Egon Schweidler, (* 10 February 1873, in Vienna; † 10 February 1948, in Salzburg Seeham) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Biography

He was born in 1873 as the son of the court and ''Gerichtsadvokaten'' Emil von Schweidler born in Vienna. After studying physics and mathematics, he earned his doctorate with a dissertation "On the internal friction of mercury and some Amalgamen" (1895). He was assistant to Franz Exner.

Career

In 1899, he went to the University of Vienna. In 1911 he was appointed as an associate professor. From 1911 to 1926, he was the head of the Department of Experimental Physics at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

, where he was dean in 1924 and rector in 1925/26. In 1926, he returned as per his appeal as an Ordinary II at the Physics Institute of the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. There, he also worked as a secretary (1929-1933), Secretary-General (1933-1938), and Vice President (1939-1945) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 1933, he was also elected chairman of the

German Physical Society The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. As of 2022, the DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 52,220, making it one of the largest national physics societies in the world. The DPG's membership peaked ...

Legacy

From an historical view, his major works in the field of

atmospheric electricity Atmospheric electricity describes the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet). The movement of charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrica ...

should be mentioned. Schweidler's scientific work was recognized very early (1907) with the award of " Baumgartner Prize" of the

Vienna Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

for the study of the anomalies in the behavior of

dielectric In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an Insulator (electricity), electrical insulator that can be Polarisability, polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric ...

s. He pointed (in 1899) with Stefan Meyer, among others, the statistical nature of the

radioactive decay Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

or the

magnetic deflection Deflection is a change in a moving object's velocity, hence its trajectory, as a consequence of contact (collision) with a surface or the influence of a non-contact force field. Examples of the former include a ball bouncing off the ground o ...

beta radiation A beta particle, also called beta ray or beta radiation (symbol β), is a high-energy, high-speed electron or positron emitted by the radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus, known as beta decay. There are two forms of beta decay, β− decay and � ...

as fast

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s. His predicted variations (1905) of the

ionization Ionization or ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive Electric charge, charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged at ...

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

formed in the end a large number of theoretical and experimental investigations.

Publications

* Die atmosphärische Elektrizität, 1903 (mit H. