Wilhelm Orthmann (1 May 1901 – 6 July 1945) was a German physicist. He was director of the physico-technical department of the Industrial College of Berlin. During World War II, he was also employed by the Reich Aviation Ministry.

Education

Educated at Pforta, Orthmann studied at the ''

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-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 i ...

'' and the ''Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität'' (today, the '' Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin''). He received his doctorate in 1926, under Peter Pringsheim, with a thesis on resonance lines.Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Orthmann.

Career

After receipt of his doctorate, he was a teaching assistant to Peter Pringsheim and

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 wa ...

at the University of Berlin. He completed his

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 ...

at the University of Berlin in 1931; his professorial thesis was on the dielectric constants of electrolytes. From 1931, he was 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 ...

at the University of Berlin. From 1938 Orthmann was an untenured '' ausserordentlicher Professor'' (extraordinarius professor), from 1940 an ''ausserordentlicher Professor'', and from 1942 an '' ordentlicher Professor'' (ordinarius professor) and director of the physico-technical department at the ''Wirtschaftshochschule Berlin'' (Industrial College of Berlin). Orthmann, an assistant to

, helped

Lise Meitner Elise Meitner ( , ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish physicist who was one of those responsible for the discovery of the element protactinium and nuclear fission. While working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute on rad ...

build an improved calorimeter with which to measure the average energy per

beta particle A beta particle, also called beta ray or beta radiation (symbol β), is a high-energy, high-speed electron or positron emitted by the radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus during the process of beta decay. There are two forms of beta decay, β� ...

emitted by Radium E, i.e., ²¹⁰Bi₈₃. Their results were submitted for publication in late 1929. The

Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Hitler Service (german: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums, shortened to ''Berufsbeamtengesetz''), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-es ...

of 1933 was substantially directed at academia. The '' Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft'' (DPG) dragged its feet in the dismissal of Jews for more than five years. It was not until the end of 1938, on the initiation of a petition by Herbert Arthur Stuart and Wilhelm Orthmann, who were engaged in physics studies (academic) reform, that the DPG asked Jewish members to withdraw their membership. During World War II, Orthmann was also employed at the ''

Reichsluftfahrtministerium The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...

'' (RLM), finally as a scientific advisor in the development of anti-aircraft artillery.Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, Appendix B; see the entry for RLM. Taken prisoner at the capitulation of Berlin Orthmann died in the Soviet POW-camp at

Landsberg (Warthe) Landsberg may refer to: *Landsberg family * Landsberg (surname) Places * Landsberg (district), Bavaria, Germany * Landsberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany * Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, Germany ** Landsberg-Lech Air Base, Germany ** Landsberg Prison, a p ...

on 6 July 1945.

Literature by Orthmann

*Wilhelm Orthmann: ''Über die Stoßdämpfung der Quecksilberresonanzlinie'', Annalen der Physik, Vierte Folge Band 78 No. 23 (1925) pp. 601–640
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*

und Wilhelm Orthmann: ''Über eine absolute Bestimmung der Energie der primären ß-Strahlen von Radium E'', '' Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 60, 143 – 155 (March 1930
springer.com
*W. Orthmann: ''Über Dielektrizitätskonstanten von Elektrolytlösungen''. Annalen der Physik, 5. Folge, 1931, Band 9, Heft 5, pp. 537 — 569
wiley.com
*W. Orthmann: ''Über die Ausbildung des Physikers'' and ''Bemerkung zum Frauenstudium'', ''Deutsche Mathematik'' Volume 4
117 books.google
– 126 (1939), as cited in Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, p. LXXXII; see Reference 67 These were Orthmann’s reports on an initiative to reform physics education presented at the first ''Mathematikerlager'' (German mathematics camp) organized by the ''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund'' (NSDDB, National Socialist German University Lecturers League, cf. Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, 182 n2.

Notes

References

*Hentschel, Klaus (Editor) and Hentschel, Ann M. (Editorial Assistant and Translator), ''Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources'' (Birkhäuser, 1996) *Gerhard Hettner: ''Wilhelm Orthmann''. Obituary in ''Physikalische Blätter'' Volume 3, Issue 5 May 1947
p.160 wiley.com pdf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orthmann, Wilhelm 1901 births 1945 deaths 20th-century German physicists German people who died in Soviet detention