Adolf (Christoph Wilhelm) Bestelmeyer (21 December 1875 – 21 November 1957) was a German experimental

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 ...

Life and work

Bestelmeyer studied

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

at the Technische Hochschulen in Charlottenburg (now

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

) and in Munich (now

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

) and the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. After his promotion, he worked in 1904 as an assistant at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was active in

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

research, and afterwards he was professor of physics at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

from 1917 to 1921. He then served until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a laboratory manager in various companies (like Askania), especially in the area of torpedo construction. Meyer, Helmut: ''Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus''. 16, Wallstein, pp. 122-123, 2007, In 1907, Bestelmeyer questioned the accuracy of the measurements by Walter Kaufmann regarding the speed dependence of the

electromagnetic mass Electromagnetic mass was initially a concept of classical mechanics, denoting as to how much the electromagnetic field, or the self-energy, is contributing to the mass of charged particles. It was first derived by J. J. Thomson in 1881 and was ...

. Bestelmeyer used a

velocity filter A velocity filter removes interference (communication), interfering signals by exploiting the difference between the travelling velocities of desired seismic waveform and undesired interfering signals. Introduction In geophysics, geophysical a ...

for his own experiments on

cathode ray Cathode rays are streams of electrons observed in discharge tubes. If an evacuated glass tube is equipped with two electrodes and a voltage is applied, glass behind the positive electrode is observed to glow, due to electrons emitted from the c ...

s, and this method was later also used by

Alfred Bucherer Alfred Heinrich Bucherer (* 9 July 1863 in Cologne; † 16 April 1927 in Bonn) was a German physicist, who is known for his experiments on relativistic mass. He also was the first who used the phrase "theory of relativity" for Einstein's theory o ...

. While Bucherer saw the results of his experiments as a confirmation of

special relativity In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between Spacetime, space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, Annus Mirabilis papers#Special relativity, "On the Ele ...

, his methods were criticized by Bestelmeyer, thus a polemical dispute between these two researchers arose. It took years until those problems could be resolved, and the results of further experiments confirmed the predictions of special relativity. Which are now again under suspicion. Bestelmeyer is also known for developing a magnetic detonator for torpedoes in 1917, for which he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

1st Class (although there was no time for testing this device in World War I anymore). Schubert, P.; Sohst, H.: ''Die Deutschen Marinen im Minenkrieg''. Books on Demand, Rostock 2006, pp. 411f,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bestelmeyer, Adolf 1875 births 1957 deaths 20th-century German physicists Academic staff of the University of Greifswald German experimental physicists Technische Universität Berlin alumni

Life and work

See also

References

External links