Heinrich Bruns

Ernst Heinrich Bruns ( born September 4, 1848 in Berlin, † September 23, 1919 in Leipzig) was a German mathematician and astronomer, who also contributed to the development of theoretical geodesy.

Bruns studied 1866-1871 at the University of Berlin mathematics, astronomy and physics, especially in sorrow and Weierstrass and received his doctorate there. From 1872 to 1873 he was employed as a computer at the observatory Pulkowa. In 1873 they picked him as Observer at the Observatory of Dorpat ( now Tartu ), where he remained until 1876. Here he was also a lecturer at the university.

1876 ​​Bruns was appointed as associate professor of mathematics to Berlin, in 1882 he went as professor of astronomy and director of the observatory Leipzig in Saxony; In the same year he was also elected a member of the Scholars Academy Leopoldina. In Berlin Bruns also worked at the Institute of War and the Geodetic Institute.

Heinrich Bruns mainly dealt with the theoretical side of the " figure of the earth " (as well as one of his major works is called ). The potential theory and the study of equilibrium shapes due to him essential aspects, and the Astronomical Refraction, he developed - together with his former assistant at the observatory, Felix Hausdorff, an unusual approach on the vertical gradient of air temperature. But lack sufficient accurate measurement method was not the latter in practice.

The Higher Geodesy of the 20th century could - for example in the person of Charles Steger leather - will be developed further on his theories, including inter alia the " Bruns'sche polyhedron " part. Conceived as a global network construct was by the later satellite geodesy from the mind game for decades sought - and eventually reached by GPS - fact.

Works

  • About the periods of elliptic integrals of the first and second order. ( Dorpat 1875)
  • The figure of the earth. (Berlin 1878)
  • About an object of the compensation calculation. Leipzig ( 1886)
  • About the integrals of the many-body problem. Leipzig ( 1887)
  • The eikonal. Leipzig ( 1895)
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