Georg Wilhelm Richmann facts for kids
Georg Wilhelm Richmann was a smart Russian scientist who studied physics. He was born in 1711 and sadly died in 1753. Richmann was one of the first people to study electricity and how heat works. He became famous for his work, but he also died in a very unusual accident during an electricity experiment.
Early Life and Education
Georg Wilhelm Richmann was born on July 22, 1711. He was born in a city called Pernau, which is now part of Estonia. His father passed away before he was born.
Richmann started his studies in Reval, which is also in Estonia today. Later, he went to Germany to study at universities in Halle and Jena. He was very dedicated to learning about science.
What Did Richmann Do?
After finishing his education, Richmann became a physics professor. He worked at the university in St. Petersburg, Russia. This was a big center for science at the time.
He studied how heat moves and changes things. This area of science is called thermodynamics. He also looked into how electricity works.
One of his biggest achievements was creating a way to calculate heat changes. This method is now known as Richmann's law. It helped other scientists understand how different things mix and share heat.
Richmann also taught children of important people, like Count Andrei Osterman. He was elected a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1741. This was a great honor for a scientist.
How Did Richmann Die?
Georg Wilhelm Richmann died in a very rare accident on August 6, 1753. He was in St. Petersburg and was studying electricity from a thunderstorm. He wanted to measure how an insulated rod reacted to the storm.
He was at a meeting when he heard thunder. He quickly went home with his engraver. An engraver is someone who makes pictures by carving them. Richmann wanted to record what happened during his experiment.
While he was doing the experiment, something strange happened. A bright ball of light, called ball lightning, appeared. It hit Richmann's head. There was a loud explosion, like a small cannon. The engraver was knocked out, and the door frame of the room was broken. The door was even torn off its hinges!
This event was the first time ball lightning was ever written down. Richmann was also the first person known to have died while doing experiments with electricity. His death was a sad reminder of how dangerous early science experiments could be.
