Gustav Ludwig Hertz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gustav Ludwig Hertz
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Hertz in 1925
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| Born | 22 July 1887 |
| Died | 30 October 1975 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | Humboldt University of Berlin |
| Known for | Franck–Hertz experiment |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1925) Max Planck Medal (1951) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Halle University Technical University of Berlin |
| Doctoral advisor | Heinrich Rubens Max Planck |
| Doctoral students | Heinz Pose |
| Notes | |
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Father of Carl Hellmuth Hertz, co-inventor of echocardiography
Grandfather of Hans Hertz, inventor of the metal-jet-anode microfocus X-ray tube |
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Gustav Ludwig Hertz (born 22 July 1887 – died 30 October 1975) was a German experimental physicist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his important work on how electrons collide with gas atoms. He was also the nephew of another famous physicist, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.
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About Gustav Hertz
Gustav Hertz was born in Hamburg, Germany. His father, Gustav Theodor Hertz, was a lawyer. Gustav went to several universities to study physics, including the Georg-August University of Göttingen, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the Humboldt University of Berlin. He earned his doctorate degree in 1911.
From 1911 to 1914, Hertz worked as an assistant at the University of Berlin. During this time, he teamed up with James Franck. They did experiments on how electrons bounce off gas particles. These experiments are now called the Franck–Hertz experiments. Their discoveries were so important that they both received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1925.
During World War I, Hertz served in the military starting in 1914. He was seriously wounded in 1915. After the war, in 1917, he returned to the University of Berlin. In 1920, he took a job as a research physicist at a company called Philips in Eindhoven, where he worked until 1925.
His Work and Challenges
In 1925, Gustav Hertz became a professor and director of the Physics Institute at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. Later, in 1928, he moved to the Technical University of Berlin to lead the Physics Institute there. While working at the Technical University, he developed a new way to separate different types of atoms (called isotopes) using gas.
However, in the 1930s, the political situation in Germany changed. Because of unfair rules, Hertz was forced to leave his job in 1934. This happened because his family had a Jewish background, even though they had converted to another religion many years before. After leaving the university, he took a job at Siemens, a large company, where he directed a research lab. He continued his work on atomic physics and ultrasound. He stayed at Siemens until 1945.
Time in the Soviet Union
Gustav Hertz was worried about his safety in Germany. He and three other scientists made a plan to work together if they had to leave Germany. They wanted to keep their research going and protect themselves.
Joining the Soviet Project
In April 1945, near the end of World War II, Hertz and his colleagues were taken to the Soviet Union. Hertz was put in charge of a special institute called Institute G. Here, he led research on separating isotopes using gas. This was important for developing nuclear technology. Other German scientists also worked on similar projects in the Soviet Union.
Research and Awards
By the late 1940s, many German scientists were working at these institutes. In 1949, Hertz and some of his colleagues were asked to help with uranium enrichment at a plant in Russia.
In 1951, Gustav Hertz was awarded a State Stalin Prize for his work. In the same year, he and James Franck also received the Max Planck Medal, a major physics award in Germany. Hertz remained in the Soviet Union until 1955.
Return to East Germany
When Gustav Hertz returned from the Soviet Union in 1955, he became a professor at the University of Leipzig. He also served as the chairman of the Physical Society of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1955 to 1967. He was an honorary chairman until his death in 1975.
Family Life
Gustav Hertz was related to other famous scientists. His uncle was Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, who discovered radio waves. Gustav married Ellen Dihlmann in 1919. They had two sons, Carl Helmut Hertz and Johannes Heinrich Hertz, both of whom also became physicists.
Scientific Groups
Gustav Hertz was a member of many important scientific groups around the world. He was part of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin, the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, and the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian Academies of Sciences. He was also a foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
See also
In Spanish: Gustav Hertz para niños
