Adolf Schmidt (geophysicist)

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Adolf Schmidt

Adolf Friedrich Carl Schmidt (* July 23, 1860 in Breslau ; † October 17, 1944 in Gotha ) was a German geophysicist who did theoretical and practical fundamentals in the field of geomagnetism and the Geomagnetic Observatory in Potsdam (from 1930 Adolf-Schmidt -Observatory in Niemegk ) 1902–1928 to world renown . He was a pacifist and a pioneer of the international Esperanto language in Germany.

Life

Studied and taught in Wroclaw

Adolf Schmidt, the son of an engineer, studied mathematics , physics , English and French at the university in his hometown after graduating from high school in Breslau . In these subjects he obtained the qualification to teach the upper level at higher educational institutions. In 1882 he was charged with a mathematical work on the theory of Cremona 'rule transformations, especially those 4th order, summa cum laude Doctor of Philosophy PhD .

He completed his probationary period as a teacher from 1882 at the Friedrichsgymnasium in Breslau, then he worked as an assistant teacher at the secondary school in Breslau.

High school teacher and free geophysicist in Gotha

The Ernestinum grammar school in Gotha commemorates its famous teachers Adolf Schmidt and Kurd Laßwitz with memorial plaques at the entrance.

From October 1884 Adolf Schmidt was a teacher, from January 1, 1893 senior teacher at the Ernestinum Gotha grammar school . He taught math, English and French.

In his free time, however, he devoted himself to researching and describing geomagnetism, which he made his life's work.

While still a student in Breslau, Adolf Schmidt took part in the analysis of geomagnetic data obtained during the International Polar Year 1882/1883.

In Gotha the libraries of the high school and offered him publishing house of Justus Perthes a good basis for his studies.

Two fundamental works on the recalculation of the geomagnetic potential made him known internationally and resulted in his being invited to Bristol in 1898 to take part in the international conference on geomagnetism and atmospheric electricity of the British Association for the Advancement of Science , where the International Earth Magnetic is also held Commission was established.

This invitation was the reason to appoint him as a professor at the age of 38 before the conference .

Scientific career in Potsdam and Berlin

From 1890 to 1893 , Adolf Schmidt worked in the Royal Meteorological Observatory on Telegrafenberg Potsdam from 1902 to 1928. Today it is the Süring House in the Albert Einstein Science Park .

The above-mentioned and other scientific work qualified him to succeed Max Eschenhagen (1858–1901) as head of the Magnetic Observatory of the Meteorological Institute in Potsdam in 1902 , which he headed until his retirement in 1928. In 1909 he became head of the Meteorological-Magnetic Observatory Potsdam and in 1927 its director.

In Potsdam, Adolf Schmidt successfully continued his theoretical work on geomagnetism. During his time in Potsdam he published about 130 papers.

Under the heading "Geophysics at the Telegrafenberg site", the Helmholtz Center at GFZ Potsdam (Andreas Schulze and Wigor Webers) characterizes Schmidt's work in retrospect as follows:

“In 1890 a continuous series of measurements of absolute and relative measurements of the magnetic elements began. With the takeover of the magnetic department in 1902 by privy councilor Prof. Dr. Adolf Schmidt began the heyday of geomagnetism, with device construction and his own, to this day, worldwide research in all its sub-areas. "

The forest house, an iron-free wooden construction with a base made of extremely difficult to magnetize Triassic sandstone, was commissioned in 1897 as an absolute house for the absolute measurement of the intensity of the earth's magnetic field, and belonged to the Geomagnetic Upper Vatorium under the direction of Adolf Schmidt. Today it is used for paleomagnetics in the Albert Einstein Science Park .

Schmidt is probably the first who, on the basis of material from various observatories , showed the real existence of the equatorial ring current in the ionosphere and was able to provide data on its intensity.

He also investigated the tidal oscillations in the ionosphere and made mathematical studies on the transformation of the spherical harmonics into different coordinate systems .

The geophysicist Hans-Joachim Linthe, Schmidt's successor as head of the observatory in the 2000s, attests to him: "He was highly talented in all fields of geomagnetic research, experimental methods, statistics and mathematical methods."

Linthe explains further: “Eschenhagen introduced 5 categories (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to characterize the so-called geomagnetic activity. Adolf Schmidt took up this idea, which he recognized as correct, and improved it by reducing the categories to three (0, 1, 2). They were adopted as international character numbers at the international congress in Innsbruck in 1905 and are still in use today. The idea of ​​measures of activity finally led to the Potsdam code number K, which was introduced by Julius Bartels and adopted internationally in Washington in 1939. "

The magnetic variation house on Telegrafenberg (Potsdam), built in 1888 without ferrous building materials such as nails, bricks and cement from interlocking sandstone blocks, was part of the Geomagnetic Upper Vatorium Potsdam. Today, paleomagnetism is being studied here in the Albert Einstein Science Park.

Schmidt, constantly striving for higher measurement accuracy and continuous registration of the values, developed scientific instruments for use in the observatory and had them built. They often had an impact far beyond the Potsdam observatory.

He modified Lloyd's scales for use in the field. He developed this Schmidt geomagnetic field balance, a quartz cutting balance, in 1907 in cooperation with Otto Toepfer's precision engineering workshop in Potsdam. Its further industrial development as a thread balance was produced in larger numbers in the Askania works and served the geologists in exploring ore deposits.

For his special method of determining the parameters of magnets , Schmidt developed a special theodolite , Schmidt's normal theodolite , in which “the deflecting effect of the rod on the needle is not determined at different distances, but rather the magnet lies on a turntable and rotated through defined angles can be."

He constructed a special pantograph for drawing magnetograms .

The work of the observatory also gained practical importance for polar research. In 1902 Roald Amundsen came to Schmidt in Potsdam to consult with him in preparation for the magnetic measurements during the expedition with the " Gjøa " through the Northwest Passage 1903-1907. The astronomer Erich Przybyllok , who was responsible for the geomagnetic observations of the Second German South Polar Expedition 1911-13 , was instructed in observation technology by Adolf Schmidt at the Potsdam observatory and used his instruments to measure vertical insity. In 1925, Schmidt corresponded with Fridtjof Nansen about aerial navigation with magnetic compasses in polar regions. In 1928 the airship pioneer Umberto Nobile used the Potsdam double compass on his polar flight with the airship "Italia", which Friedrich Bidlingsmaier (1875-1914) had designed based on the Potsdam model.

As early as 1903/4, with the introduction of the electric towing operation on the Teltow Canal for the observatory in Potsdam, the problem of the influence of external interference on the geomagnetic measurements by stray currents arose. This was exacerbated in 1907 by the electrification of the Potsdam horse-drawn railway , so that Schmidt had an auxiliary observatory built according to his plan in Seddin with funds from the Teltow Canal Society and the city of Potsdam, to which the variation registration was outsourced. The base values ​​were further derived from the measurements in Potsdam.

When it became clear that the electrification of the Berlin S-Bahn would also reach Potsdam and he was informed in response to his request that direct current with rail return would be used, and that electrification was also planned in the Seddiner area, he planned the complete relocation of the observatory a new place.

During the last two years of service until his retirement in 1928, Schmidt was busy looking for the new location, designing the observatory to be built and moving.

A forest near the Rabenstein castle ruins and a private property in the municipality of Rädigke were shortlisted. However, the council of the city of Niemegk was able to convince with its argument that the observatory can be connected to the city's gas, water and electricity supply and that the city would cover part of the costs.

The geophysicist Adolf Best, director of the observatory in the 1990s, explains: “Schmidt designed all the plans for this facility. His designs were exemplary for magnetic measurement technology, and many points are still valid today. "

Sign at the entrance of the Adolf Schmidt Observatory for Geomagnetism 2010, which is part of the Potsdam Geo Research Center.

When the new observatory in Niemegk was officially opened in his presence on July 23, 1930 for Adolf Schmidt's 70th birthday, the Prussian Ministry of Culture and Science gave it the name "Adolf Schmidt Observatory" at the request of the director of the Meteorological Institute .

Today the Adolf Schmidt Observatory is part of the global network of observatories that monitor the earth's magnetic field (Intermagnet program).

Schmidt continued to research and publish even during his retirement, despite being blind (since 1922). A look at the bibliography of his publications confirms this and also shows that although his main focus was on geomagnetism throughout his life, his research also enriched other sciences, such as meteorology, astronomy, geology and mathematics, and even musicology. Linthe mentions two works on the numerical description of the intervals in music, which developed some new aspects of the theory of harmony and which appeared in the "Zeitschrift für Physik" in 1920 and 1921.

He held his teaching position at the Berlin University until 1931 and thus combined more than 20 years of research and teaching in the field of geophysics.

On September 29, 1907, he was appointed to the philosophy faculty with the task of representing geophysics as an honorary professor. The geophysics professorship was created in connection with the reoccupation of the professorship for meteorology, which had been completed by the death of Wilhelm von Bezold (1837-1907) and which Gustav Hellmann (1854-1939) took over.

In the winter semester of 1907/08, Schmidt read, which is probably not surprising, on the topic: “General theory of geomagnetism and overview of seismic events ”.

Rudolf Lasswitz, the son of the Gotha writer and high school professor Kurd Lasswitz (1848-1910) wrote in the Berliner Tageblatt in spring 1909 about Schmidt's appointment:

“He is the type of German scholar in the good sense, because he doesn't bury himself behind his books, but is also in the middle of political life. A whole man full of genuine liberalism, he is averse to any kind of affair; he really has civic pride in front of royal thrones. When someone suggested that he come somewhere for an audience, he is said to have said: If the prince wants to get to know me, he must come and see me at my work. I'm nothing in tails ...

Lean, quite tall with conspicuously angular movements that seem to be geometrically calculated with a ruler and compass, in a cinnamon brown suit, this is how the figure of Adolf Schmidt wanders over the large bridge in Potsdam today, just as she passed our house in Gotha years ago ...

It is a pleasure that this upright man has been appointed to the chair in Berlin in spite of all kinds of opposing difficulties. "

Since the Schmidt lived retirement again in Gotha, where he died 1944th He was cremated in the crematorium of the Gotha main cemetery . His urn is still in the columbarium there today .

Schmidt's social commitment

Languages ​​/ Esperanto / Interlinguistics

As a student in Breslau while observing and calculating geomagnetic elements during the First International Polar Year 1882/83, Schmidt learned that geomagnetic investigations required coordinated and earth-spanning research in many countries.

As a scientist, he maintained many international contacts, exchanged extensive letters and pursued scientific work in other countries.

In the "Archive of Earth Magnetism" Schmidt published "a uniform representation of the geomagnetic measurements of numerous observatories of that time". In the first issue z. B. appeared representations of the observatories of Pavlovsk , Irkutsk , Greenwich , Washington, Lisbon , Potsdam, Bombay , Batavia and others. a.

Schmidt was fluent in English and French, including Greek and Latin . He was able to read original Russian publications. His estate includes letters and offprints in French, English and Esperanto. Foreign language publications by Schmidt appeared in English and Esperanto.

The geophysicist Julius Bartels recalled:

“Under Schmidt, Potsdam became one of the leading centers of geomagnetic work in Europe. Although he never left Europe, he was personally known to many foreign colleagues who visited him to exchange ideas in his small study in Potsdam or in his hospitable house in Gotha. Schmidt gave generous advice and many research trips, including Amundsen's trips, relied on Potsdam for its magnetism program, its instruments, standardization and discussions. "

Schmidt learned Esperanto in 1898 and vehemently campaigned for its spread.

Adolf Schmidt and the later Nobel Peace Prize laureate Alfred Hermann Fried (1864–1921) prepared the establishment of a Berlin Esperantist group in 1902 which, after Fried had already left Berlin, Adolf Schmidt in 1903 together with the Swiss journalist Jean Borel (1868–1946) , founded by the grammar school director and nature conservation pioneer Wilhelm Wetekamp (1859–1945) and other Esperanto friends under the patronage of the German Peace Society (DFG). Schmidt was chairman of the group (1903-1908) and from 1908 honorary chairman.

Schmidt gave numerous lectures to make Esperanto known and in 1905 led the first course for Esperanto teachers. From the group led by Schmidt came the initiative for a German Esperanto magazine (“Germana Esperantisto”, from 1905) and for the establishment of a German Esperanto organization (Germana Esperanto-Societo 1906, since 1909 the German Esperanto Association ).

He led international events such as the one in the Berlin Town Hall in 1908 with participants in the Esperanto World Congress in Dresden who had come to Berlin for a post -congress , among them leading Esperanto speakers from different countries, including the founder of the language Ludwig Zamenhof (1859-1917) . Schmidt translated the speeches into German for the public. He also went with an international delegation to see the Minister of Education, Ludwig Holle (1855–1909).

In 1906 he invited Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932), the founder of physical chemistry and later Nobel Prize winner , to give a lecture at the Berlin School of Commerce in order to spread Esperanto more widely in Berlin's academic and commercial circles . The lecture in which he dealt with the inaugural address of the rector of the Berlin University Hermann Diels (1848–1929) was published. Ostwald rejected the Dielsian solution to international communication problems, the command of the three languages ​​English, French and German, and pleaded for a neutral language to guarantee the equality of languages. He explained the advantages of an artificially created language.

Schmidt also published a paper in 1906 in which he dealt with Diels. It was important to him to state: “The creator of this language invented almost nothing about it. Essentially, he only highlighted the great treasure trove, which is growing from day to day, of what the cultural languages ​​already have in common in terms of content and formal elements, and designed them uniformly according to simple principles. ”Among the advantages of Esperanto, he emphasizes the“ unlimited ability to develop ”. And he expresses that he has a socio-political goal in common with Esperanto: "... the ideal of a distant future that foresees and prepares the unity of the human race based on the highest development of its individual formations".

Schmidt had to deal with Ostwald fundamentally from 1907, as he, as chairman of the committee of a "delegation to choose an international auxiliary language", of which Schmidt had been a member since 1903, introduced a reformed Esperanto ( Ido ) after the meetings in Paris . Schmidt agreed with Wilhelm Foerster (1832–1921) and Ludwig Zamenhof to defend the stability and calm development of Esperanto. He considered the Lingva Komitato (International Language Committee of the Esperanto Language Community), to which he had been a member since it was founded in 1905, and the Esperanto World Congress in Dresden in 1908 as responsible for possible changes in Esperanto. In an exchange of letters with Ostwald he tried to come to an agreement, but Ostwald decided under the influence of Louis Couturat (1868-1914) for Ido.

1907/1908 Schmidt was president of the Internacia Scienca Asocio Esperantista (International Esperantist Science Association), which still exists today . One of his successors in the office of chairman of ISAE was Wilhelm Förster in 1912, with whom he connected his scientific work, Esperanto and pacifist engagement.

In 1911 Schmidt participated in the establishment of the German Academic Esperanto Association. He opened the 1st Bundestag in Dresden and, as chairman, formulated the "permanent main task ... to work scientifically for and through Esperanto".

Schmidt published scientific papers in Esperanto and used Esperanto to communicate with specialist colleagues. Some learned Esperanto from him in Potsdam and were encouraged to publish in this language, e. B. the Japanese meteorologist Wasaburo Oishi (1874–1950), director of the Japanese Aerological Institute, who learned Esperanto from Schmidt in Potsdam in 1912.

At the opening of the VI. At the 1911 German Esperanto Congress in Lübeck , Schmidt gave the keynote lecture entitled Esperanto and Science .

In the twenties he advocated the use of Esperanto in the League of Nations and was a member of the Esperanto Committee of the German League for the League of Nations .

Dissemination of scientific knowledge

Together with the astronomer Paul Harzer (1857–1932) and the high school director and amateur astronomer Carl Rohrbach (1861–1932), Schmidt founded a local association of the Association of Friends of Astronomy and Cosmic Physics in Gotha. The association founded by Wilhelm Foerster held its annual meeting in Gotha in 1894. Harzer worked as an astronomer at the Gotha observatory from 1887 to 1896 . After Harzer's departure, Rohrbach managed the Gotha observatory until 1906. In 1904 he had a private observatory built on his property with a four-inch refractor and dome. It is still part of Gotha's cityscape today.

