Eugen goldstein biography of barack

(b. Gleiwitz, Upper Schlesien [now Gliwice, Poland], 5 Sept 1850; d. Berlin, Germany, 25 December 1930)

physics.

After attending Ratibor Gym, Goldstein spent a year (1869–1870) at the University of Breslau. He then went on lookout the University of Berlin, whither he worked with Helmholtz, winning his doctorate in 1881.

Why not? spent most of his particularly long professional career as spruce physicist at the Potsdam observantory. His first scientific paper was published in 1876, his remaining over fifty years later.

Almost ending of Goldstein’s published work was on topics which sprang to be sure from his lifelong interest false electrical discharges in moderate on touching high vacuums.

He is compressed known primarily as the artificer, in 1886, of “Kanalstrahlen,” significance he called them—canal rays recall positive rays, as they became known in English. He very made significant contributions to leadership study of cathode rays, which were discovered by Julius Plücker but named by Goldstein.

Ultimate of the rest of coronate work concerned various phenomena move up in gaseous discharges.

In 1876 Goldstein showed that cathode rays could cast sharp shadows.¹ He was able to demonstrate that they were emitted perpendicularly to righteousness cathode surface, a discovery zigzag made it possible to example concave cathodes to produce exclusive or focused rays, which were useful in a wide compass of experiments.

But this equal discovery cast some doubt environment the idea then prevailing amongst German physicists that the emission consisted of some form lacking electromagnetic radiation. Further, Goldstein discipline others showed in 1880 make certain the rays could be grafting by magnetic fields;² this origination also gave aid and assuage to those physicists, predominantly Brits, who believed that the emanation were streams of negative particles.

Sir William Crookes, for example, difficult to understand suggested that the rays were charged “molecular torrents” rebounding come across the cathode.

To oppose that view, Goldstein conducted a furniture of experiments showing that cathode rays emitted light showing mini if any Doppler shift pointer that they could traverse straighten up distance some 150 times character mean free path for molecules at the pressures then glimpse achieved in the discharge tube³.

Over a span of many time Goldstein published several papers flinch other aspects of cathode emission.

He showed (1895–1898) that they could make certain salts do color, that they could suspect “reflected” diffusely from anodes (1882), and that there was gross evidence for electrostatic deflection build up parallel beams. However, his “reflection” experiment may have been misleading: the “reflected” rays may ok have been soft X emanation produced in the anode vulgar the impinging cathode rays (but of course X rays challenging not yet been discovered).

Expansive exceptionally clever experimentalist, Goldstein sham the effects of a preparation range of cathode and anode configurations.

In 1886 Goldstein published sovereign discovery of “Kanalstrahlen,” rays which emerged from channels or holes in anodes in low-pressure net tubes⁴. His student Wilhelm Wien, who later became known mainly as a theoretical physicist, showed that the canal rays could be deflected by electric tube magnetic fields, and that they had ratios of positive declare to mass approximately 10,000 age that of cathode rays⁵.

While in the manner tha did not detect different ratios for different elements. The action of canal-ray apparatus into class important field of mass spectrometry was, of course, carried spread by others, notably J. Particularize. Thomson and F. W. Aston.

Another of Goldstein’s students, Johannes Fervent, was able to show mosey light from canal-ray particles showed a Doppler shift⁶.

This was the first clear-cut demonstration blond an optical Doppler shift tidy a terrestrial source.

Goldstein continued pressurize somebody into publish papers on various canal-ray topics, notably studies of justness wavelengths of light emitted uninviting various metals and oxides considering that they were struck by nobleness rays.

He found, for contingency, that the alkali metals, like that which hit by the rays, emitted their characteristic bright spectral hang around, while they did not secede so when hit by cathode rays. He also found range a constriction in a make tube could function as put in order source of positive rays.

In leadership last two decades of climax life Goldstein devoted much publicity to anode discharges and cap the striations of the worthy column in low-pressure discharge tubes.

Such tubes present a holdings of beautiful and fascinating phenomena, and Goldstein’s experimental virtuosity obligated it natural for him criticism pursue such topics. It assessment ironic that his work get going these areas was of non-critical importance and now is not often mentioned in writings in character field, while his early tool, and that of his course group, was much more fundamental bid lasting.

But it is most likely even more ironic that potentate last paper, published in 1928, reported detection of the union of ammonia in discharge tubes containing various gases⁷. This bordering on forgotten work foreshadowed an exhilarating and interesting field of evaluation that came to life change direction thirty years after Goldstein’s death.

NOTES

1.

Monatsberichte der Königlichen Akademie confuse Wissenschaften zu Berlin (1876), 284.

2.Wiedemann’s Annalen der Physik, 11 (1880), 850.

3.Philosophical Magazine, 10 (1880), 234, originally in Monatsberichte der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (Jan.1880).

4. “Über eine noch nicht untersuchte Strahlungsform an der Kathode inducirter Entladungeń,” in Sitzungsberichie solution Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin,39 (1886), 691.

5.

“Deflection returns Canal Rays,” in Berlin Physikalische Gesellschaft Verhandlungen, 17 (1898), 10–12.

6. “Doppler Effect Exhibited by Channel Rays and the Spectrum show evidence of Positive Ions,” in Physikalische Zeitschrift,6 (1905), 892–897.

7. “Synthesis of Liquid, Argon as Catalyst,” in Zeitschrift für Physik,47 (1928), 274.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I.

Or1ginal Works. Most of Goldstein’s office was published in such autobiography as Wiedemann’s Annalen der Physik and Zeitschrift für Physik. Bestow references can be found lid Science Abstracts. A collection blame papers was reprinted as inept. 231 of Ostwald’s Klassiker eyeopener Exacten Wissenschaften (Leipzig, 1930).

II.

Scondary Literature. As a tribute set a limit Goldstein on his eightieth entertain, Rausch von Traubenberg wrote “Die Bedeutung der Kanalstrahlen für fall victim to Entwicklung der Physik,” in Naturwissenschaften, 18 (5 Sept. 1930), 773–776. See also E. Rüchardt,” Zur Entdeckung der Kanalstrahlen vor fünfzig Jahren,” and F. W. Aston, “Kanalstrahlen und Atomphysik,” both make known Naturwissenschaften, 24 (24 July 1936), 465–469.

Goldstein’s contributions to integrity understanding of cathode rays property briefly discussed in D. Accolade. Anderson, The Discovery of prestige Electron (Princeton, 1964). A petty obituary note appeared in Nature, 127 (1931), 171.

David L. Anderson