Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann
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Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann (; 2 October 1826 – 24 March 1899) 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 scientific author.


Life

Wiedemann was born in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
the son of a merchant who died two years later. Following the death of his mother in 1842 he lived with his grandparents. After attending a private school as well as the Cölnische Humanistische Gymnasium, he entered the
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 ...
in 1844 where took his doctor's degree three years later under the supervision of
Heinrich Gustav Magnus Heinrich Gustav Magnus (; 2 May 1802 – 4 April 1870) was a notable German experimental scientist. His training was mostly in chemistry but his later research was mostly in physics. He spent the great bulk of his career at the University of Ber ...
. His thesis on that occasion was devoted to a question in
organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...
, for he held the opinion that the study of
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
is an indispensable preliminary to the pursuit of
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, which was his ultimate aim. In Berlin he made the acquaintance of
Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, ...
at the house of Heinrich Gustav Magnus and was one of the founders of the
Berlin Physical Society 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 ...
. In 1854 he left Germany to take on the role of Professor of Physics in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, nine years later he moved to
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
and in 1866 to
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. ...
. In 1871 he accepted the chair of
physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...
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 ...
. The attention he had paid to chemistry in the earlier part of his career enabled him to hold his own in this position, but he found his work more congenial when in 1887 he was transferred to the professorship of physics. With
Rudolph Franz Rudolph Franz (December 16, 1826 in Berlin – December 31, 1902 in Berlin) was a German physicist. Life Franz studied math and natural sciences at the University of Bonn and got his doctorate in 1850. He started working as a teacher in Berlin ...
, Wiedemann developed the
Wiedemann–Franz law In physics, the Wiedemann–Franz law states that the ratio of the electronic contribution of the thermal conductivity (''κ'') to the electrical conductivity (''σ'') of a metal is proportional to the temperature (''T''). : \frac \kapp ...
relating thermal and electrical conductivity in 1853.
August Hagenbach August Hagenbach (22 December 1871 – 11 August 1955) was a Swiss physicist working in spectroscopy. He was the son of physicist Eduard Hagenbach-Bischoff and obtained his Ph.D. in 1894 at the University of Leipzig with a thesis titled ''""'' un ...
was one of his students in Leipzig. He died in
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 ...
on 24 March 1899.


Literary work

His name is probably most widely known for his literary work. In 1877 he undertook the editorship of the ''
Annalen der Physik und Chemie ''Annalen der Physik'' (English: ''Annals of Physics'') is one of the oldest scientific journals on physics; it has been published since 1799. The journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers on experimental, theoretical, applied, and mathema ...
'' in succession to
Johann Christian Poggendorff Johann Christian Poggendorff (29 December 1796 – 24 January 1877), was a German physicist born in Hamburg. By far the greater and more important part of his work related to electricity and magnetism. Poggendorff is known for his electrostatic m ...
, thus starting the series of that scientific periodical which is familiarly cited as ''Wied. Ann.'' Another monumental work for which he was responsible was ''Die Lehre van der Elektricitat'', or, as it was called in the first instance, ''Lehre von Galvanismus und Elektromagnetismus'', a book that is unsurpassed for accuracy and comprehensiveness. He produced the first edition in 1861, and a fourth, revised and enlarged, was only completed a short time before his death.


Scientific research

But his original work was also important. His data for the
thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...
of various metals were for long the most trustworthy at the disposal of physicists, and his determination of the
ohm Ohm (symbol Ω) is a unit of electrical resistance named after Georg Ohm. Ohm or OHM may also refer to: People * Georg Ohm (1789–1854), German physicist and namesake of the term ''ohm'' * Germán Ohm (born 1936), Mexican boxer * Jörg Ohm (b ...
in terms of the specific resistance of
mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
showed remarkable skill in quantitative research. He carried out a number of magnetic investigations which resulted in the discovery of many interesting phenomena, some of which have been rediscovered by others; they related among other things to the effect of mechanical strain on the magnetic properties of the magnetic metals, to the relation between the chemical composition of compound bodies and their magnetic properties, and to a curious parallelism between the laws of
torsion Torsion may refer to: Science * Torsion (mechanics), the twisting of an object due to an applied torque * Torsion of spacetime, the field used in Einstein–Cartan theory and ** Alternatives to general relativity * Torsion angle, in chemistry Bi ...
and of
magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...
(see
Wiedemann effect The twisting of a ferromagnetic rod through which an electric current is flowing when the rod is placed in a longitudinal magnetic field. It was discovered by the German physicist Gustav Wiedemann in 1858 . The Wiedemann effect is one of the manif ...
). He also investigated electrical
endosmosis Osmosis (, ) is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low water potential (region o ...
and the electrical resistance of
electrolyte An electrolyte is a medium containing ions that is electrically conducting through the movement of those ions, but not conducting electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. Upon dis ...
s.


Family

In 1851 he married Clara Mitscherlich. Their eldest son, Eilhard Ernst Gustav, born in Berlin on 1 August 1852, became professor of physics at
Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
in 1886, and his younger son, Alfred, born in Berlin on 18 July 1856, was appointed to the extraordinary professorship of
Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
at Bonn in 1892.


References

Attribution: *


Works

* ** * ** ** ** **


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiedemann, Gustav Heinrich 1826 births 1899 deaths 19th-century German physicists Foreign Members of the Royal Society German physical chemists Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala