Ernst Abbe

Ernst Karl Abbe ( born January 23, 1840 in Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar -Eisenach, † January 14, 1905 in Jena, Saxe-Weimar -Eisenach, [ abə ], Ernst Abbe, Carl ) was a German physicist, statistician, opticians, entrepreneurs and social reformers. Together with Carl Zeiss and Otto Schott He laid the foundations of modern optics and developed many optical instruments. In 1899 he was the sole owner of the company Carl Zeiss Jena and was instrumental in the founding of the company Glass Schott & Gen. (now Schott AG) involved.

Life

Ernst Abbe grew up in modest circumstances in Eisenach. His father Georg Adam Abbe was a foreman in a spinning mill. After elementary school years 1846-1850 he was thanks to private support by the employer of his father, the junior high school first-order ( Julius von Eichel - Streiber ) - later to secondary school - visit in Eisenach, which since 1922 all German historical epochs Ernst -Abbe- high school is called. He finished the grammar school in 1857 from the " certificate of maturity " and mostly good grades.

His was already recognizable scientific talents, coupled with a strong will, prompted his father to him, despite the modest financial means to study in Jena (1857-1859) and Göttingen (1859-1861) to allow, where Ernst Abbe himself a part of his earning livelihood as a private tutor. Added to this was that the employer his father's family supported him in the years 1858 and 1859 during his studies. The doctorate in Göttingen on March 23, 1861 entitled " Experiential justification of the set of the equivalence between heat and mechanical work." "

He then became an assistant at the observatory in Göttingen before accepting a short occupation (1861-1862) at the Physics Club in Frankfurt am Main and habilitated it soon - August 8, 1863 - Jena in with the theme of " regularity in the distribution errors in observation series ". He then taught there as a lecturer of physics and mathematics. 1870 Abbe was appointed associate professor ( since 1891 teaching commitments given birth again ). In 1873 he was elected a member of the Scholars Academy Leopoldina. In 1878 he became director of the Observatory Jena. In 1889 he was elected a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. He was also a member of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences.

Ernst Abbe married in 1871 Else Snell, the daughter of the mathematician and physicist Karl Snell, a teacher Abbes.

Work

His professional life was in 1866 the offer of the University of mechanic Carl Zeiss a decisive turn: Abbe should put his microscope production on a secure scientific foundation. The former production of these devices consisted namely of an art of sampling ( " Pröbelns " ) and did not follow the work instructions due to optical calculations. The trusting relationship between Abbe and Zeiss could not be shaken by an initial setback: The first built by Abbes bills microscope showed a performance drop compared to the products of the older " gepröbelten " manufacturing on. This situation challenged the physicist Ernst Abbe and led to his theory of image formation in the microscope as well as its assessment of the microscopic resolving power ( see below). By using this information, the power of the now -built microscopes could be considerably improved, that Zeiss decided (valid from 15 May 1875) include Abbe on 22 July 1876 as a partner in the company. International recognition came on May 1, 1878 by an honorary membership in the Royal Microscopical Society in London.

An important prerequisite for the consistently good quality of optical instruments and their continuous improvement lay in the mastery of the production of the different types of glass with reproducible properties and especially in the development of new optical glasses. Here Abbe permanently Otto Schott, Wittenburg could win an der Ruhr, to build a factory in Jena. At its Carl Zeiss were together with his son Roderick and Ernst Abbe involved ( "Glass Technology Laboratory Schott & ", 1884; later renamed today Schott AG " Jena Glass Works Schott & Gen.. "). The Prussian government granted financial support.

Edited while still a student Ernst Abbe successfully a publicly advertised price task from thermodynamics ( Jena 1858) and by a further dissolved price task from the mechanics reported his first biographer Felix Auerbach. These achievements already made ​​it known at the time in university circles. Its actual publishing activities continued with the dissertation Experiential justification of the set of the equivalence between heat and mechanical work (Göttingen 1861) a, it is a proposal joined to a modified device of meridian instruments ( 1862), which from the brief activity for Göttingen University Observatory emerged, then the habilitation thesis about the law in the distribution of errors in observation series ( Jena 1863). Because of its aligned to the practical application work for Carl Zeiss remained most of the contributions to the principles of optical imaging and related instruments either Torso - as the treatise "On the determination of the intensity of optical instruments, etc. " (1871 ) - or unwritten - as the basic theory of the microscope, of which only brief hints in remote magazines came about (1873 ). Therefore let many results of the researcher Abbe, unlike his colleagues, dated imprecisely. Abbes include contributions to optics

• The applicable in optical design, refined theory of image errors (which are practically beyond the Seidel eikonal );
• The Abbe sine condition, the figure;
• The resolution limit of a microscope to Abbe. Here, d is the line spacing of an illuminated optical grating, the wavelength of light, n the refractive index of the medium between the object and the lens (which may be air, but also a liquid) and the half- opening angle of the lens (found 1870, 1873 released ). In contrast to Helmholtz Abbe comes from not self-luminous objects, but of coherently illuminated objects. This structure can be resolved by Abbe, if still contributes in the microscope from the diffraction image of the structure except the 0th order ( main peak ), the first secondary maximum for image formation. For even leuchtene objects results in a different mathematical context (see Resolution ( microscopy) ).
• The theory of the resolution limit (1873 online);
• The theory of image formation in the microscope taking into account the diffraction of light (Lecture 1887/88 );
• Investigation of the position and size of the diaphragm.

At decisive advances in microscope technology in addition to improving the "old" are lenses especially the creation of "homogeneous immersion systems " (1878 ) and the increase of image refinement by the products produced by Abbes bills " Apochromat " (1886 ) mentioned that by the use fluorspar were made possible as an optical material, and targeted glass technology research in collaboration with Schott. Of the many ascribed new optical devices are the Abbe condenser ( lighting apparatus for microscopes, 1869) and the Abbe refractometer ( since 1869 ) is of particular importance.

Abbes socio-political interaction and the creation of the Carl- Zeiss -Stiftung

The position as co-owner of Carl Zeiss made ​​Abbe not only wealthy. They also sharpened his eye for the then dominant imbalance between employer and employee, especially since he himself had experienced first hand this relationship in his youth. After the death of the 24- year-older Carl Zeiss ( 3 December 1888) took the idea of a foundation to solid forms, numerous negotiations with the Grand Ducal Ministry of State in Weimar and the university town of Jena had preceded. The charter of the Carl Zeiss Foundation bears the date of 19 May 1889. The Foundation ( as a legal entity ) should be adjusted to certain conditions in the event of death of Ernst Abbe be his sole heir. In December 1889 Abbe was able to achieve that the son of the founder ( Roderich Zeiss ) retired from the management of the company and only a silent partner remained. Then was the final step on 17 and 18 May 1891. After severance of Roderich Zeiss all owned shares went to the Carl Zeiss company and those shares that Abbe and Zeiss at the Schott & Gen.. possessed, transferred to the foundation. Abbe was entrusted with Siegfried Czapski and Otto Schott with management.

The final determination of the Foundation's constitution and its publication for the staff came only on 26 August 1896.

Abbes social and political commitment in his last active years of life (1894-1903) was considerable. It has been reflected in the socio- political writings, which are included in his collected essays. The measures introduced by him actions and proposals based always on a meticulous analysis of actually existing states, whether it was about the introduction of the eight-hour day in the Carl Zeiss company or the legality of the meeting prohibition in the Grand Duchy of Weimar - although Abbe was a member of the Free Radical People's Party he campaigned for the Social Democrats.

In 1890 he founded with political friends, the Jena people sheet. This should break the monopoly of the conservative newspaper Jenaische and information of all political persuasions be required. The sheet was published by Bernhard Vopelius to 1941 with the subtitle " Founded by Professor Ernst Abbe ".

