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Gustav Kirchhoff was a German physicist who, with the chemist Robert Bunsen, firmly established the theory of spectrum analysis (a technique for chemical analysis by analyzing the light emitted by a heated material), which Kirchhoff applied to determine the composition of the Sun.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Kirchhoff was a mathematical physicist best known for his laws on the flow of electric current.
- Overview
- Early years
- Education
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Gustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who made significant contributions to the fundamental understanding of black-body radiation emitted by heated objects, spectroscopy, and electrical circuits.
Gustav Kirchhoff was born on 12 March 1824 in Konigsberg, East Prussia where his father, Friedrich Kirchhoff, worked as a law councilor. Friedrich Kirchhoff had a very strong sense of duty to the state of Prussia. His mother was Johanna Henriette Wittke. The Kirchhoff family belonged to an intellectual community of Konigsberg that was flourishing a...
Gustav Kirchhoff excelled in school and given his academic aptitude, his career flowed naturally. He was educated in Konigsberg at the Albertus University, which was founded by the first Duke of Prussia, Albert in 1544. Kirchhoff attended mathematics-physics seminars from 1843 to 1846 held by Franz Neumann and these had a positive influence on him.
While he was studying under Neumann, Kirchhoff made the first of many outstanding research contributions that were related to electrical current. In 1845, he announced laws (later to be known as Kirchhoffs Laws) which allowed the calculation of currents, voltages and resistances in electrical circuits that had multiple loops. This further extended ...
He graduated from university in the year 1847 and moved to Berlin, working as a Privatdozent (an unpaid teaching position). The economic and social conditions were rather fragile in the German Confederation at that time. Fortunately, Kirchhoff was in a privileged position and was unaffected by the events of the state so he pressed on with his chose...
In 1847 he gave a correct understanding of how the theory of electric currents and electrostatics should be combined. His best known work is the four volume Vorlesungen über mathematische Physik (Lectures on mathematical physics), published in 1876.
Kirchhoff was appointed a professorship in 1850 in Breslau and he met Robert Bunsen who was working there temporarily. They became lifelong friends. Bunsen returned to the University of Heidelberg in 1852 and he arranged for Kirchhoff to obtain a position at Heidelberg as well, accepting the position as professor of physics.
Kirchhoff and Bunsen used spectrum analysis to study the composition of the sun and in the course of their investigations they discovered the elements cesium (1860) and rubidium (1861). With the use of a spectroscope they had invented together, they managed to identify these two alkali metals that the world had no previous knowledge of. Their disco...
Kirchhoff was the first to explain the dark lines in the suns spectrum stating that they were caused by cooler gases in the suns atmosphere absorbing particular wavelengths of sunlight. These dark-lined spectra are now called absorption spectra.
Kirchhoff also proposed his law of thermal radiation which was a general statement equating emission and absorption in heated objects.
In 1857, Gustav Kirchhoff married Clara Richelot who was the daughter of Friedrich Jules Richelot, his mathematics professor in Konigsberg. Together, he and Clara had two daughters and three sons. Clara died in 1869 and he was left to raise his children. This was made all the more challenging since he had a disability that forced him to use crutche...
Kirchhoff had numerous offers from other universities but he was quite happy and contented with Heidelberg so he turned down all offers. However, his health continued to fail him and he realized that the experimental side of the subject that he so loved was becoming impossible for him to accomplish. In 1875, he returned to Berlin where he became ch...
He died on 17 October in 1887 aged 63 and his final resting place was in St. Matthaus Kirchhoff Cemetary in Berlin. His grave is just a few meters away from those of the Brothers Grimm.
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (March 12, 1824 – October 17, 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission and absorption of radiation. His discoveries helped set the stage for the advent of quantum mechanics.
May 23, 2018 · The German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887) is best remembered for his pioneering work in spectroscopy that permitted investigation of the chemical composition of stars. Gustav Kirchhoff was born on March 12, 1824, in Königsberg, East Prussia, the son of a lawyer.
(Physicist) Gustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who made major contributions to the fields of thermochemistry and electrochemistry. His findings helped increase the fundamental understanding of black-body radiation, electrical circuits, and spectroscopy.
Mar 12, 2019 · On March 12, 1824, German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff was born. He is best known for his contribution to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. Education and Academic Career.
