Richard Bornstein

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Richard Börnstein (1906)

Richard Leopold Börnstein (born January 9, 1852 in Königsberg , † May 13, 1913 in Berlin ) was a German physicist and meteorologist .

Life

The son of the businessman Levin Börnstein attended the old town high school in Königsberg and then studied the natural sciences in Heidelberg with Gustav Kirchhoff , Robert Bunsen and Leo Königsberger . At the age of 18 he took part in the Franco-Prussian War and fell ill with typhus before Metz . He then continued his studies in Göttingen with Wilhelm Weber and Felix Klein , where he received his doctorate at the age of 20. Börnstein returned to Königsberg and worked at the university for a few years with Franz Neumann , later with Gustav Wiedemann at the University of Leipzig . From 1875 he was assistant to Georg Hermann Quincke in Heidelberg, where he completed his habilitation in 1877. His dissertation was entitled The Influence of Light on Electrical Conductivity in Metals . In 1878 he followed a call to the Agricultural Academy in Proskau , which moved to Berlin in 1881 as the Royal Agricultural University . In successor to Nathan Zuntz , Börnstein was the rector of this institution from 1908 to 1910.

Börnstein's grave in the Wilmersdorf cemetery

Börnstein's main interest was meteorology, which went well with his teaching work to farmers . He set up a meteorological station at the university and invented or improved some measuring devices. His theoretical studies dealt with the influence of the moon on air pressure and the climatic conditions in Berlin. He advocated the establishment of a weather service at an early stage. In 1884 he founded the Berlin weather office , which prepared the daily weather dispatches of the Deutsche Seewarte Hamburg for a local forecast, which was already printed in the Berlin evening newspapers. Bornstein participated actively in the 90s to the for the Promotion of Aeronautics German Association of Berlin conducted the Berlin scientific air trips . He took part in five free balloon trips to make air-electrical observations. Contrary to earlier observations by Austrian physicists, he found that the intensity of the earth's electric field decreases as expected with increasing altitude.

Börnstein's name is still known today through the physico-chemical tables published together with Hans Landolt . Since the first edition appeared in 1883, the Landolt-Börnstein has been an indispensable aid organization in many laboratories around the world. In 2008 the printed work already comprised over 350 volumes, with around 16 volumes being added each year.

Börnstein was married to Helene London since 1879. They had three sons and a daughter. Börnstein's younger brother Ernst (1854–1932) had been a chemistry professor at the Technical University of Berlin since 1920 .

Richard Börnstein's grave is in the Wilmersdorf cemetery .

Works (selection)

  • R. Börnstein: Alfred Clebsch (obituary). In: New Prussian Provincial Papers . Fourth episode, volume 9, Königsberg i. Pr. 1872, pp. 653-655.
  • R. Börnstein: Rain or Shine? Common guide of meteorology according to the current state of science , Paul Parey, Berlin 1882
  • H. Landolt and R. Börnstein: Physico-chemical tables , Springer, Berlin 1883, (the so-called Landolt-Börnstein )
  • R. Börnstein: Guide to meteorology (PDF; 17.6 MB), Vieweg, Braunschweig 1901
  • R. Börnstein: The theory of heat , Teubner, Leipzig 1907

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Richard Börnstein  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Bornstein, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Börnstein, Richard Leopold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist and meteorologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1913
Place of death Berlin