Wilhelm Fucks

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Wilhelm Fucks (born June 4, 1902 in Wiesdorf ; † April 1, 1990 in Cologne ) was a German physicist , professor and rector of RWTH Aachen University .

Signature of Wilhelm Fucks

Life

After studying and receiving a diploma from 1923–1927 (with Arnold Sommerfeld ) at the University of Munich, as well as assistant work and doctorate from 1928–1933 (with Walter Rogowski ) at the RWTH Aachen University's Electrotechnical Institute, where he completed his habilitation in 1934 in “Physics, especially theoretical physics” In 1938 he was an extraordinary professor for theoretical physics at RWTH Aachen University and in 1940 a professor for theoretical physics at the Technical University of Berlin .

In 1941 he was appointed to the chair for experimental physics at RWTH Aachen University, which he held as director of the 1st Physics Institute until his retirement in 1970. He was Rector (1950 to 1952) of the RWTH and - as a member of the German Atomic Energy Commission - Chairman of the Scientific Council for the establishment of a nuclear research center in North Rhine-Westphalia. After it was founded as the " Jülich Nuclear Research Facility, " today: Forschungszentrum Jülich , Fucks was also director of the Institute for Plasma Physics there from 1958 to 1970 and since 1971 an honorary scientific member of the nuclear research facility .

Outside of his specialist fields of work on the physics of gas discharge and arc discharge with a research focus on plasma physics and isotope diagnostics , of which he is one of the pioneers, Fucks researched the demographics of the world population and the future development of global power relations. He published the results of his mathematical-statistical studies in various books, some of which became bestsellers . In formulas for power he calculated the rise of China to the third world power in 1965 ; In 1968 he presented the results of his empirical-quantitative analysis of works of literature , music and the visual arts in According to all the rules of art .

“Wilhelm Fucks recognized the need for interdisciplinary research very early on and implemented it in the broad field of his interests and tasks. Exact literary studies and linguistics owe his ingenuity and his eye for larger contexts essential methods and important regularities. [...] With the establishment of the "Society for the Promotion of Research into Fundamentals of the Application of Methods in Mathematics and Natural Sciences to other subject areas" and its "Institute for Mathematical-Empirical Systems Research (MESY)" in Aachen [became] under his Head of basic research in the humanities and social sciences sector and run it in a separate institute. "

- Rul Gunzenhauser

His work on the quantitative analysis of languages ​​and texts since the early 1950s made him a co-founder of quantitative linguistics and quantitative literary studies . With his computer-generated composition “Quatro Due” (1963), Fucks - alongside Lejaren Hiller and his “ILLIAC Suite” (1957) - is considered a pioneer of experimental digital music in Germany.

Grave in the forest cemetery in Aachen

Since 1948 he was co-editor of Studium Generale. Journal for the unity of the sciences in the context of their concept formation and research methods , since 1959 co-editor of atomic nuclear energy: Journal for the application of nuclear energy in science, technology and economy.

Honors

Wilhelm Fucks was appointed in 1950 as a founding member of the " Working Group for Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ", from which the Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften emerged in 1970, of which he was one of the founding members. He was an honorary senator of RWTH Aachen University, honorary member of the Research Society for Process Engineering , Chevalier des Ordre des Palmes Académiques of the République Francaise and holder of the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany .

Trivia

Each of Fucks to Carnival held carnival physics lectures radiated far beyond the tray and the Auditorium Maximum RWTH out and stayed for their corresponding to the occasion innovative experiments such. B. the time difference , his listeners at that time have not been forgotten until today.

Works (selection)

  • Generating energy from atomic nuclei . Girardet publishing house, Essen 1948
  • On Mathematical Analysis of Style in: Biometrika Vol. 39 (1952), No. 1-2, pp. 122-129
  • Mathematical analysis of linguistic elements, linguistic style and languages [ publications of the Working Group for Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , H. 34a]. Westdeutscher Verlag, Cologne a. Opladen 1955.
  • Word formation theory . In: Mathematical-Physical Semester Reports . Vol. 4, 1955, pp. 195-212.
  • For the interpretation of the simplest mathematical language characteristics . In: Research reports of the Ministry of Economics and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , No. 344, 1956.
  • Conversation without end. Religion, science, the meaning of history and a little plot in four acts. [published under the pseudonym HW Thomas ], Chr. Belser Verlag, Stuttgart 1965.
  • Together with Josef Lauter: Exactly scientific music analysis . West German Publishing House, Cologne 1965
  • Together with Josef Lauter: Mathematical analysis of the literary style. In: Helmut Kreuzer , Rul Gunzenhäuser (ed.): Mathematics and poetry. Attempts on the question of an exact literary study. Nymphenburger, Munich 1965; 4th revised edition 1971, pp. 107-122.
  • Formulas to power . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1965; 4th revised edition 1970. Rowohlt, Reinbek b. Hamburg. ISBN 3-499-16601-1 . ( No. 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list from May 16 to 22, 1966) Prediction of the rise of China to a world power.
  • According to all the rules of the art . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1968
  • About the legal concept of an exact literary study, explained using sentences and sentence sequences in: Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik , Volume 1, 1971, Issue 1–2, pp. 113–137
  • Forces of tomorrow. Force fields, tendencies, consequences. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1978. ISBN 3-421-01844-8 .
  • The powers of tomorrow: China, India, Brazil, the power centers of the 21st century? , approved paperback edition, Goldmann, Munich 1980 ISBN 3-442-11279-6 .

