Hans Ehrenberg (physicist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grave of nuclear physicist Hans Ehrenberg (1922–2004) in the Bonn- Poppelsdorf cemetery

Hans Ehrenberg (born September 13, 1922 in Bonn , † November 19, 2004 in Mainz ) was a German nuclear physicist and long-time director of the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Mainz.

Live and act

The son of the mineralogist , professor and rector of the RWTH Aachen Hans Ehrenberg began after graduating from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, later Einhard Gymnasium in Aachen , from the fall of 1940 with a degree in physics at the RWTH Aachen. After an interruption due to his military service in World War II , he continued his studies at the University of Göttingen with Richard Becker , Hans Kopfermann and the later Nobel laureate in physics, Wolfgang Paul , and graduated in 1950 with a diploma. In 1952 Ehrenberg received his doctorate with the topic: " Isotope analysis of lead ores in minerals " and then followed Wolfgang Paul as an assistant at the physical institute of the University of Bonn . Here Ehrenberg played a key role in the research and development of the 500 MeV electron synchrotron in Bonn , one of the first of its kind in Germany.

During a stay abroad in 1956/57 with the later Nobel Prize winner Robert Hofstadter at the High Energy Physics Laboratory of Stanford University , Ehrenberg determined the magnetic form factor of the neutron for the first time by calculating the difference in the elastic cross sections of beryllium due to the lack of a free neutron target and used carbon . After returning to Bonn, he completed his habilitation in 1958 with a thesis on this subject.

In 1961 Ehrenberg moved to the University of Mainz , where he took over the Institute for Nuclear Physics as the successor to Herwig Schopper . In 1964/65 he was dean and in 1965/66 vice dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and from 1973 to 1975 dean of the physics department. During his time in Mainz, Ehrenberg had a 300 MeV electron linear accelerator and the necessary infrastructure built. Another research focus of his scientific work was the measurement of the nuclear charge distribution, especially on heavy nuclei, as well as the measurement of the total absorption of high-energy photons on atomic nuclei.

Finally, in 1973, by hiring Helmut Herminghaus and later Karl-Heinz Kaiser , Ehrenberg ensured that the technology of the electron accelerator was further developed on the basis of his research, which finally resulted in the installation and use of the Mainz microtron in various from 1980 Expansion stages led. After Ehrenberg had placed the management of the institute in younger hands in 1987, he was finally retired in 1990.

In addition, Ehrenberg was an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and a member of the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature . One year before his retirement, Ehrenberg joined the “Astronomical Working Group of Sternfreunde Mainz und Umgebung e. V. ”and in the next few years devoted himself intensively to his hobby, star covering and as a sponsor and advisor for the perfect functioning of the refractor in the Mainz public observatory .

Hans Ehrenberg found his final resting place in the family grave at the Poppelsdorf cemetery .

Works (selection)

  • Isotope analyzes on lead ores in minerals ; Göttingen, 1952
  • Mass spectrometric studies on lead ores ; Cologne: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1959
  • Handbook of microscopy in technology / Vol. 1. [The optical fundamentals, instruments and auxiliary equipment for microscopy in technology] / T. 2. [General instruments for reflected light microscopy. Edited by Hugo Freund with co-workers by Hans Ehrenberg et al], 1960

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the institute. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Institute for Nuclear Physics, accessed on June 1, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Ehrenberg, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nuclear physicist and long-time director of the Institute for Nuclear Physics Mainz
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Bonn
DATE OF DEATH November 19, 2004
Place of death Mainz