Terada Torahiko

Torahiko Terada

Terada Torahiko ( Japanese 寺 田 寅 彦 ; born November 28, 1878 in Tokyo , † December 31, 1935 ) was a Japanese physicist and essayist . As a writer he used the pseudonyms Yoshimura Fuyuhiko, Yabu Kōji, "Newton" (牛頓) and others.

Live and act

Terada was born in Tokyo, grew up in Kōchi , learned physics in the "Fifth Gymnasium" (old type) with Tamaru Takurō, with Natsume Sōseki English and Haiku . After graduating from Tokyo University in 1903, he went on to graduate there. He received his doctorate with a thesis on sound generation with the Shakuhachi . In January 1909 he was appointed assistant professor.

From March 1909 he continued his education in geophysics at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin (today Humboldt University ). In 1910 he met the physicist and chemist Svante Arrhenius in Stockholm ; in 1911 he traveled back to Japan via France, England and the USA. From the end of 1912 - following the discovery made by Max von Laue at that time - he investigated crystals with X-rays and in 1913 published articles on this subject in Japanese and English journals. In 1917 he was honored for this by the Imperial Academy, but did not pursue this field of work any further.

Terada met Albert Einstein in 1922 when he was visiting Japan. In 1923 he headed investigations into the Kanto earthquake , from 1924 worked alongside his professorship at the Physico-Chemical Institute (Riken) , from 1926 also part-time at the "Institute for Research into Earthquakes at the University of Tokyo ". In 1928 he became a member of the Imperial Academy .

As a writer, he has written a variety of essays ranging from science to cinema and from haiku to manga . In an essay entitled " Naturanschauung der Japaner " he summarized: "For us Japanese, nature has two sides that belong together, on the one hand it is" Strict Father "( 厳 父 , gempu), on the other hand" Merciful Mother "( 慈母 , jibo). Europe is poorer, has neither side. "

Terada fell ill in 1935 and died at the age of 57.

Honors

• In 1952 a postage stamp with his picture was published by the Japanese Post.
• The asteroid (6514) Torahiko was named after him in 1996.

Bibliography engl. Works

• Terada Torahiko, Scientific Papers Ed. Iwanami Shoten, 1985, ISBN 4-00-200467-8
• Terada Torahiko, Persimmon Seeds, translated by Yoshiyuki Suito Ed. Yoshiyuki Saito, Fukuoka 1988

literature

• 　Takada, Seiji: Terada Torahiko. In: Nihon daihyakka zensho (Denshibukku-han), Shogakukan, 1996.

Web links

• Earthquake Research Institute

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Terada, Torahiko: ( 日本人 の 自然 観 , Nihonjin no shizenkan) in: Essays Volume 5.Iwanami Shoten, 1948.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Terada is the family name, Torahiko the first name.