Eduard Justi

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Eduard Wilhelm Leonhard Justi (born May 30, 1904 in Hong Kong ; † December 16, 1986 in Braunschweig ) was a German physicist and university professor. From 1946 to 1974 he headed the Institute for Applied Physics at the Technical University of Braunschweig . He is considered a pioneer in fuel cell and solar technology.

life and work

The son of the doctor Karl Justi came from a family of scholars. His uncle was Ludwig Justi , general director of the Berlin museums, his grandfather was the orientalist Ferdinand Justi . He attended high school in Halle (Saale) and Marburg . This was followed by studying physics, chemistry, mathematics and geology at the universities of Marburg , Kiel and Berlin. His academic teachers included Albert Einstein , Max von Laue , Max Planck and Erwin Schrödinger . His doctorate in Marburg in 1929 was followed by an activity at the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin until 1942 , where he headed the refrigeration laboratory from 1939. Justi completed his habilitation in 1935 under Max von Laue for experimental, theoretical and applied physics.

academic career

He taught at the University of Berlin from 1939 as a lecturer and from 1942 as an adjunct professor. In 1944 he was transferred against his intentions to the University of Poznan , where he was full professor of applied physics. In 1946 Justi moved to the Braunschweig Technical University as a professor of technical physics. There he founded the Institute for Applied Physics, which he headed as institute director until 1974. In 1954/1955 he was rector of the TH Braunschweig, but resigned in protest against the designated right-wing extremist Lower Saxony Minister of Education, Leonhard Schlueter . Justi joined the Braunschweig Scientific Society in 1946 , of which he was president in 1952 and 1953. From 1953 to 1958 Justi was President of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz. In 1972, through Justi's initiative, the then unique high magnetic field system was set up at the TU Braunschweig.

Pioneering work on the fuel cell

In 1950 Justi developed a hydrogen-powered engine. The origins of the fuel cell used for this go back to work by Christian Friedrich Schönbein from 1838. In addition, Justi carried out studies on the conduction mechanism in metals and semiconductors, on thermoelectric phenomena and on Peltier elements and solar cells .

Works (selection)

Justi published over 100 scientific papers and applied for almost 300 patents.

  • About the calorimetric absolute measurement of the electrolytic conductivity for high-frequency alternating current (dissertation), Leipzig 1929
  • Specific heat, enthalpy, entropy and dissociation of technical gases , Berlin 1938
  • Eduard W. Justi: Conductivity and conduction mechanism of solids . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1948, OCLC 2226224 .
  • Eduard W. Justi, Kurt Bischoff, Herbert Spengler: Status and prospects of the reversible generation of electrical energy from solid fuels in fuel elements with solid electrolytes . Mainz, Wiesbaden 1956, OCLC 69096009 .
  • Eduard W. Justi, Manfred Pilkuhn, Wolfgang Scheibe, August Winsel: Heavy-duty hydrogen diffusion electrodes for operation at ambient temperature and low pressure . Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences and Literature, F. Steiner, Mainz, Wiesbaden 1960, OCLC 16473756 .
  • Eduard W. Justi, August W. Wissel: Cold combustion . Franz Steiner, Wiesbaden 1962, ISBN 3-515-00095-X .
  • John O'M Bockris, Eduard W. Justi: Hydrogen, the energy for all times: Concept of a solar-hydrogen economy . U. Pfriemer, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7906-0092-X .

literature

  • Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon. 19th and 20th centuries . Hahn, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 309.
  • Norman-Mathias Pingel: Justi, Eduard (Wilhelm Leonhard) . In: Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon supplementary volume . Meyer, Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-926701-30-7 , p. 75.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Justi, Eduard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Justi, Eduard Wilhelm Leonhard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Hong Kong
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1986
Place of death Braunschweig