Ernst Heinrich Weber facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernst Heinrich Weber
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Ernst Heinrich Weber
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| Born | 24 June 1795 Wittenberg, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
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| Died | 26 January 1878 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | Leipzig University (MD, 1815) |
| Known for | Weber–Fechner law |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Experimental psychology |
| Institutions | Leipzig University |
| Doctoral advisor | Ernst Chladni |
| Other academic advisors | Johann Christian Rosenmüller Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert Johann Christian August Clarus |
| Notable students |
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Ernst Heinrich Weber (born June 24, 1795 – died January 26, 1878) was a German doctor. He is known as one of the people who helped start experimental psychology. This is the study of the mind using scientific experiments. Weber was a very important person in understanding how our bodies work (physiology) and how our minds work (psychology).
His studies on how we feel things, like touch, and his careful way of doing experiments, opened new doors for future scientists. Ernst Weber grew up in a family of academics. His father was a professor at the University of Wittenberg. Ernst became a doctor, focusing on anatomy (the study of body structure) and physiology (the study of how the body works). His two younger brothers, Wilhelm and Eduard, also became important scientists. Ernst became a professor at the University of Leipzig and worked there until he retired.
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Early Life and Education
Ernst Heinrich Weber was born on June 24, 1795, in Wittenberg, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. His father, Michael Weber, was a theology professor. From a young age, Ernst became interested in physics and science. He was greatly influenced by Ernst Chladni, a physicist known as the "father of acoustics" (the study of sound).
Weber finished high school in Meissen. In 1811, he began studying medicine at the University of Wittenberg. He earned his medical degree (MD) in 1815 from the University of Leipzig. Because of the Napoleonic wars, Weber had to move from Wittenberg. In 1817, he became an assistant at a medical clinic in Leipzig. The next year, in 1818, he became a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Leipzig. By 1821, he was in charge of human anatomy at the university.
Weber's first direct work in psychology came in 1834. He wrote about how we sense touch in a book called De Pulsu, Resorptione, Auditu et Tactu.
Key Contributions to Psychology
Ernst Weber made several important discoveries that shaped the field of psychology. He often worked with his brothers, Wilhelm and Eduard, and with Gustav Theodor Fechner.
Just-Noticeable Difference
Weber studied something called the just-noticeable difference (often shortened to jnd). This is the smallest difference between two things that you can actually notice. For example, if you are holding a weight, the jnd is the smallest amount you need to add to it for you to feel that it's heavier.
Weber explained that when we compare things, we don't notice the exact difference between them. Instead, we notice the ratio of that difference to the original size of the things. This means we can tell the relative difference, not the exact difference. This ratio is known as the Weber fraction.
Weber first studied the jnd using weights. He found that people could tell the difference between two weights if they differed by about 8-10%. So, if you held a 100-gram block, a second block would need to weigh at least 108 grams for you to notice it was different.
He also thought that this constant ratio applied to all our senses, but the ratio would be different for each sense. For example, to tell the difference between two lines, they need to differ by at least 1%. For musical pitch, the sound vibrations need to differ by at least 0.6%. This shows that for every sense, a certain increase in intensity is needed to notice a change.
Weber's Law Explained
Weber's Law was named by Gustav Fechner. It states that changes in what we sense (like light, sound, or touch) can be linked mathematically to changes in the actual physical world.
It can be written as: 
is the smallest amount of extra stimulation needed to notice a difference.
is the amount of stimulation already there.
is a constant number, which is different for each sense (like sight or hearing).
Weber's Law works well for most situations. However, it doesn't work when the stimulus is extremely weak or extremely strong. Fechner later built on Weber's Law to create Fechner's Law. Fechner's Law suggested a more complex relationship between stimulus intensity and how we perceive it. Fechner also developed better ways to measure these differences, making the results more accurate.
Pioneering Experimental Psychology
Weber's work with his brothers and Gustav Fechner covered many areas. They studied the central nervous system, how we hear, the brain's structure and function, and blood circulation. A large part of their research was on sensory physiology and psychology. Here are some of Weber's contributions to experimental psychology:
Experimental Wave Theory
Weber studied how waves move in liquids and flexible tubes. This helped him understand things like blood flow.
Hydrodynamics and Blood Flow
In 1821, Weber and his brother Wilhelm started experiments on how fluids move. This research was the first detailed look at how blood circulates in the body. In 1827, Weber made another important discovery. He explained how the elasticity of blood vessels helps blood move continuously from the main artery (aorta) to smaller vessels.
Two-Point Threshold Technique
Weber developed a technique to map how sensitive different parts of the body are to touch. He used a compass to do this. He would set the compass points at different distances apart. Then, he would touch a person's skin to see at what distance the person felt two separate points instead of just one. This helped show which areas of the body are more sensitive.
Weber also explored other ideas about sensation. One was the terminal threshold. This is the highest intensity of a sensation a person can feel before they can't detect it anymore.
Weber's Illusion
Weber's Illusion describes how we perceive two points. If you move two points over a less sensitive area of the skin, they might seem to spread apart. If you move them over a very sensitive area, they might seem to come closer together.
Weber's use of careful experiments, precise measurements, and his focus on sensory psychology helped make experimental psychology a recognized field. His work gave new ideas for other scientists in the 1800s to explore.
Later Career and Legacy
In 1817, Weber became a lecturer in Psychology at Leipzig University. The next year, he became a Professor of Anatomy. He held this position for many years. Later in his life, he became a Professor of Psychology.
In his later years, Weber did fewer experiments himself. However, he remained very interested in how our senses work. Ernst Heinrich Weber retired from the University of Leipzig in 1871. He continued to work with his brother, Eduard. Their work on how nerves stimulate and control muscles led to new ideas about how the body can inhibit (or stop) responses. Ernst Weber passed away in 1878 in Leipzig, Germany.
Weber is often called a pioneer or the "father" of experimental psychology. He was one of the first to do real psychological experiments that were scientifically sound. While many psychologists at the time mostly worked from their desks, Weber was actively doing experiments. He would change only one thing at a time in his experiments to get very accurate results. This way of working paved the way for psychology to become a true experimental science. It also led to the development of even more precise research methods.
One of Weber's biggest influences was on Gustav Fechner. Weber became a psychology lecturer at Leipzig University the same year Fechner enrolled there. Weber's work on sensation inspired Fechner to continue this research and develop Weber's Law further. At the time of his sensation experiments, Weber might not have fully realized how important his work would be for understanding how our senses respond to the world around us.
See also
In Spanish: Ernst Heinrich Weber para niños
- Weberian apparatus
- Weber test