literature

  • The booklet “Mathematically Oriented Text Science” of the Journal for Literary Studies and Linguistics (No. 8, Volume 2, 1972) by the editors and authors Professor Dr. Dedicated to Wilhelm Fucks on June 4, 1972 , on the occasion of his 70th birthday .
  • Dieter Aichele: The work of W. Fucks , in: Reinhard Köhler, Gabriel Altmann, Rajmund G. Piotrowski (Hrsg.): Quantitative Linguistics - Quantitative Linguistics. An International Handbook - An International Handbook . de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, pp. 152–158. ISBN 3-11-015578-8
  • Gordana Antić, Peter Grzybek, Ernst Stadlober: Mathematical Aspects and modifications of Fucks' Generalized Poisson Distribution (GPD) , in: Reinhard Köhler, Gabriel Altmann, Rajmund G. Piotrowski (Eds.): Quantitative Linguistik - Quantitative Linguistics. An International Handbook - An International Handbook . de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, pp. 158–180. ISBN 3-11-015578-8

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Physikalische Blätter Vol. 18, No. 7 (1962), pp. 326f
  2. ↑ W. Fucks, HW Knipping: A gamma retina for determining the spatio-temporal distribution of radioactive substances in the human body. Naturwissenschaft 42 (1955) p. 493ff
  3. ↑ Michael Feld, Michel de Roo: History of Nuclear Medicine in Europe , ed. By Harald Schicha, Klaus Bergdolt, Peter J. Ell. Schattauer Verlag Stuttgart / New York 2003, p. 121 ISBN 3-7945-2234-6
  4. ^ Wilhelm Fucks: Population growth - standstill in 70 years. The mirror 18 (1954)
  5. ↑ Wilhelm Fucks: Formulas for power . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt (DVA), Stuttgart 1965
  6. ^ This society went back to an initiative of the State Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Research of North Rhine-Westphalia , Leo Brandt and Wilhelm Fucks. It was on February 11, 1971 in the home of the Rhenish-Westphalian Academy of Sciences under the chairmanship of the Minister of Science and Research of North Rhine Westphalia, Johannes Rau in Dusseldorf founded. Prominent founding members of the society from science, politics and business were Ludwig E. Feinendegen , Karl Gustav Fellerer , Nobel Prize winner Werner Forßmann , Wilhelm Fucks, Minister Johannes Rau, the industrialist Hans Reuter , as well as Hans Schwerte , Jürgen Uhlenbusch , Walter Weizel and Helmut Zahn . The purpose of the company was the establishment of a research institute, which began its work in the same month 1971 with initially six scientific employees under the direction of Wilhelm Fucks, whereby the administration of the institute's research funds - mainly financed by funds from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia - by RWTH Aachen took place. The early death of Leo Brandt (only 2 months after the founding meeting) prevented the planned expansion of the institute as part of the state's new science and research policy. This was initiated by Johannes Rau, the first minister of the Ministry of Science and Research in North Rhine-Westphalia , which was only established in 1970, and was implemented in North Rhine-Westphalia with numerous new universities ( Duisburg , Essen , Paderborn , Siegen , Wuppertal , Hagen ), including the special promotion of new research approaches through their desirable institutionalization belonged.
  7. ↑ In his introduction to Wilhelm Fuck's 70th birthday issue 8 (1972) of the Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik (LiLi), p. 9
  8. ^ Peter Grzybek : History and Methodology of Word Length Studies. The State of the Art. In: Peter Grzybek (Ed.): Contributions to the Theory of Text and Language. Word Length Studies and Related Issues . Springer, Dordrecht (NL), 2006, pp. 15-90; on Fucks: pp. 36-52. ISBN 1-4020-4067-9 (HB)
  9. ^ Burghard Rieger : Computer and Literature . Radio broadcast by Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, broadcast on June 19, 1970 ( WDR-III  : 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) with interviews by Thomas Finkenstaedt (English studies), Saarbrücken, Walther L. Fischer (mathematics), Erlangen-Nuremberg , Wilhelm Fucks (Physics), Aachen, Hans Glinz (German Philology / Linguistics), Aachen, Helmut Kreuzer (German Studies / Literary Studies), Bonn, and Hans Schwerte (German Studies / Literature Studies), Aachen. (PDF 125 kB)
  10. ↑ Quatro Due audio document at Cybernetic Serendipity
  11. ↑ (2019)
personal data
SURNAME Fucks, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist and rector
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Wiesdorf
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 1990
Place of death Cologne