On September 24, 1903, the employee received notification of the resignation Abbes by the management. They honored him in an unusual way in early October with a torchlight procession through streets of Jena. Here told About the Berliner Tageblatt on October 3, 1903, quoted at the end of the title of the song sung: "How could I forget your ". After leaving the management to Abbes health deteriorated rapidly. He died on January 14, 1905 in Jena, whose population grew overwhelming proportion of the funeral for him. The Berliner Tageblatt of January 18, 1905 honored him with an extensive obituary on the front page. In the commemorative meeting of the German Physical Society on March 3, 1905 Siegfried Czapski said his longtime collaborator and successor as representative of the foundation in management, among other things: " This man, who showed himself politically as a radical, an opposition man of the government was, one of the warmest patriots whose Germany could boast, though not a patriot of the big words, but a patriot indeed, ... " - He later went on: " One of the main drives of Ernst Abbe was in the following consideration: the progressive expansion of the industry and thus of in their busy group of people is unstoppable - that must in time be taken to ensure that these people become full members of the bourgeoisie remain or become and, not on a stage for helotry, sink halfway slavery ' " Abbe is buried in the Jena North Cemetery. . The Art Nouveau tomb is decorated with a portrait medallion was made by Adolf von Hildebrand.

The commitment of the Foundation to the workforce created a work of peace, which was probably unique in the socio-politically turbulent years of the German Empire. Of course, penetrated their detailed knowledge about the Foundation also in the period before the First World War hardly Jena and relevant professionals, while the optical products of the company Carl Zeiss set standards worldwide. The foundation statute was amended several times. Recently a completely revised statute was published in 2004. (See Carl Zeiss Foundation )

Awards, honors

"We microscopists feel but especially Ernst Abbe obligation is to thank the tireless efforts of the present perfection of our instruments mainly. "

The profound effect Abbes in the fields of optics equipment manufacturing and meant that his name was associated with various terms in this field of work. Best known is the Abbe number. But the Abbe invariant, the Abbe sine condition, the Abbe refractometer, Abbe comparator principle or the Abbe method bear his name.

The Ernst -Abbe- Fachhochschule Jena was named after him. In his honor, called a doctrine of Mathematics and Physics in Jena Abbeanum. Also, a place, a street and the football stadium in Jena and roads in many other German cities are named after him. Ernst -Abbe- Gymnasium there in Jena, Eisenach, Oberkochen and Berlin- Neukölln. The Ernst -Abbe- school ( visually impaired school) in Stuttgart -Zuffenhausen in 1991 also named after him. At the Technical University of Ilmenau there for some time, the Ernst- Abbe Center for Research and Technology Transfer, a research and teaching building, among others, the University Language Centre and the Institute can be found in digital media technology.

Abbes can be visited in the Optical Museum Jena. On the Carl- Zeiss -Platz in Jena is the Ernst Abbe Memorial.

Abbe was featured in 1956 on the special mark 110 years Carl Zeiss Jena works of Deutsche Post of the GDR.

In 1968 his name was mentioned on a postage stamp of the German Federal Post Office with the motif 100 years of scientific microscopes.

1992 Ernst Abbe Foundation was established, which took over the non-industrial assets of the former Jena, Carl -Zeiss-Stiftung.

The lunar crater Abbe was named after him.

Writings

• Ernst Abbe Collected Essays.
• Vol 1: Essays on the theory of the microscope. G. Fischer Verlag, Jena 1904
• Vol 2: Scientific papers from different areas. Patents. Memorial speeches. G. Fischer Verlag, Jena 1906
• Vol 3: Lectures, speeches and writings of social policy and related content publishing G. Fischer, Jena 1906
• Vol 4: Working for Glassworks 1882-1885 G. Fischer Verlag, Jena 1928.
• The correspondence between Otto Schott and Ernst Abbe on the optical glass, 1879-1881. Edited by Herbert Kühnert. Publications of the Thuringian Historical Commission, Volume 2, Jena 1946
• Volker choice Joachim Wittig (ed.): Ernst Abbe. Letters to his youth and college friends Carl Martin and Harald Schütz, 1858-1865. Berlin 1986

Film version of his life

• Made in Germany - A Life for Zeiss. German movie from 1957