Ernst Kraft Wilhelm Nußelt (Nusselt in English; born November 25, 1882 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

– died September 1, 1957 in

München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) was a German engineer. Nusselt studied mechanical engineering at the Munich Technical University ( Technische Universität München), where he got his doctorate in 1907. He taught in Dresden from 1913 to 1917. During this teaching tenure he developed the dimensional analysis of

heat transfer Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy ( heat) between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conducti ...

, without any knowledge of the

Buckingham π theorem In engineering, applied mathematics, and physics, the Buckingham theorem is a key theorem in dimensional analysis. It is a formalization of Rayleigh's method of dimensional analysis. Loosely, the theorem states that if there is a physically me ...

or any other developments of

Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. A ...

. In so doing he opened the door for further

analysis. After teaching and working in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

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 betwee ...

between 1917 and 1925, he was appointed to the Chair of

Theoretical Mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects re ...

. There he made important developments in the field of

heat exchangers A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

. He held that position until 1952, being succeeded in the job by another important figure in the field of heat transfer, Ernst Schmidt. The

Nusselt number In thermal fluid dynamics, the Nusselt number (, after Wilhelm Nusselt) is the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer at a boundary in a fluid. Convection includes both advection (fluid motion) and diffusion (conduction). The conductiv ...

used in

Fluid Mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

and

Heat Transfer Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy ( heat) between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conducti ...

is named in his honour.

References

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Encyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nusselt, Wilhelm 1882 births 1957 deaths Engineers from Nuremberg People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Technical University of Berlin alumni Technical University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology German mechanical engineers Fluid dynamicists