Theodor Wulf (28 July 1868 – 19 June 1946) was a

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 **Ge ...

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

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest who was one of the first experimenters to detect excess

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

. Theodor Wulf became a Jesuit priest at the age of 20, before studying

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 ...

with

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 w ...

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 ...

. He taught physics at Valkenburg, a Jesuit University from 1904 to 1914 and 1918-1935. He designed and built an

electrometer An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or electrical potential difference. There are many different types, ranging from historical handmade mechanical instruments to high-precision electronic devices. Modern ...

which could detect the presence of energetic charged particles (or electromagnetic waves). Since natural radiation sources on the ground were detected by his electrometer, he predicted that if he moved far enough away from those sources he would detect less radiation. To test his hypothesis, in 1910 he compared the radiation at the bottom and the top of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed ...

. He found that the ionisation fell from 6 ions cm⁻³ to 3.5 ions cm⁻³ as he ascended the Eiffel Tower (330m). If the ionisation had been due to γ-rays originating at the surface of the Earth, the intensity of ions should have halved in 80m. Energy was coming from outside the Earth's atmosphere and being detected by his device; this radiation was from

cosmic rays Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ...

. He published a paper in ''Physikalische Zeitschrift'' detailing the results of his four days of observation on the Eiffel Tower. His results were not initially accepted.

Publications

* ''Uber den Einfluss des Druckes auf die elektromotorische Kraft der Gaselektroden''. Physikalische Zeitschrift Chemie * ''About the radiation of high penetration capacity contained in the atmosphere''. Physikalische Zeitschrift * ''Einstein's relativity theory'', 1921. * ''Text book of physics'', 1926. * ''Electrostatic attempts with application of the universal electroscope'', 1928. * ''The oscillatory movement'', 1931. * ''The Thread Electrometers'', 1933. * ''The Components of the Body World'', 1935.

Citations

External links

* * Theodor Wulf:
"About the radiation of high penetration capacity contained in the atmosphere"
Physikalische Zeitschrift, 10th year, no. 5, pages 152-157 * Victor F. Hess
"About Observations of the Penetration Radiation During 7 Balloon Flights"
* Victor F. Hess
"About the absorption of gamma rays in the atmosphere"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wulf, Theodor 19th-century German physicists 19th-century German Jesuits University of Göttingen alumni 20th-century German Jesuits 1868 births 1946 deaths Jesuit scientists 20th-century German physicists

Publications

See also

Citations

External links