Franz Richarz (15 October 1860, in

Endenich Endenich is a neighborhood in the western part of Bonn, Germany. Before 1904 it was an independent municipality. The village of Endenich was founded in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in 804 as ''Antiniche''. Today, about 12,000 people liv ...

– 10 June 1920, in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

) was a German physicist. His father, also named Franz Richarz (1812–1887), was a noted psychiatrist. He studied mathematics and physics at the universities of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1884 with the dissertation ''Bildung von Ozon, Wasserstoffsuperoxyd und Ueberschwefelsäure bei der Electrolyse verdünnter Schwefelsäure'' ("The formation of

ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

and

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

during the

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses Direct current, direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of c ...

of dilute sulfuric acid"). In 1888 he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

and worked as a lecturer of physics at the University of Bonn. In 1895 he succeeded Anton Oberbeck as professor of physics at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

, where he also served as director of the Physics Institute. In 1901 he relocated as a professor to the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

. In 1907 he became a member of the

Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

. With Otto Krigar-Menzel, he conducted a series of experiments for determination of the

gravitational constant The gravitational constant is an empirical physical constant involved in the calculation of gravitational effects in Sir Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation and in Albert Einstein's general relativity, theory of general relativity. It ...

and the Earth's mean density.

Selected works

* ''Bestimmung der Gravitationsconstante und der mittleren Dichtigkeit der Erde durch Wägungen'', 1898 – Determination of the gravitational constant and the mean density of the earth by way of weighing. * ''Neuere fortschritte auf dem gebiete der elektrizität'', 1899; Recent advances in the field of electricity. * ''Ueber Temperaturänderungen in Künstlich auf- und Abbewegter Luft'', 1902. * ''Vorlesungen über Theorie der Wärme'' (as editor; 1903) –

Hermann Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...

' lectures on the

theory of heat The history of thermodynamics is a fundamental strand in the history of physics, the history of chemistry, and the history of science in general. Due to the relevance of thermodynamics in much of science and technology, its history is finely wove ...

. * ''Zur Erinnerung an Paul Drude zwei Ansprachen'' (with Walter König, 1906); In memory of

Paul Drude Paul Karl Ludwig Drude (; ; 12 July 1863 – 5 July 1906) was a German physicist specializing in optics. He was known for the Drude model. Biography Education Born in Braunschweig, Drude began his studies in mathematics at the University o ...

; two speeches. * ''Anfangsgründe der Maxwellschen Theorie verknüpft mit der Elektronentheorie'', 1909 – The rudiments of

Maxwell's theory Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, electric and magnetic circ ...

combined with the electron theory.Most widely held works by Franz Richarz
WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richarz, Franz 1860 births 1920 deaths Scientists from Bonn Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Marburg 20th-century German physicists 19th-century German physicists