Vladimir Varićak

Vladimir Varićak (also Varičak , born March 1, 1865 in Švica ; † January 17, 1942 ) was a Yugoslav mathematician and physicist who was best known for his contributions to non-Euclidean geometry and the special theory of relativity .

Life

After attending school, he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Zagreb from 1883 to 1887 . In 1889 he wrote his dissertation and in 1895 he submitted his habilitation thesis for the position as a private lecturer . In 1899 he became a professor of mathematics at the University of Zagreb . He held this position until his retirement in 1936, although he still gave lectures for a limited period of time for the last 6 years of his life until 1942. He was a member of numerous scientific institutions. Varičak also examined the life and work of Rugjer Josip Bošković .

Geometry and relativity

Varičak's main focus was on non-Euclidean geometry , whereby in 1910 he was one of the first to recognize that the use of hyperbolic geometry opens up many possibilities with which different statements of the special theory of relativity can be presented in a particularly elegant and clear form. However, its formalism was initially hardly noticed, so that Hermann Minkowski's four-dimensional space - time (especially in the form it was brought into by Arnold Sommerfeld in 1910) remained decisive. Although Varičak's formalism could not prevail, at least the basic idea of a non-Euclidean formulation of the theory of relativity was very fruitful. However, it was not until Einstein's general theory of relativity that the generalization of the principle of relativity was carried out with the help of a non-Euclidean geometry.

A brief argument with Albert Einstein (with whom he corresponded) came about when Varićak wrongly suspected in connection with the Ehrenfest paradox that the length contraction was only an "apparent", "psychological" phenomenon.

See also: History of Special Relativity

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↑ Prvanovic, Mileva & Blagojević, Milutin: Vladimir Varićak 1865-1942 . In: V. Đorđević, D. Vitorović, D. Marinković (eds.): Lives and work of the Serbian scientists . Serbian Academy of Sciencies and Arts, Belgrade 2006.
^ Walter, S .: The non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity: Vladimir Varicak's non-Euclidean program . In: J. Gray (Ed.): The Symbolic Universe: Geometry and Physics . Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 91-127 .
^ Sauer, T .: The Einstein-Varičak Correspondence on Relativistic Rigid Rotation . In: H. Kleinert, RT Jantzen and R. Ruffini (Eds.): Proceedings of the Eleventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity . World Scientific, Singapore 2007.
^ Miller, AI: Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. Emergence (1905) and early interpretation (1905-1911) . Addison – Wesley, Reading 1981, ISBN 0-201-04679-2 , pp. 249-253 .

Publications

Varičak, V .: Contributions to non-Euclidean geometry . In: Annual report of the German Mathematicians Association . tape 17 , 1908, pp. 70-83 .
Varićak, V. (1908) "On non-Euclidean analytical geometry", Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians , Vol. II, pp. 213-26.

theory of relativity

Varićak, V .: Application of Lobachefsky's Geometry in Relative Theory . In: Physikalische Zeitschrift . 11, 1910, pp. 93-6.
Varićak, V .: Relative Theory and Lobachefsky's Geometry . In: Physikalische Zeitschrift . 11, 1910, pp. 287-293.
Varićak, V .: The reflection of light on moving mirrors . In: Physikalische Zeitschrift . 11, 1910, pp. 586-587.
Varićak, V .: The Interpretation of Relative Theory in Lobachevky's Geometry (Serbian) . In: Proc. Serb. Acad. . 93, 1911, pp. 211-255.
Varićak, V .: On the Ehrenfest Paradox . In: Physikalische Zeitschrift . 12, 1911, p. 169.
Varićak, V .: On the non-Euclidean interpretation of relative theory . In: Annual report of the German Mathematicians Association . 21, 1912, pp. 103-127.
Varićak, V .: Remarks on Relative Theory . In: Bull. Acad. Zagreb . No. 2, 1914, pp. 46-64.
Varićak, V .: Contribution to the non-Euclidean interpretation of relative theory . In: Bull. Acad. Zagreb . No. 3, 1915, pp. 46-49.
Varićak, V .: About the transformation of the electromagnetic field in relative theory . In: Bull. Acad. Zagreb . No. 3, 1915, pp. 101-106.
Varićak, V .: A remark on the Doppler effect . In: Bull. Acad. Zagreb . No. 4, 1915, pp. 87-88.
Varićak, V .: Representation of the theory of relativity in the three-dimensional Lobachefsky space . Narodni Novini, Zagreb 1924.
Varićak, V .: Relativity theory and the Universe . In: Nature . No. 137, 1936, p. 707.

Web links

Wikisource: Vladimir Varićak - sources and full texts

personal data
SURNAME	Varićak, Vladimir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Varičak, Vladimir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Yugoslav mathematician and physicist
DATE OF BIRTH	March 1, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH	Švica
DATE OF DEATH	January 17, 1942

[1] Prvanovic, Mileva & Blagojević, Milutin: Vladimir Varićak 1865-1942 . In: V. Đorđević, D. Vitorović, D. Marinković (eds.): Lives and work of the Serbian scientists . Serbian Academy of Sciencies and Arts, Belgrade 2006.

[2] Walter, S .: The non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity: Vladimir Varicak's non-Euclidean program . In: J. Gray (Ed.): The Symbolic Universe: Geometry and Physics . Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 91-127 .

[3] Sauer, T .: The Einstein-Varičak Correspondence on Relativistic Rigid Rotation . In: H. Kleinert, RT Jantzen and R. Ruffini (Eds.): Proceedings of the Eleventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity . World Scientific, Singapore 2007.

[4] Miller, AI: Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. Emergence (1905) and early interpretation (1905-1911) . Addison – Wesley, Reading 1981, ISBN 0-201-04679-2 , pp. 249-253 .