Wilhelm Eduard Weber (; ; 24 October 1804 – 23 June 1891) was a German
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 ...
and, together with
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
, inventor of the first electromagnetic
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
.
Biography of Wilhelm
Early years
Weber was born in Schlossstrasse in
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
, where his father, Michael Weber, was professor of theology. The building had previously been the home of
Abraham Vater.
Wilhelm was the second of three brothers, all of whom were distinguished by an aptitude for science. After the dissolution of the
University of Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
his father was transferred to
Halle in 1815. Wilhelm had received his first lessons from his father, but was now sent to the Orphan Asylum and Grammar School at Halle. After that he entered the University, and devoted himself to natural philosophy. He distinguished himself so much in his classes, and by original work, that after taking his degree of Doctor and becoming a ''
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
'' he was appointed Professor Extraordinary of natural philosophy at Halle.
Career
In 1831, on the recommendation of
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
, he was hired by 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 ...
as professor of physics, at the age of twenty-seven. His lectures were interesting, instructive, and suggestive. Weber thought that, in order to thoroughly understand physics and apply it to daily life, mere lectures, though illustrated by experiments, were insufficient, and he encouraged his students to experiment themselves, free of charge, in the college laboratory. As a student of twenty years he, with his brother,
Ernst Heinrich Weber, Professor of Anatomy at
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, had written a book on the ''Wave Theory and Fluidity,'' which brought its authors a considerable reputation. Acoustics was a favourite science of his, and he published numerous papers upon it in ''Poggendorffs Annalen,'' Schweigger's ''Jahrbücher für Chemie und Physik,'' and the musical journal ''Carcilia.'' The 'mechanism of walking in mankind' was another study, undertaken in conjunction with his younger brother,
Eduard Weber
Eduard Friedrich Weber (6 March 1806 – 18 May 1871) was a German anatomist and physiologist. He was a younger brother to physiologist Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878) and physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804-1891).
Weber was born in Wittenber ...
. These important investigations were published between the years 1825 and 1838. Gauss and Weber constructed the first electromagnetic
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
in 1833, which connected the observatory with the institute for physics 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 ...
.
In December 1837, the Hanoverian government dismissed Weber, one of the
Göttingen Seven
The Göttingen Seven (german: Göttinger Sieben) were a group of seven liberal professors at University of Göttingen. In 1837, they protested against the annullment of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover by its new ruler, King Ernest Augu ...
, from his post at the university for political reasons. Weber then travelled for a time, visiting England, among other countries, and became professor of physics in Leipzig from 1843 to 1849, when he was reinstated at Göttingen. One of his most important works, co-authored with
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
and
Carl Wolfgang Benjamin Goldschmidt Carl Wolfgang Benjamin Goldschmidt (4 August 1807 – 15 February 1851)
was a German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist of Jewish descent who was a professor of astronomy at the University of Göttingen. He is also known as Benjamin Goldsch ...
, was ''Atlas des Erdmagnetismus: nach den Elementen der Theorie entworfen'' (''
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
of
Geomagnetism: Designed according to the elements of the theory''),
a series of magnetic maps, and it was chiefly through his efforts that magnetic observatories were instituted. He studied magnetism with Gauss, and during 1864 published his ''Electrodynamic Proportional Measures'' containing a system of absolute measurements for electric currents, which forms the basis of those in use. Weber died 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 ...
, where he is buried in
the same cemetery as
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...
and
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 ...
.
He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
in 1855.
In 1856 with
Rudolf Kohlrausch
Rudolf Hermann Arndt Kohlrausch (November 6, 1809 in Göttingen – March 8, 1858 in Erlangen) was a German physicist.
Biography
He was a native of Göttingen, the son of the Royal Hanovarian director general of schools Friedrich Kohlrausch. He ...
(1809–1858) he demonstrated that the ratio of
electrostatic
Electrostatics is a branch of physics that studies electric charges at rest (static electricity).
Since classical times, it has been known that some materials, such as amber, attract lightweight particles after rubbing. The Greek word for amber ...
to
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...
units produced a number that matched the value of the then known speed of light. This finding led to
Maxwell's conjecture that
light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...
is an
electromagnetic wave
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, (visib ...
. This also led to Weber's development of his theory of
electrodynamics
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
. Also, the first usage of the letter "c" to denote the
speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...
was in an 1856 paper by Kohlrausch and Weber.
International recognition
The
SI unit of
magnetic flux, the
weber (symbol: Wb) is named after him.
See also
*
German inventors and discoverers
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__NOTOC__
This is a list of German inventors and discoverers. The following list comprises people from Germany or German-speaking Europe, and also people of predominantly German heritage, in alphabetical order of the surname.
For the li ...
*
International System of Electrical and Magnetic Units The International System of Electrical and Magnetic Units is an obsolete system of units used for measuring electrical and magnetic quantities. It was proposed as a system of practical international units by unanimous recommendation at the Internat ...
*
Bifilar coil
A bifilar coil is an electromagnetic coil that contains two closely spaced, parallel windings. In engineering, the word ''bifilar'' describes wire which is made of two filaments or strands. It is commonly used to denote special types of winding ...
*
Needle telegraph
A needle telegraph is an electrical telegraph that uses indicating needles moved electromagnetically as its means of displaying messages. It is one of the two main types of electromagnetic telegraph, the other being the armature system, as exem ...
*
Vector magnetic potential
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Weber electrodynamics
Notes
Works
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Weber, Wilhelm – Wellenlehre, 1893 – BEIC 11914951.jpg, ''Wellenlehre'', 1893
References
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* – obituary
* – Telegraph of Weber and Gauss (with pictures)
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External links
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Biography and bibliographyin the
Virtual Laboratory The online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life. T ...
of the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowledg ...
Wilhelm Weber's Works Translated into EnglishA bibliography compiled by A.K.T. Assis i
] 2009-2010
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Wilhelm Eduard
1804 births
1891 deaths
19th-century German physicists
People associated with electricity
People from Wittenberg
People from the Province of Saxony
Recipients of the Copley Medal
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty
University of Göttingen faculty
Leipzig University faculty
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
Recipients of the Matteucci Medal