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| Ernst Abbé | |
 Ernst Karl Abbé (1840-1905)
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| Born | January 23, 1840 Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
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| Died | January 14, 1905 (aged 64) Jena, German Empire |
| Residence |  Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Fields | Physicist |
| Institutions | University of Jena |
| Alma mater | University of Göttingen University of Jena |
| Doctoral advisor | Wilhelm Weber Carl Snell |
| Doctoral students | Heinrich Friedrich Weber |
| Known for | Abbé refractometer Abbé number |
Ernst Karl Abbé (January 23, 1840 – January 14, 1905) was a German physicist and professor at the University of Jena. He was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and died in Jena. Abbé is best known for his work in optics.
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Life Work
He designed the first refractometer, which he described in a booklet published in 1874.1 He created the Abbé number, a measure of any transparent material's variation of refractive index with wavelength. Already a professor in Jena, he was hired by Carl Zeiss to improve the manufacturing process of optical instruments, which back then was largely based on trial and error. In a long and fruitful collaboration, Abbé created the mathematical foundation of microscope design, which became essential for the later preeminent position of the Zeiss company. In particular, he discovered the Abbé sine condition, a breakthrough in lens design. He also invented the Abbe condenser, used for microscope illumination.2 During his association with Carl Zeiss' microscope works, he also introduced the eight-hour workday, in remembrance of the 14-hour workday of his own father.
The crater Abbe on the Moon was named in his honour.
See also
- Abbe prism
- Abbe refractometer
- Abbe error
- Aberration in optical systems
- Calculation of glass properties
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ernst Abbe |
References
- ^ Abbé, E. (1874). Neue Apparate zur Bestimmung des Brechungs - und Zerstreuungsvermögens fester und fluüssiger Körper. Jena: Mauke's Verlag.
- ^ "Abbé, Ernst - Encyclopædia Britannica - Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service".
Further reading
- Gunther, N. (1970). "Abbe, Ernst". Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York, NY, USA: Charles Scribner's Sons) 1: pp. 6-9.
- Sella, Andrea (November 2008). "Abbé's refractometer". Chemistry World: 67. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2008/November/AbbesRefractometer.asp.
External links
- Paselk, Richard A.. "The Evolution of the Abbe Refractometer".
- Basic Principles of Refractometers (and Polarimeters}
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Ernst Karl Abbe", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
- Molecular Expressions's biography
- Works by Ernst Abbe at Project Gutenberg
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abbe, Ernst Karl |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | German Physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 23, 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 14, 1905 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Jena, Germany |
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