Wolfgang Karl Ernst Finkelnburg (5 June 1905 – 7 November 1967) 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 ...
who made contributions to
spectroscopy,
atomic physics, the structure of matter, and high-temperature arc discharges. His vice-presidency of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 1941-1945, was influential in that organization’s ability to assert its independence from National Socialist policies.
Education
Finkelnburg began his studies of physics and mathematics in 1924 at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W ...
and the
University of Bonn
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
. He acquired his doctorate in 1928 under
Heinrich Konen, and remained as Konen’s teaching assistant. In 1931 he became a teaching assistant at the
Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
, and in 1932 he became a
Privatdozent there.
[Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F; see the entry for Wolfgang Finkelnburg.]
Career
Early career
In 1933 and 1934, Finkelnburg took a
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship and did postdoctoral research and studies on continuous spectra, with
Robert Andrews Millikan
Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric e ...
at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
. In 1936, he became an extraordinarius professor at the
Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. From 1942 to 1945, he was and extraordinarius professor and director of the physics department at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
. At Strasbough, he worked on high-temperature carbon arcs, which had applications to anti-aircraft searchlights. Some of his scientific endeavors after the war carried on with themes related to the carbon arcs.
National Socialism: Politics and physics
When
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, the concept of ''
Deutsche Physik
''Deutsche Physik'' (, "German Physics") or Aryan Physics (german: Arische Physik) was a nationalist movement in the German physics community in the early 1930s which had the support of many eminent physicists in Germany. The term was taken ...
'' took on more favor. ''Deutsche Physik'' was
anti-Semitic and anti-theoretical physics, especially including modern physics, i.e.,
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...
. As applied in the university environment, political factors took priority over the historically applied concept of scholarly ability, even though its two most prominent supporters were Nobel Laureates
Philipp Lenard
Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (; hu, Lénárd Fülöp Eduárd Antal; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a Hungarian-born German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his work on cathode rays and the discovery of ...
and
Johannes Stark
Johannes Stark (, 15 April 1874 – 21 June 1957) was a German physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1919 "for his discovery of the Doppler effect in canal rays and the splitting of spectral lines in electric fields". This phe ...
. Supporters of ''deutsche Physik'' launched vicious attacks against leading theoretical physicists, such 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 ...
,
Arnold Sommerfeld, and
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent serie ...
; one of these attacks was published in the
Schutzstaffel’s organ ''Das Schwarze Korps''. In the political environment of National Socialism, these attacks were taken seriously.
During the period in which ''deutsche Physik'' was gaining prominence, a foremost concern of the great majority of scientists was to maintain autonomy against political encroachment. Some of the more established scientists, such as
Max von Laue, could demonstrate more autonomy than the younger and less established scientists. This was, in part, due to political organizations, such as the Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund (NSDDB,
National Socialist German University Lecturers League), whose district leaders had a decisive role in the acceptance of an
Habilitationsschrift
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 ...
, which was a prerequisite to attaining the rank of
Privatdozent necessary to becoming a university lecturer. While some with ability joined such organizations out of tactical career considerations, others with ability and adherence to historical academic standards joined these organizations to moderate their activities. This was the case of Finkelnburg.
[Beyerchen, 1977, 176-179.] It was in the summer of 1940 that Finkelnburg became an acting director of the NSDDB at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. As such, he organized the Münchner Religionsgespräche, which took place on 15 November 1940 and was known as the “Munich Synod.” The Münchner Religionsgespräche was an offensive against ''deutsche Physik''. While the technical outcome may have been thin, it was a political victory against ''deutsche Physik''.
Also, in part, it was Finkelnburg’s role in organizing this event that influenced
Carl Ramsauer, as president of the
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,547, as of 2019, making it the largest physics society in the world. It holds an annual conference () and multiple ...
, to select Finkelnburg in 1941 as his deputy. Finkelnburg served in this capacity until the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
After World War II
During the period 1946 to 1952, Finkelnburg was a guest lecturer at
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
. In 1952, he became a member of the research department, and in 1955, he became head of the department of reactor development. While at the University, he also worked for the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, at nearby
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fai ...
.
[For his association with the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, see some of literature, which made the citation.]
In 1963, Finkelnburg returned to Germany and took the position of general manager of the
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966.
Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...
plant in
Erlangen
Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...
. From 1966 to 1967, he was also president of the
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,547, as of 2019, making it the largest physics society in the world. It holds an annual conference () and multiple ...
.
Selected bibliography
Books
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Kontinuierliche Spektren'' (Springer 1938)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Einführung in die Atomphysik'' (Springer-Verlag, 1948)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Hochstromkohlebogen. Physik und Technik einer Hochtemperatur-Bogenentladung'' (Springer, 1948)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''15 Sonderabdrucke 1934-47''
collection of 15 articles by Wolfgang Finkelnburg published from 1934 to 1947*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Atomic Physics''
nternational Series in Pure and Applied Physics(McGraw-Hill, 1950)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Structure of Matter''
ranslated from the 9th/10th edition of ''Einführung in die Atomphysik'' by the author in cooperation with Dr. Ottlie Matossi-Riechemeier(Academic Press, 1964)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Der Physiker'' von Wolfgang Finkelnburg (Verl. Moderne Industrie, 1967)
Articles
*W. Finkelnburg and
W. Weizel ''Über das kontinuierliche Wasserstoffspektrum. Der Verlauf seiner Anregungsspannung und seine Deutung'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 68, Numbers 9-10, 577-584 (September, 1931). Received: 23 February 1931. Affiliations: Finkelburg, ''Physikalisch-Chemischen Institut der Universität Berlin, Deutschland'', and Weizel, ''Physikalischen Institut der Universität Rostock, Deutschland''.
*W. Finkelnburg ''Über die Deutung der Hg Ar-Banden bei 2365 und 2285 Å und des Hg2-Bands bei 1690 Å'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 81, Numbers 11-12, 781-784 (1933). The author is cited as being at the Institut für Theoretische Physik der Technischen Hochschule Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe. Article received: 15 February 1933.
*W. Finkelnburg ''Über die Spektren von van der Waals-Molekülen'' ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 96, Numbers 11-12, 699-713 (1935). The author is cited as being at the Institut für theoretische Physik, Karlsruhe. Article received: 27 July 1935.
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Zur Theorie der Detonationsvorgänge'', ''Annalen der Physik'', Volume 418, Issue 2, 116-120 (1936)
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Continuous Electron Radiation in Gas Discharges'', ''Phys. Rev. '' Volume 45, Issue 5, 341 - 342 (1934). The author is cited as being at the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, California Institute of Technology, as a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation. Received 3 February 1934.
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Electrode Vapor Jets in Arc and Spark Discharges'', ''Phys. Rev. '' Volume 74, Issue 2, 222 - 223 (1948). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 3 June 1948.
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''A Theory of the Production of Electrode Vapor Jets by Sparks and Arcs'', ''Phys. Rev.'' Volume 74, Issue 10, 1475 - 1477 (1948). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 14 July 1948.
*Wolfgang Finkelnburg ''Ionization Potentials of Higher Atomic Ions'', ''Phys. Rev.'' Volume 77, Issue 2, 304 - 304 (1950). The author is cited as being at the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Received 2 December 1949.
Notes
References
*Beyerchen, Alan D. ''Scientists Under Hitler: Politics and the Physics Community in the Third Reich'' (Yale, 1977)
*Hentschel, Klaus, editor and Ann M. Hentschel, editorial assistant and Translator ''Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources'' (Birkhäuser, 1996)
*Hoffmann, Dieter ''Between Autonomy and Accommodation: The German Physical Society during the Third Reich'', ''Physics in Perspective'' 7(3) 293-329 (2005)
*Hoffmann, Dieter and Mark Walker ''The German Physical Society Under National Socialism'', ''Physics Today'' 57(12) 52-58 (2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkelnburg, Wolfgang
1905 births
1967 deaths
20th-century German physicists
Nuclear program of Nazi Germany
Scientists from Bonn
Scientists from the Rhine Province
University of Tübingen alumni
University of Bonn alumni
Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt
Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg
Catholic University of America faculty
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Presidents of the German Physical Society