repeated at three-year intervals in the following years until 1977.[''"Fifty years of colour centre physics",'' H. Pick, Journal de physique, Colloque C6, supplement au no.7, Tome 41 (1980), p. C6-1]
Following his retirement in 1952, Pohl dedicated his time to improving his textbooks. In an interview with his former student Heinz Pick
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
in 1974, he described some of his experiences at Göttingen in detail.[
Pohl always kept his institute small. Of his 55 German Ph.D. students 11 later became professors at German universities, of the 7 foreign Ph.D. students, 6 became professors abroad.
In 1980 Nobel prize winner ]Sir Nevill Mott
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (30 September 1905 – 8 August 1996) was a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, especially amorphous semiconductors ...
summarized the significance of Pohl's research at Göttingen: "R.W. Pohl of Göttingen is in my view the real father of solid state physics."
Honors and awards
* 1921 Member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The or ...
* 1928 Honorary doctorate (Dr.–Ing. e.h.) at the Technical University of Breslau
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
* 1935 Membership in the Leopoldina Leopoldina may refer to:
* Colônia Leopoldina, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Alagoa
* Leopoldina, Minas Gerais, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais
* Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1797-1826), consort of emperor Pedro I ...
, Halle (Academy of Sciences)
* 1937 Member of the German Academy for Aeronautics Research
* 1939 Dr. h.c. at the University of Sofia
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...
* 1945 Golden Society Medal of the Photographic Society in Vienna
* 1949 Corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...
* 1950 Corresponding member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The Academ ...
* 1953 Honorary Membership, American Association of Physics Teachers
* 1954 Cross of Merit (first class) of the Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
* 1957 Dr. rer. nat. h.c., Technical University of Darmstadt
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
* 1959 Oersted Medal
The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most prestig ...
of the American Association of Physics Teachers
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...
* 1959 Dr. med. h.c. at the University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
* 1964 Dr. rer. nat. h.c., University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...
* 1967 Cross of Merit (with star) of the Federal Republic of Germany
* 1971 Medal of Honor of the City of Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
* 1975 Phillip Matthäus Hahn Medal of the German Society for Chronometry
Since 1979, the Robert Wichard Pohl Prize for experimental physics and physics didactics has been awarded annually by the German Physical Society. Also since 1979, the Robert Wichard Pohl Institute at the Tongji University in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, supported by the Volkswagen Foundation, has borne his name. A bronze memorial plaque was placed in 1995 on his former residence in Göttingen, at Klopstockstr. 4.
Since 2007, the faculty of physics of the Göttingen University honors teachers for superior performance with the Robert Pohl medal.
Textbooks
* Einführung in die Physik, Springer, Berlin (three-volume editions)
** Volume 1
*** Mechanik und Akustik, (1st ed., 1930, 2nd ed., 1931)
*** Mechanik, Akustik und Wärmelehre, (3rd/ 4th ed., 1941 – 18th ed. (R.O. Pohl, editor), 1983)
** Volume 2
*** Elektrizitätslehre, (1st ed., 1927 – 21st ed., 1975)
** Volume 3
*** Optik, (1st ed. 1940 – 8th ed., 1948)
*** Optik und Atomphysik, (9th ed., 1954 – 13th ed., 1976)
* Einführung in die Physik, Springer, Berlin (two-volume editions)
** Volume 1
*** Mechanik, Akustik und Wärmelehre, (19th ed. (K. Lüders und R.O. Pohl, eds.), 2004; 20th ed., 2009)
*** Mechanik, Akustik und Wärmelehre, (21st ed. 2017)
** Volume 2
*** Elektrizitätslehre und Optik, (22nd ed. (K. Lüders und R.O. Pohl, eds., 2006); 23rd ed., 2010; 24th ed. 2017)
:''Both volumes appeared as English translations in 2017 and 2018.''
References
Further reading
„''Göttinger Geschichten für das Erste Physikalische Institut''“
gesammelt von Manfred Achilles, 2012, (enthaltend auch viele Hinweise auf biographische Literatur über R. W. Pohl).
* Roland Wittje: ''„Simplex Sigillum Veri“: Robert Pohl and Demonstration Experiments in Physics after the Great War'',in: Peter Heering, Roland Wittje (Hrsg.) „Learning by Doing“, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2011.
* Jürgen Teichmann: „''Die Musik der Tatsachen''“, Physik Journal 8, S. 45 (2009)
Online
*
* Frederick Seitz
Frederick Seitz (July 4, 1911 – March 2, 2008) was an American physicist and a pioneer of solid state physics and lobbyist.
Seitz was the 4th president of Rockefeller University from 1968–1978, and the 17th president of the United States Nat ...
, Norman G. Einspruch: „''Electronic Genie''“, University of Illinois Press, 1998, Kapitel 4
* Gisela Oittner-Torkar, Jürgen Teichmann: „''Die Erklärung des Realkristalls durch Robert Wichard Pohl''“, in: Karl von Meyenn (Hrsg.) „''Die Großen Physiker''“, Band 2: ''von Maxwell bis Gell-Mann'', München: Beck 1997, S. 170–177
* Lillian Hoddeson
Lillian Hartman Hoddeson (born 20 December 1940, in New York City) is an American historian of science, specializing in the history of physics and technology during the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Education and career
Hoddeson received in 1957 a ...
, Ernest Braun, Jürgen Teichmann, Spencer Weart (Herausgeber): ''Out of the crystal maze. Chapters from the history of solid state physics'', Oxford University Press 1992
* Georg Busch: ''Early History of the Physics and Chemistry of Semiconductors'', European Journal of Physics, Vol. 10 (1989), S. 255–265
* Jürgen Teichmann: ''Zur Geschichte der Festkörperphysik, Farbzentrenforschung bis 1940'', Steiner Verl., Stuttgart (1988)
* Michael Eckert
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, Helmut Schubert: ''Kristalle, Elektronen, Transistoren'', Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1986, S. 115–128
* Hans-Joachim Queisser
Hans-Joachim Queisser (born 6 July 1931, Berlin, Germany) is a solid-state physicist. He is best known for co-authoring the 1961 work on solar cells that detailed what is today known as the Shockley–Queisser limit, which is now considered the ke ...
: ''Kristallene Krisen'', Piper Verl. München, (1985), S. 66–80
* ''The Beginnings of Solid State Physics'', a symposium organized by Sir Nevill Mott, ed., Proceedings of the Royal Society London A, Band 371 (1980)
* Hans von Ohain
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (14 December 191113 March 1998) was a German physicist, engineer, and the designer of the first operational jet engine. Together with Frank Whittle he is called the "father of the jet engine". His first test unit ran ...
: ''The Evolution and Future of Aeropropulsion Systems'', in: Walter J. Boyne and Donald S. Lopez (Hrsg.): The Jet Age, Smithsonian Institution Press (1979), S. 25–46
* Heinz Pick: ''Structure of trapped electron and trapped hole centers in alkali halide „color centers“'', in: F. Abeles (Hrsg.) ''„Optical Properties of Solids“,'' North-Holland Publishing, Amsterdam (1972), S. 654–754.
External links
*
Pohlsches Rad
Oral History Interview with Heinz Pick, including Pohl, AIP, 1982
Erich Mollwo, Vor- und Frühgeschichte der Festkörperphysik in Deutschland 1992, pdf
Interview with Robert Wichard Pohl by Thomas S. Kuhn and Friedrich Hund, June 25th 1963
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pohl, Robert
1884 births
1976 deaths
Scientists from Hamburg
20th-century German physicists
Heidelberg University alumni
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
University of Göttingen faculty
People educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany