Armin Hermann

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Armin Hermann (born June 17, 1933 in Vernon , British Columbia , Canada ) is a German physicist and science historian .

Live and act

Hermann was born in Canada, but grew up in Upper Bavaria. As a student at the University of Munich , he wrote newspaper articles (for the FAZ and Münchner Merkur ) about great physicists and chemists, from which his first books emerged in 1959 and 1960. In 1963 he received his doctorate in theoretical physics (on the subject of the moth effect on elementary particles and nuclei with electromagnetic structure ) at the University of Munich and then spent a few years at DESY . However, he soon switched to the history of science and became an assistant to Friedrich Klemm at the research institute of the Deutsches Museum in Munich and completed his habilitation in 1968 in the history of natural sciences at the University of Munich with a thesis that was translated into several languages ​​(early history of quantum theory ).

She also got him several professorships at universities, among others in Stuttgart and Copenhagen (where he had the offer as visiting professor to publish the writings of Niels Bohr ). From 1968 until his retirement in 2001 he was professor for the history of natural sciences (a newly created chair) at the University of Stuttgart . From 1972 to 1973 he was Dean of the Faculty of History, Social and Economic Sciences. Among other things, he wrote biographies of Max Planck , Werner Heisenberg and Albert Einstein . In 1972 he and his colleagues wrote a lexicon of the history of physics, which was reprinted several times.

1962 to 1969 he gave important sources z. B. on quantum theory such as Erwin Schrödinger's work on wave mechanics in a series of natural science documents published by Battenberg Verlag. Together with Karl von Meyenn from 1979 to 1985, he edited the very extensive scientific correspondence from Wolfgang Pauli and also letters from Einstein and lectures from Planck. He also studied physics among the romantics .

Fonts (selection)

As an author

Essays
Biographies
  • Max Planck. With testimonials and photo documents. (Rowohlt's monographs). 8th edition Rowohlt, Reinbek 2005, ISBN 3-499-50198-8 (EA 1973).
  • Werner Heisenberg. With testimonials and photo documents. (Rowohlt's monographs). 8th edition Rowohlt, Reinbek 2007, ISBN 978-3-499-50240-8 (EA 1976).
  • Einstein, the worldly wise man and his century. A biography. 2nd edition Piper, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-492-24036-4 (EA 1994).
  • Karl Wirtz - life and work. "A far superior physical talent". Schattauer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-7945-2518-8 .
Representations
  • The science of the century. Werner Heisenberg and the history of atomic physics. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1993, ISBN 3-499-19318-3 (EA 1977).
  • Early history of quantum theory 1899–1913. Physik Verlag, Mosbach in Baden 1969 (plus habilitation thesis, University of Munich).
  • Carl Zeiss. The adventurous story of a German company. Piper, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-492-11265-X (EA 1989: Only the name remained. The adventurous history of the Carl Zeiss company. ).
  • And still brothers? The German-German history of the Carl Zeiss company. Piper, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-492-23821-1 .
  • Jena and Jenoptik. From combine to global player. Econ, Düsseldorf 1998, ISBN 3-430-14461-2 .
  • 75 years of the Association of Friends of the University of Stuttgart 1923-1998. Stuttgart 1998 (Festschrift together with Michael Schaaf)
  • World empire of physics. From Galileo to Heisenberg. 5th edition Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-928186-04-3 (EA 1980).
  • The way to the atomic age. Physics becomes world history. 2nd edition. Moos Verlag, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-89164-021-8 (EA 1979: Die neue Physik. Der Weg ins Atomzeitalter. ).
  • How science lost its innocence. Power and abuse of researchers. Ullstein, Frankfurt / M. 1984, ISBN 3-548-34204-3 (EA 1982).
  • Great physicist. About the creation of the new worldview. 4th edition. Battenberg Verlag, Stuttgart 1960.
  • From alchemy to large-scale synthesis. Great chemist. 3rd edition. Battenberg Verlag, Munich 1969 (EA 1959: Große Chemiker. ).

As editor

  • Lexicon History of Physics A – Z. Biographies and key words, original writings and secondary literature. 4th edition Aulis Verlag, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-7614-2694-4 (EA 1972).
  • The history of CERN . North Holland, Amsterdam 1987, 1990 (2 vol.).
  1. Launching the European Organization for Nuclear Research. 1987, ISBN 0-444-87037-7 .
  2. Building and running the laboratory. 1954-1965. 1990, ISBN 0-444-88207-3 .
  • German Nobel Prize Laureates. German contributions to natural sciences and humanities, illustrated using the example of the Nobel Prize awards for peace, literature, medicine, physics and chemistry. 4th edition Moos Verlag, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-89164-022-6 (EA 1968).
  • Einstein anecdotal. A laughing genius. Kindler, Munich 1970 (together with Steffi Hermann).
  • Arnold Sommerfeld, Albert Einstein Correspondence. 60 letters from the golden age of modern physics. Schwabe, Stuttgart 1968.
  • Documents from the natural sciences / physics department. Battenberg Verlag, Munich 1962/69 (6 vols.).
    • Vol. 6: The Stark Effect . 1965.
    • Vol. 8: The quantum theory of specific heat. 1967.
    • Vol. 9: James Franck and Gustav Hertz : The electron impact tests. 1967.
    • Vol. 10: Arthur Erich Haas : The first quantum theorem for the atom. 1965.
    • Vol. 11: Max Planck: The discovery of the quantum of action. 1969.
    • Vol. 12: Max Planck: The Quantum Hypothesis.
  • Johann Wilhelm Ritter . Letters from a romantic physicist. Moos Verlag, Munich 1966 (together with Friedrich Klemm).
  • Technology and science. Düsseldorf, VDI-Verlag, 1991 (together with Charlotte Schönbeck).

literature

  • Thomas Schuetz (Ed.): Science and technology as engines of entrepreneurial activity. Essays in honor of Armin Hermann. Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaft, Diepholz 2008, ISBN 978-3-928186-86-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ At the same time published as the seventh and eighth volume by Oskar Höfling (ed.): Lexikon der Schulphysik.
  2. In addition to this, John Krige published a third volume in 1996.

Web links