Josef Maria Pernter

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Bust of Pernter in the arcade courtyard of the University of Vienna

Josef Maria Pernter , also Joseph Maria Pernter (born March 15, 1848 in Neumarkt / South Tyrol ; † December 20, 1908 in Arco / Trentino ) was an Austrian physicist , weather and earthquake researcher , professor of cosmic physics of the earth (1893-1908) and director of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics .

Life

Josef Maria Pernter was born as the son of the landowner Valentin Pernter and attended the grammar schools of the Franciscans and Benedictines in Bolzano and Meran . In 1864 he entered the novitiate of the Jesuits in St. Andrä in Lavanttal before he graduated from high school . He later worked as a teacher at the order's own schools in Pressburg , Kollotschau and Kalksburg .

In 1877 Pernter resigned from the Jesuit order for health reasons, while still a scholastic , and took his Matura on September 26, 1877 in Innsbruck . Then he started at the Faculty of Innsbruck University to study mathematics and physics , which he in 1878 at the University of Vienna continued where he also 1882 Dr. phil. PhD . During his studies he was an assistant from 1880 and from February 1884 an adjunct at the Central Institute for Meteorology in Vienna. In 1885 he qualified as a professor for the subject “Cosmic Physics” at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Vienna.

In 1891 Pernter was appointed associate professor and at the end of December 1892 full professor for “Cosmic Physics” at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Innsbruck. Josef Maria Pernter was elected a member of the Leopoldina in 1885 . In 1897 he returned to Vienna and became director of the Central Institute for Meteorology. In the academic year 1905/06 he was dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Vienna .

Through Pernter's basic religious convictions and his commitment to the “Catholic cause” he came into contact with the Catholic association movement and the CV . He supported this student association and in 1907 received honorary membership of five other associations.

After the death of his 14-year-old daughter, who had died of tuberculosis in 1904 , and his wife in 1906, Pernter began to be ill in the summer of 1907 and retired . He moved to Arco , where his brother-in-law worked as a doctor. He died there on December 20, 1908.

A street in Vienna's 19th  district is named after Pernter and his son Hans Pernter was Federal Minister for Education from 1936 to 1938, co-founder of the ÖVP in 1945 and member of the Austrian National Council from 1945 to 1949 .

Scientific importance

The Central Institute was greatly expanded during Pernter's tenure and a new department for geodynamics was added. With a decree of February 23, 1904, the entire seismic service for Austria was transferred to the Central Institute, which also resulted in the name change to "Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics". He became known to the general public as a “weather scholar” because he succeeded in ensuring that the weather forecasts of all crown lands are published.

Pernter had been busy during his teaching in Innsbruck with alpine meteorological problems and observations and took 1,888 in Observatory Sonnblick and Raurisertal the first A - and radiance measurements before. He also took measurements of the polarization of light from the sky and scintillation observations , and studied the origin and mode of operation of the hair dryer . In the field of meteorological optics, too, he improved the theory of the rainbow and, in particular, that of purple light , stimulated by the optical phenomena after the eruption of Krakatau on August 27, 1883 . His main work “ Meteorological Optics ” , published in 1902, is based on these findings .

Another topic that Pernter dealt with was the so-called “ hail shooting ”. His investigations were the basis for the realization of an international expert conference held in 1902, according to which this shooting does not bring the desired success. This success was only achieved since the 1940s through the use of silver iodide , which is released when the rocket explodes.

Publications

  • 1880: About the absorption of dark heat rays in gases and vapors
  • 1882: Calculation of the amount of precipitation when humid air masses mix
  • 1888: Scintillometer observations on the Hohe Sonnblick
  • 1889: The Krakatau eruption and its aftermath
  • 1895: About the frequency, duration and meteorological properties of the foehn in Innsbruck
  • 1895: For the daily period of the wind direction
  • 1897: The colors of the rainbow and the white rainbow
  • 1901: Investigations into the polarization of light in cloudy media and of light from the sky with regard to the explanation of the blue color of the sky
  • 1901: The history of the Imperial and Royal Central Institute for Meteorology and Geomagnetism
  • 1902: Unconditional research. Free Science and Catholicism
  • 1902–1910: Meteorological optics (continuously updated)
  • 1904: The daily telegraphic weather forecast in Austria

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Member entry of Josef Maria Pernter at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on August 31, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b Josef Pernter on the website of the Austrian Cartel Association , accessed on August 27, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Pernter, Josef Maria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pernter, Josef; Pernter, Joseph; Pernter, Joseph Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian physicist, weather and earthquake researcher
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Neumarkt / South Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 1908
Place of death Arco / Trentino