Siegfried Czapski
Siegfried Czapski ( born May 28, 1861 at the Good Obra Koschmin, province of Posen, † June 29, 1907 in Jena ) was a German physicist.
Childhood, school and studying in Breslau (1870-1881)
Czapski was the son of Simon Czapski (1826-1908) and his wife Rosalie Goldring ( 1830-1916 ). 1870 the father suffered a serious accident, as a result he was unable to work. The family sold the estate and moved to Breslau, where in 1872 the eleven-year Czapski the Mary Magdalene attended high school. In 1879 he made there High School (along with Wilhelm Prausnitz, Richard Reitz Stone and Felix Skutsch ) and began to study for a semester at the University of Göttingen: He attended lectures by Eduard Riecke (physics), Moritz Abraham Stern (mathematics) and Rudolf Hermann Lotze ( philosophy). From his second semester, he studied at the University of Breslau, physics Oskar Emil Meyer, Ernst Dorn and Felix Auerbach, mathematics and philosophy at Jakob Rosanes at Jacob Freudenthal. Since that time, he was a friend of Arthur Heidenhain ( 1862-1941 ).
Studies and final in Berlin (1881-1884)
1881 moved to the University of Czapski Berlin to study with physicists Hermann von Helmholtz and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff. He was in contact with Leopold Loewe heart. He was interested in experimental physics, and so he took also practical handicraft courses. 1882 Czapski worked for the normal Eichungskommission under the direction of the astronomer Wilhelm Julius Foerster. Starting in the fall, he worked on his doctorate at Hermann von Helmholtz, he experimentally verified a Helmholtz theory in the framework. His doctoral thesis submitted at Helmholtz and Kirchhoff in November 1883. In December, the doctoral examinations joined in physics at Helmholtz and Kirchhoff, in mathematics at Leopold Kronecker and in philosophy with Eduard Zeller. In February 1884 he received his PhD from the viva voce.
Technical Optics: Carl Zeiss in Jena ( 1884 )
His interest in the physical and technical optics it fit that he ( later Askania plants) could work from July 1 for Carl Bamberg workshop for scientific Präcisions instruments. To explore these areas, he applied. Ernst Abbe of the Zeiss works in Jena Abbe made Czapski unceremoniously to his assistant, a position he held until 1886, and moved him in his discussions with the physicist Leonhard Sohncke of the University of Jena. After Czapski to 1886 as an assistant still had a relatively loose connection to the company Zeiss and parallel still accepting orders for Bamberg, this situation changed with a fixed contract, which ( with the consent of Carl and Roderich Zeiss ') makes it Abbes closest assistant.
As early as 1885 referred Abbe Czapski in his theoretical works with that published this in the following years because Abbe himself taken by the development work in very claim to neither time nor could muster patience or wanted. In 1893 he managed, after five years, finally his contribution to Adolf Winkelmann's Handbuch der Physik finish: theory of optical instruments by Abbe. The 300-page work was published as a special edition of Volume II of the manual in the same year and became recognized as a foundational work for the technical optics.
With Abbe and Otto Schott in Jena and Leopold Dippel in Darmstadt Czapski was involved right at the start of his Jena period to the design and manufacture of a new microscope optics. Later, the technical realization of a binocular microscope, followed by ideas of Horatio S. Greenough American biologists. The product range of the expanding company grew: 1890 began the production of photographic lenses, 1892/93 Optical measuring 1893/94 largely co-developed by Czapski prism binoculars, astronomical instruments in 1897 and 1901 image measuring instruments.
The growing range of products reaches far beyond the borders of Germany, reaching awareness of the company and associated with all the ever-increasing number of employees demanded Czapski more and more. In 1891 he was one of three directors of the company Carl Zeiss.
Establishment of the Carl- Zeiss -Stiftung
After the establishment of the Carl Zeiss Foundation in 1889 by Abbe and 1891 the complete conversion of the Zeiss the property of the Foundation and the half of the company Schott Czapski was Deputy Manager of the Foundation. In addition to Abbe and a Siftungskommissar from the Grand Ducal Saxon State Ministry in Weimar ( the first Karl Rothe, from 1899, the Privy Councillor Max Vollert was ) took Czapski more and more features in the company's management, of which his health increasingly suffered. Abbe moved beside the university curator Henry Eggeling and the jurist Eduard Rosenthal also Czapski in the drafting of the Foundation Staff Regulations, which are increasingly concerned with those issues and problems of the working class has to deal with. Work on the statute were 1895/96 completed.
Siegfried and Margaret Czapski
Czapskis life changed in 1885, when he came to know and love Margaret Koch. Margarete (actually Marguerite ) was the granddaughter of Abbes teacher, the mathematician and physicist Karl Snell. The father of Marguerite was in Paris professor at a high school and a nephew of Juliette Drouet, the companion of Victor Hugo. His wife, Ottilie Koch born Snell was frequently accompanied by their daughter with her father in Jena to visit. Ottilie was also the sister of Elsevier Abbe, the woman Abbes. It was inevitable that the 24 -year-old Czapski and the 19 -year-old Margaret Cook met. They got engaged - first secretly - after they had known each other only a few weeks. The wedding should take place until two years later after the 21st birthday of Margaret: On August 11, 1887 they married. Due to the constant stress in corporate affairs, however Czapskis health is struck again and again, despite the young married happiness.
The marriage produced eight children were born: