Hertha Sponer
Hertha Dorothea Elisabeth Sponer (born September 1, 1895 in Neisse , Silesia , † February 17, 1968 in Ilten near Hanover ) was a German physicist .
Life
After studying in Tübingen and Göttingen , she did her doctorate in 1920 with Peter Debye ( On ultra-red absorption of diatomic gases ). From 1921 to 1925 she was an assistant, in 1925/26 a Rockefeller scholarship enabled her to spend one year researching in Berkeley , California.
On the occasion of this study trip, the young Göttingen physicists took the liberty of joking the newspaper that published the report on October 29, 1925 that was leaked to them.
Until 1932 Sponer was a private lecturer and then until 1934 associate professor in Göttingen. She worked for the Nobel Prize winner James Franck and worked a. a. with Edward Teller . The working group around Franck, who was of Jewish descent, was dissolved after the latter protested against racial policy and resigned on April 17, 1933. Due to the influence of Robert Wichard Pohl , Sponer no longer had a chance in Göttingen, as he did not tolerate women in academic positions. After the university quit her position on October 1, 1934, she managed to emigrate to Oslo . There the mineralogist Viktor Moritz Goldschmidt, who also emigrated, helped her . From 1936 to 1966 she was a professor at Duke University , Durham , North Carolina .
In 1946 Sponer married James Franck and in 1948 a portrait of her painted by Marianne Manasse in Durham , which is in the possession of Duke University. In 1966 Sponer returned to Germany.
Hertha Sponer died on February 17, 1968 in the Wahrendorff Hospital, Ilten / Hanover. The funeral took place on February 23, 1968 in Celle.
Services
Sponer made important contributions to molecular physics and spectroscopy . Is known z. B. the Birge-Sponer plot for determining the dissociation energy of molecules from spectroscopic data. The Hertha Sponer Prize , which is awarded annually to young, scientifically successful female physicists, is named after her .
Fonts
- Molecular spectra and their application to chemical problems (= structure and properties of matter in individual representations. 15–16, ZDB -ID 527570-2 ). 2 volumes (volume 1: tables. Volume 2: text. ). Springer, Berlin 1935–1936.
- with Raymond T. Birge: The Heat of Dissociation of Non-Polar Molecules. In: Physical Review . Vol. 28, No. 2, 1926, pp. 259-283, doi : 10.1103 / PhysRev.28.259 .
- with James Franck and Edward Teller : Notes on Predissociation Spectra of Triatomic Molecules. In: Journal of Physical Chemistry . Dept. B: Chemistry of Elementary Processes, Structure of Matter. Vol. 18, 1932, pp. 88-101, doi : 10.1515 / zpch-1932-1809 .
literature
- A detailed portrait of Hertha Sponer can be found on a website of Duke University: Hertha Sponer
- Marie-Ann Maushart: " So as not to forget me". Hertha Sponer - A woman's life for physics in the 20th century. Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, Bassum 1997, ISBN 3-928186-37-X (It is available in English as an eBook under the title Hertha Sponer: A Women's Life as a Physicist in the 20th Century on the aforementioned portrait Duke University's website and shows the portrait of Hertha Sponer painted by Marianne Manasse in 1948 on the front page ).
- Renate Tobies : Sponer, Hertha Dorothea Elisabeth. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , p. 737 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Literature by and about Hertha Sponer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Hertha Sponer's CV, English
- Website of the Hertha Sponer Prize
- Biography of Hertha Sponer, English
Individual evidence
- ↑ In the “Mecca of Mathematicians” (pdf; 139 kB), p. 62
- ↑ Film : Quantum Mechanics on the Move - Friedrich Hund reports from his life, Göttingen 1988 - Interview partner: Helmut Rechenberg . Institute for Scientific Film, made available by the Technical Information Library , doi : 10.3203 / IWF / G-239 .
- ↑ Renate Tobies : Introduction: Influential factors on the careers of women in mathematics and natural sciences. In: Renate Tobies (Ed.): “All male culture in spite of”. Women in math and science. With a foreword by Knut Radbruch . Campus, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1997, ISBN 3-593-35749-6 , pp. 17-67, here p. 50.
- ↑ Marianne Manasse: Portrait of Hertha Sponer ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. This portrait can also be found on the cover of the eBook by MA Maushart: Hertha Sponer: A Women's Life as a Physicist in the 20th Century , which is also available on the Duke University website: Hertha Sponer ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sponer, Hertha |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sponer, Hertha Dorothea Elisabeth (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 1, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neisse , Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th February 1968 |
| Place of death | Ilten near Hanover |