Christian Gerthsen (21 November 1894 in Hörup, Alsen,

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein (german: Provinz Schleswig-Holstein ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (subsequently the Free State of Prussia after 1918) from 1868 to 1946. History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and H ...

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

– 8 December 1956 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) was a German physicist who made contributions to atomic and nuclear physics, as well as writing numerous textbooks.

Education

Gerthsen studied at the

Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

and the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

from 1913 to 1914. Circa 1914 to 1918, he served in the military. Circa 1919 to 1920 he attended the Georg-August University of Göttingen. In 1920, he went to the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. With Walther Kreisel as his advisor, he was awarded his doctorate in 1929. He stayed on as Kossel’s assistant until 1930 and then went to 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-Wü ...

as 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 ...

.Author Catalog: Gerthsen
– American Philosophical SocietyHentschel, 1966, p. 281.

Career

In 1932, Gerthsen was appointed ordinarius professor of experimental physics and director of the physics institute at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

.Gerthsen
– University of Giessen In 1939, he went to the First Physics Institute at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, where he was director. From 1948, he was at the

Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ). ...

, where he remained for the rest of his career. Gerthsen co-authored a number of textbooks with

Karl Bechert Karl Richard Bechert (August 23, 1901 in Nuremberg, Middle Franconia – April 1, 1981 in Weilmünster-Möttau, Hesse) was a German theoretical physicist and political leader. As a scientist, he made contributions in atomic physics. Scientif ...

. One of Gerthsen’s textbooks on physics, first published in 1948, has since his death seen continuous development and is, as of 2020, in its 25th updated edition, more than 50 years after his death.Christian Gerthsen, author and Dieter Meschede, editor ''Gerthsen Physik'' (Springer; 25 edition, 2015)

Selected Literature

*C. Gerthsen (Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Kiel) ''Über die Möglichkeit der Erregung von Röntgenstrahlen durch den Stoß von α- und Kanalstrahlen'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 36, Number 7, Pages 540-547 (1926). Received 14 February 1926. *C. Gerthsen ''Ein Maltekationsverfahren von Kanalstrahlenenergien und seine Anwendung auf Atomzertrümmerung'', ''Naturwissenschaften'' Volume 20, Number 40, Pages 743-744 (1932) *C. Gertshen (I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Berlin) and E. Grimm (I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Berlin) ''Der Ionisierungsaufwand von radioaktiven Rückstoßatomen'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 120, Numbers 7-10, Pages 476-485 (1943). Received 30 September 1942.

Books

*Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. I Allgemeine Grundlagen'' (De Gruyter, 1944, 1955, 1959) *Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. II Allgemeine Grundlagen'' (De Gruyter, 1944, 1959, 1963) *Christian Gerthsen ''Physik'' (Volk u. Wissen, 1948, 1951) (Springer, 1956, 1958) *Christian Gerthsen und Max Pollermann ''Einführung in das physikalische Praktikum zum Studium der Physik als Nebenfach'' (Springer, 1953) *Christian Gerthsen and Max Pollermann ''Einführung in das physikalische Praktikum'' (Springer, 1960, 1964, 1967) * Christian Gerthsen und M. Pollermann ''Einführung in das Physikalische Praktikum. Für Mediziner und das Anfängerpraktikum'' (Springer-Verlag, 1982) *Christian Gerthsen und Hans Otto Kneser ''Physik'' (Springer, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1969) *Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. III, Theorie des Atombaus'' (De Gruyter, 1954, 1963) *Karl Bechert, Christian Gerthsen, and

Arnold Flammersfeld Arnold Rudolf Karl Flammersfeld (February 10, 1913 – January 5, 2001) was a German nuclear physicist who worked on the German nuclear energy project during World War II. From 1954, he was a professor of physics at the University of Göttinge ...

''Atomphysik. Bd. IV. Theorie des Atombaus 2. Teil'' (De Gruyter, 1954, 1963, 1984) *Christian Gerthsen, Hans O. Kneser, and Helmut Vogel ''Physik: Ein Lehrbuch Zum Gebrauch Neben Vorlesungen'' (Springer-Verlag, 17th edition, 1993) *Christian Gerthsen und Helmut Vogel Gerthsen ''Physik'' (Springer-Verlag, 1995, 1997, 2001) *Christian Gerthsen and Dieter Meschede ''Gerthsen Physik. Mit 1074 Aufgaben und vollständigen Lösungen auf CD-ROM'' (Springer, 2003, 2005) *Christian Gerthsen, author and Dieter Meschede, editor ''Gerthsen Physik'' (Springer; 23 edition, 2007) This textbook is cited as having 1157 pages.

References

Klaus Hentschel Klaus Hentschel (born 4 April 1961) is a German physicist, historian of science and Professor and head of the History of Science and Technology section in the History Department of the University of Stuttgart. He is known for his contributions in ...

, editor and Ann M. Schenkel, editorial assistant and translator ''Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources'' (Birkhaüser, 1996)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerthsen, Christian 1894 births 1956 deaths People from Sønderborg Municipality German physicists German nuclear physicists