The “Wednesday Society”, initiated by Schmidt's colleague Kurd Laßwitz as early as 1884, also served to popularize the sciences. Adolf Schmidt was a member of it from 1896 to 1902. Here he gave lectures, of which the 21 topics have been handed down. It went z. For example, the “ deviation of the compass”, the “observation of meteors ”, the “ energy balance of the earth ”, the “importance of south polar research”, “the latest ideas about electricity” and Esperanto.

Peace movement

In the Gotha Columbarium, Bertha von Suttner's urn can be seen in the center on a pillar and the plaque above Adolf Schmidt's urn to the left behind it.

His involvement in the German Peace Society (DFG) also began in Gotha. He joined her in 1894 and was a co-founder and member of the Gotha local group from 1896, and an honorary member from 1904.

Adolf Schmidt saw himself as a pacifist. He was in close contact with other members of the DFG. Quite a few of them were scientists and Esperantists like him.

At the general assembly held in Gotha in 1902, he was elected to the board.

The outbreak of the First World War hit him very hard. After the war, Schmidt was disappointed that the foundations for a lasting peace had not been laid.

In 1921 he wrote to the board of directors of the German Peace Society: “It is difficult for me to leave an association to which I have belonged almost since it was founded - since 1894 - and to whose goals I have strived to do my best, at a time in which has not yet meant a recommendation for an official, as it is now. ”Schmidt opposes“ the most one-sided party politics ”and explains:“ In my opinion, it is the main task of the peace society to spread the idea of ​​peace in all strata of the people To educate people about peace and the will for peace ... "

Schmidt now warned of the danger of another war. In a letter to the board of directors of the German League for Human Rights , of which he is a member, he made it clear in 1922 "that he wished for nothing more than the realization of the goal you strive for of a sincere understanding between the German and the French people." , but the reality is “The two peoples do not appear as equal comrades who have finally learned from the terrible experience of these years what they could have learned from the experiences of the pacifists. They do not shake hands with each other to join forces to eliminate the consequences of the war; they do not recognize as their most important and urgent task that they are building new temples for mankind out of the rubble created in blind delusion. "

Schmidt opposes blaming the German people with sole war guilt and placing the entire burden of eliminating the consequences of the war on the German working people. He hopes for the understanding people on both sides.

The contacts with his peace and Esperanto friends did not break off throughout his life. But fascism and war overshadow Schmidt's last years.

One year after his death in 1945 Vice-Rector a. D. Walter Koch Schmidt in a newspaper article:

“As a young teacher, Adolf Schmidt became one of the most popular people here at the grammar school from 1884-1902, especially since he was not only concerned with secondary school, technical scholarship and questions of class, but used his heart, brain and hand to help people and animals, their existence to improve and to promote them in the struggle for life ... "

He concludes with the legacy:

"Local and foreign old friends and like-minded people try to revive the man, his work and his spirit after the suppression of everything that was international, international and humane."

Personal

Adolf Schmidt had three siblings: Agnes Schmidt, the writer Maria Schmidt (1862-1924) and the author Reinhold Schmidt (1867-1948). Adolf Schmidt was the oldest, remained unmarried and looked after his siblings. His sisters ran his hospitable house in Gotha even during his scientific work in Berlin and Potsdam, when he had his official residence in the main building of the Meteorological-Magnetic Observatory on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam.

Part of his handwritten estate and the estate of his family are kept in the Gotha Research Library ( Friedenstein Castle ).

It concerns the legacy of the nursery owner Marie Marschall from Gotha (d. July 1, 1978), whose sister Elise (d. 1939) was married to Schmidt's brother Reinhold. It was established in 1978 as the estate of Adolf Schmidt - Chart. A 2170 - 1978 taken over by the Gotha Research Library.

In the publication by Roob and Schmidt there is an overview of the handwritten estate in Gotha, to which 1. scientific manuscripts belong, including lecture notes from the student days (partly shorthand) and scientific notes, 2. letters, e.g. T. own, 370 letters from z. Some well-known personalities and 3. manuscripts, including biographical and diary entries. There are also Esperanto poems by Reinhold Schmidt.

But the archive of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin also has a "Schmidt estate", since Schmidt was an academician. These are files with a length of 0.25 m, which are made accessible by a card index.

Other geophysicists about Adolf Schmidt

Louis Agricola Bauer (1865–1932), head of the North American Magnetic Service and editor-in-chief of the journal "Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity":

"In my opinion there is no one in Germany who is more competent to fill the post of director of your magnetic observatory, nor anyone around the world in whom magnetists have more confidence."

Wigor Webers (born 1940), scientist at the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam:

“Today, geomagnetism is an integral part of geophysical research on an international scale. Adolf Schmidt's pioneering work has made internationally recognized contributions through which he has set himself a lasting monument. "

Adolf Best, head of the Geomagnetic Observatory in the 1990s:

"Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt, probably one of the most important German geophysicists and worthy of being in the same breath as A. v. To be named Humboldt and CF Gauss when it comes to geomagnetism ... "

Julius Bartels, Head of the Geomagnetic Observatory in the 1930s and 1940s:

"His extensive knowledge, his keen intelligence and his remarkable ability to express himself with precision on difficult topics made him an excellent partner in private conversations as well as during consultations at scientific conferences."

Gerhard Fanselau (1904–1982), employed at the Niemegk Observatory since 1928 and head of the Geomagnetic Observatory 1945–1969:

“Three qualities determined Adolf Schmidt's life: cleverness, modesty and sincerity. His cleverness made life easy for him, while the latter two characteristics brought him some disadvantages. "

Awards and honors

Afterlife as a literary figure

Two science fiction authors chose Adolf Schmidt as a model for fictional characters.

Hans Dominik (1872-1945) was a student at the Ernestinum grammar school and wrote in his memoirs about his teacher: “Another interesting personality on the Gotha teaching staff was Dr. Adolf Schmidt, who many decades later served me as a model for the “long Schmidt” in my books “A star fell from the sky” and “Land of fire and water”. At the Ernestinum he taught modern languages ​​and the natural sciences; But every free minute he devoted to the study of geomagnetism ... None of us Tertians and Seconds would have suspected a future scientific capacity of international renown in the somewhat clumsy looking long Schmidt. "

The "long Schmidt" is presented in Dominik's novels as a geologist and expert in the field of geomagnetism, with his own theories, argumentative, very scientist and capacity in his field.

Memorial plaque for Kurd Laßwitz at the Ernestinum grammar school.

Kurd Laßwitz was Schmidt's older colleague. He taught mathematics and physics at the Ernestinum Gymnasium (since 1876). The work in the Wednesday society and the pacifist sentiment linked both. His first great science fiction novel " On two planets " established his fame in 1897 as one of the fathers of modern science fiction. The novel has been translated into numerous languages. The author's son Dr. Rudolf Laßwitz (1877–1935) revealed in 1909 who was the model for a main character in this novel:

“In the Mars novel“ On two planets ”, my father Kurd Laßwitz - please forgive the son for this hint - in the person of Dr. Grunthe created an exact copy of Adolf Schmidt. Who that Dr. Grunthe learns to appreciate and love while reading the book, Adolf Schmidt will also sincerely admire. "

The novel tells of three scientists who, during a balloon flight to explore the North Pole, discover that the inhabitants of Mars have set up a space station over the North Pole and established a connection to Earth. One of them is Dr. Karl Grunthe. At first encounters and during a visit to Mars, they get to know the Martier (Martians) as morally, culturally and technically highly developed. The attempt of the Martier to come to an understanding with the earth states, however, fails, so that the Martier establish their rule over large parts of the earth on the grounds that people must first be educated and cultivated. In a subsequent liberation struggle they are outwitted and defeated on earth. At the end there is again the endeavor to reach an understanding between Mars and Earth.

The publicist Rudi Schweikert writes in the appendix to the anniversary edition of Heyne-Verlag 1998: "On two planets one can read as an adventure novel, a romance novel, as a future story, as a philosophical novel or as a timeline, as a satire or as a (biographical) key novel."

In the essay “ Adolf Schmidt - a pioneer of geophysics and Esperanto as a literary figure ”, the author Fritz Wollenberg explains: “Laßwitz designed ... the encounter between Earth and Martian inhabitants as an encounter between two cultures in different nuances and possibilities, the mutual getting to know the language , the customs and traditions, the social systems, the economies, etc., the various prejudices, arrogance, misunderstandings and arguments with terrible consequences, but ultimately with an optimistic vision for the future. "

Karl Grunthe appears as an intrepid, conscientious scientist, inspired by a genuine spirit of research who thinks, speaks and acts clearly even in tricky situations. He is interested in the Martier culture, open to new knowledge, fluent in language, and he learns the language of the Martians very quickly. But he also shows a sense of responsibility and duty towards the earth and the people and is not impressed by the power and splendor of the Martier. Wherever he deems it necessary, he courageously counteracts their claims.

After Grunthe's warnings to the earth states not to get involved in a conflict with the Martians had been disregarded and the Martians had established their educational dictatorship in parts of the world, Grunthe founded, who in the meantime was back in his hometown Friedau, doing his scientific work in the observatory, a general human association, made "connections to the leading spirits of all civilized states" and drafted the appeal with a fellow campaigner, which explained the aims of the human association. Although the human league is banned, it gains influence and enables liberation from the foreign rule of the Martier. At the end of the novel it says: “The states reorganized their constitutions and concluded a peace alliance with one another that encompassed the civilized earth. The principles which the human union had spread and cultivated bore their fruits. A new spirit filled mankind, courageously raised her head in peace, freedom and dignity. "

With Karl Grunthe, the author Kurd Lasswitz created a literary figure who embodies his ideal of the free, mature personality in the sense of Kant's enlightenment philosophy . Obviously, his colleague Adolf Schmidt, with his scientific and social commitment, seemed particularly suitable as a role model for this.

Memorial events

1994

On the 50th anniversary of Adolf Schmidt's death, the Adolf Schmidt Observatory for Geomagnetism and the Esperanto League Berlin honored the outstanding geophysicist and Esperantist at an event in the Niemegk Observatory. The lectures given by the head of the observatory, Adolf Best, “On the 50th anniversary of the death of Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt ”and the chairman of the Esperanto League Berlin Fritz Wollenberg“ The interlinguistic conceptions of Adolf Schmidt and his commitment to the international language Esperanto ”published the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam in the brochure“ Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist "On October 17, 1994.

2010

On the occasion of the 150th birthday of Adolf Schmidt and the 80th anniversary of the Niemegk Observatory, the German Geophysical Society and the Helmholtz Center Potsdam - German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) invited to a ceremony on July 23, 2010 in the Niemegk Observatory. Geophysicist Franz Jacobs gave the scientific-historical lecture on the life, work and scientific legacy of Adolf Schmidt. The head of the observatory, Hans Joachim Linthe, gave a lecture on the development and current tasks of the observatory. Greetings came from the director of Department 2 of the GFZ Potsdam, the mayor of the city of Niemegk, and from the chairmen of the German Esperanto Association and the Society for Interlinguistics .

A guided tour on July 25, 2010 under the direction of Wigor Webers from GFZ Potsdam on Adolf-Schmidt-Weg through the science park "Albert Einstein" was dedicated to Adolf Schmidt's 150th birthday. The historical buildings associated with Schmidt's work were particularly taken into account, such as B. the Süring House (formerly the building of the Royal Meteorological Observatory), the Paleomagnetic Laboratory of the GFZ (formerly the Magnetic Variation House of the Geomagnetic Observatory) and the Waldhaus (formerly the Magnetic Absolute House).

Fonts (selection)

  • On the theory of Cremona transformations, especially those of the 4th order. Univ., Phil. Fak., Breslau 1882 (dissertation).
  • Mathematical developments on the general theory of terrestrial magnetism . Arch Seewarte 12, No 3, Hamburg 1889, p. 29 pp.
  • Note on the altitude information for the Karakul (3870 m) and the Ragkul (3880 m) . In: Petermanns Mitteilungen from Justus Perthes' Geographischer Anstalt. 40. Gotha 1894, p. 212.
  • Meteorological observations . In: Petermanns Mitteilungen from Justus Perthes' Geographischer Anstalt. 40. Gotha 1894, pp. 232-234.
  • Announcements about a new calculation of the earth's magnetic potential . Dep. Bayer. Akad. D. Wiss., II. Class, 19, 1895, pp. 1-66.
  • Archive of terrestrial magnetism. Volume I, Issue 1-4, Potsdam, 1903-1926.
  • About the possibility and value of an artificial language . In: Prussian year books. Volume 126, Issue 2 1906, pp. 317-323.
  • Geomagnetism . Encyclopedia of Mathematical Knowledge, VI 1, Vol. 10, 1907.
  • Pri la teoremo de Fermat . In: Internacia Scienca Revuo 6/1909, Ĝenevo, p. 250.
  • Opening speech . In: Eldonaĵoj de la Germana Akademia Esperantista Ligo, Kajero II, report on the 1st Bundestag of the German-Academic Esperanto Association in Dresden. 17. August 1911. Heckners Verlag, Wolfenbüttel 1911.
  • We academics and Esperanto . In: Esperanto, a culture factor 4, commemorative publication on the occasion of the 9th German Esperanto Congress in Leipzig. Leipzig 1911, pp. 105-109.
  • Pri la ebleco kaj probableco de multjara periodeco en la meteorologiaj fenomenoj . In: Gerlands Contributions to Geophysics 33, Leipzig 1931, pp. 40–44.
  • Tables of the standardized spherical functions and their departments together with the logarithms of these numbers and formulas for developing according to spherical functions . Gotha 1935.

literature

  • Bartels, Julius: A. Schmidt, 1860-1944 . In: Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, Vol 51 (1946), pp. 439-447
  • Martin Beblo:  Schmidt, Adolf Friedrich Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-428-11204-3 , p. 175 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Becker, Ulrich, Fritz Wollenberg (Red.): A language for science? Public interlinguistics memorial colloquium for Wilhelm Ostwald on November 9, 1996 at the Faculty of Economics at the Humboldt University in Berlin . Interlinguistic Information, Supplement 3, GIL, Berlin 1998,
  • Best, Adolf: On the 50th anniversary of the death of Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt. In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (Ed.), Potsdam 1994, pp. 5–13.
  • Best, Adolf: On the history of the Adolf Schmidt Observatory for Geomagnetism in Niemegk . In: On the history of geophysics in Germany, Volume 2, 1997 ( DGG )
  • Borel, Jean: Rememoroj el 1903 . In: Germana Esperantisto 2/1924, p. 24.
  • Chapman, Sydney, Julius Bartels: Geomagnetism . The International Series of Monographs on Physics, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1940.
  • Dominik, Hans: From the vice to the desk. Life memories . Publishing house Scherl, Berlin 1943.
  • Fanselau, Gerhard: A. Schmidt on his 120th birthday : In: Publications of the Central Institute for Physics of the Earth No. 70, Part 1, Potsdam 1981, pp. 24–28.
  • Fritzsche, Diedrich: Potsdam geoscientists and their influence on German and international polar research up to the 2nd polar year 1932/33 . In: Polarforschung 61 (213) 1991, pp. 153-162,
  • Jacobs, Franz, Michael Börngen: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944) - Former chairman and honorary member of the DDG . In: DGG-Mitteilungen No. 3/2009. German Geophysical Society eV (Ed.), ISSN 0934-6554, pp. 52–59 ( DGG )
  • Kautzleben, Heinz: 50 years of the Adolf Schmidt Observatory for Earth Magnetism in Niemegk - 90 years of geomagnetic research in Potsdam : In: Publications of the Central Institute for Physics of the Earth No. 70, Part 1, Potsdam 1981, pp. 7-18.
  • Koch, Walter: On the first day of the death of a famous Gotha citizen . In: Thüringer Volkszeitung, Gotha, October 19, 1945.
  • Laßwitz, Kurd: On two planets. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1998 (anniversary edition).
  • Laßwitz, Rudolf: Adolf Schmidt, the geophysicist . In: Gothaer Memorial Book. 2. Volume and memories of the village and town of Dr. Gottlob Schneider, Bruno Volger Verlagbuchhandlung, Leipzig-Gohlis 1909, pp. 122–125.
  • Nippoldt, Alfred: A. Schmidt on the seventieth birthday . In: Naturwissenschaften, Volume 18, Issue 30, published by Julius Springer, Berlin, July 25, 1930.
  • Ostwald, Wilhelm: The international auxiliary language and Esperanto . Esperanto publishing house Möller & Borel, Berlin 1906.
  • Roob, Helmut, Peter Schmidt : Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt. Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985.
  • Schweikert, Rudi: Von Martiern und Menschen or The world divided by reason does not work. Notes on Understanding On Two Planets . In: Laßwitz, Kurd: On two planets. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1998 (anniversary edition).
  • Schröder, Wilfried: Sydney Chapman in his relationships with some German geophysicists ( website of the Working Group on the History of Geophysics and Cosmic Physics / Biographical Information on Individual Scientists)
  • Webers, Wigor: For the 125th birthday of the earth magnetist Adolf Schmidt. In: Vermessungstechnik, 33rd year, issue 8, Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin 1985.
  • Wollenberg, Fritz: The interlinguistic conceptions of Adolf Schmidt and his commitment to the international language Esperanto . In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (ed.), Potsdam 1994, pp. 15–29.
  • Wollenberg, Fritz (Red.): Esperanto - Language and Culture in Berlin: Jubilee Book 1903 - 2003, insight, review, outlook. Esperanto League Berlin (ed.), Mondial, New York, Berlin 2006 (contributions in German and Esperanto).
  • Wollenberg, Fritz: Planned languages ​​in the archive of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences . In: Planned Language Libraries and Archives - Contributions to the 17th Annual Meeting of the Society for Interlinguistics e. V., 23-25. November 2007 in Berlin. Interlinguistische Informations, supplement 15, Detlev Blanke (Ed.), Berlin 2008, pp. 45–56.
  • Wollenberg, Fritz: Adolf Schmidt - a pioneer of geophysics and Esperanto as a literary figure. In: The role of personalities in the history of planned languages ​​- Contributions to the 19th annual conference of the Society for Interlinguistics ev, 27. – 29. November 2009 in Berlin. Interlinguistic Information, Supplement 17. Sabine Fiedler (Ed.), Berlin 2010, pp. 133–162.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Mathematical developments on the general theory of geomagnetism . Arch Seewarte 12, No 3, Hamburg 1889, p. 29 pp. Announcements about a new calculation of the earth's magnetic potential . Dep. Bayer. Akad. D. Wiss., II. Class, 19, 1895, pp. 1-66.
  2. ↑ Web page of the Helmholtz Center Potsdam at GFZ
  3. ↑ Wigor Weber: the 125th birthday of Erdmagnetikers Adolf Schmidt. In: Vermessungstechnik, 33rd year, issue 8, Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin 1985.
  4. ^ Hans-Joachim Linthe: Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt . '' GFZ Potsdam website
  5. ^ Adolf Best: On the 50th anniversary of the death of Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt. In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (publisher), Potsdam 1994, p. 10
  6. ^ Adolf Best: On the 50th anniversary of the death of Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt. In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (publisher), Potsdam 1994, p. 10
  7. ^ Diedrich Fritzsche: Potsdam geoscientists and their influence on German and international polar research up to the 2nd polar year 1932/33. In: Polarforschung 61 (213) 1991, pp. 153-162. Wilhelm Filchner: To the sixth continent. The Second German South Pole Expedition. Ullstein publishing house. Berlin 1922, pp. 18-19.
  8. ^ Diedrich Fritzsche: Potsdam geoscientists and their influence on German and international polar research up to the 2nd polar year 1932/33. In: Polarforschung 61 (213) 1991, pp. 153-162. Franz Jacobs and Michael Börngen: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944) - Former chairman and honorary member of the DDG . In: DGG-Mitteilungen No. 3/2009, Ed. Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft eV, ISSN 0934-6554, pp. 52-59. Website of the dgg
  9. ^ Adolf Best: On the 50th anniversary of the death of Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt. In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (Ed.), Potsdam 1994, p. 11
  10. ^ Hans-Joachim Linthe: Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Adolf Schmidt - Website of the GFZ Potsdam
  11. ↑ Helmut Roob, Peter Schmidt: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt . Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985, p. 12.13.
  12. ↑ Laßwitz, Rudolf: Adolf Schmidt, the geophysicist . In: Gothaer Memorial Book. 2. Volume and memories of the village and town of Dr. Gottlob Schneider, Bruno Volger Verlagbuchhandlung, Leipzig-Gohlis 1909, pp. 122–125.
  13. ↑ Helmut Roob, Peter Schmidt: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt . Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985.
  14. ↑ Helmut Roob, Peter Schmidt: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt . Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985, p. 7.
  15. ↑ Adolf Schmidt: Archive of Earth Magnetism. Volume I, Issue 1-4, Potsdam, 1903-1926.
  16. ^ Julius Bartels: A. Schmidt, 1860-1944 . In: Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, Vol 51 (1946), p. 441 (translation: manuscript by Gary Mickle 1994).
  17. ^ Fritz Wollenberg (Red.): Esperanto - Language and Culture in Berlin: Jubilee Book 1903 - 2003, insight, review, outlook. Esperanto League Berlin (ed.), Mondial, New York, Berlin 2006 (contributions in German and Esperanto), pp. 17, 18, 227–234
  18. ↑ Jean Borel: Rememoroj el 1903. In Germana Esperantisto 2/1924, p.24 (memories Borel to the founding of the Berlin Esperanto Group and Adolf Schmidt).
  19. ^ Fritz Wollenberg: The interlinguistic conceptions of Adolf Schmidt and his commitment to the international language Esperanto . In: Adolf Schmidt 1860–1944. On the 50th anniversary of the death of the geophysicist and Esperantist on October 17, 1994. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam with the participation of the Esperanto League Berlin (ed.), Potsdam 1994, pp. 15–29.
  20. ^ Wilhelm Ostwald: The international auxiliary language and Esperanto . Esperanto publishing house Möller & Borel, Berlin 1906.
  21. ↑ Adolf Schmidt: About the possibility and the value of an artificial language. In: Prussian year books. Volume 126, Issue 2 1906, 317–323.
  22. ^ Schmidt-Ostwald correspondence in the archive of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, described and explained in: Ulrich Becker, Fritz Wollenberg (Red.): A language for science? Public interlinguistics memorial colloquium for Wilhelm Ostwald on November 9, 1996 at the Faculty of Economics at the Humboldt University in Berlin . Interlinguistic Information, Supplement 3, GIL, Berlin 1998.
  23. ^ Adolf Schmidt: opening speech . In: Eldonaĵoj de la Germana Akademia Esperantista Ligo, Kajero II, report on the 1st Bundestag of the German-Academic Esperanto Association in Dresden. August 17, 1911. Heckners Verlag, Wolfenbüttel, p. 2.
  24. ↑ Helmut Roob, Peter Schmidt: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt . Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985, p. 61.
  25. ^ Adolf Schmidt: Letter to the board of the German Peace Society 1921, estate (NL) Schmidt, No. 1/97 in the archive of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (BBAW)
  26. ^ Adolf Schmidt: Letter to the board of the German League for Human Rights of April 9, 1922, NL Schmidt, No. 1/98 in the archives of the BBAW
  27. ↑ Walter Koch: On the first day of the death of a famous Gotha citizen . In: Thüringer Volkszeitung, Gotha, October 19, 1945.
  28. ↑ Helmut Roob, Peter Schmidt: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944), handwritten estate of the geomagnetist and bibliography of his publications, indexed and made accessible by Helmut Roob and Peter Schmidt . Gotha Research Library, Gotha 1985.
  29. ^ Fritz Wollenberg: Planned languages ​​in the archive of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences . In: Planned Language Libraries and Archives - Contributions to the 17th Annual Meeting of the Society for Interlinguistics e. V., 23-25. November 2007 in Berlin. Interlinguistische Informations, supplement 15, Detlev Blanke (Ed.), Berlin 2008, pp. 45–56.
  30. ^ Louis A. Bauer: Letter to Wilhelm von Bezold dated February 12, 1902 (English) in NL Schmidt 5/82 in the archives of the BBAW.
  31. ↑ Wigor Weber: the 125th birthday of Erdmagnetikers Adolf Schmidt. In: Vermessungstechnik, Volume 33, Issue 8, Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin 1985, p. 278.
  32. ↑ Best, Adolf: On the history of the Adolf Schmidt Observatory for Geomagnetism in Niemegk . In: On the history of geophysics in Germany, Volume 2, 1997
  33. ^ Julius Bartels: A. Schmidt, 1860-1944 . In: Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, Vol 51 (1946), p. 441 (translation: manuscript by Gary Mickle 1994).
  34. ^ Gerhard Fanselau: A. Schmidt on his 120th birthday . In: Publications of the Central Institute for Physics of the Earth No. 70, Part 1, Potsdam 1981, p. 27.
  35. ^ Franz Jacobs and Michael Börngen: Adolf Schmidt (1860-1944) - Former chairman and honorary member of the DDG . In: DGG-Mitteilungen No. 3/2009, Ed. Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft eV, ISSN 0934-6554, pp. 52–59. [1]
  36. ^ Hans Dominik: From the vice to the desk - Memoirs of life , Verlag Scherl, Berlin 1943, pp. 26-27
  37. ^ Rudolf Laßwitz: Adolf Schmidt, the geophysicist. In: Gothaer Memorial Book. 2. Volume and memories of the village and town of Dr. Gottlob Schneider, Bruno Volger Verlagbuchhandlung, Leipzig-Gohlis 1909, p. 124.
  38. ↑ Rudi Schweikert: Von Martiern und Menschen or Die Welt, divided by reason, does not work. Notes on Understanding On Two Planets. In: Kurd Laßwitz: On two planets, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1998, p. 908 (anniversary edition).
  39. ^ Fritz Wollenberg: Adolf Schmidt - a pioneer of geophysics and Esperanto as a literary figure. In: The role of personalities in the history of planned languages ​​- Contributions to the 19th annual conference of the Society for Interlinguistics ev, 27. – 29. November 2009 in Berlin. Interlinguistic Information, Supplement 17. Sabine Fiedler (Ed.), Berlin 2010, pp. 133–162.
  40. ^ Kurd Laßwitz: On two planets , Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1998 pp. 809–810 (anniversary edition).
  41. ^ Franz Jacobs and Hans-Joachim Linthe: 150 years of Adolf Schmidt and 80 years of the Niemegk Observatory. Website of the DGG
  42. ^ Fritz Wollenberg: Adolf Schmidt - a pioneer of geophysics and Esperanto as a literary figure. In: The role of personalities in the history of planned languages ​​- Contributions to the 19th annual conference of the Society for Interlinguistics ev, 27. – 29. November 2009 in Berlin. Interlinguistic Information, Supplement 17. Sabine Fiedler (Ed.), Berlin 2010, pp. 157–159.
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Adolf Friedrich Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geophysicist
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH October 17, 1944
Place of death Gotha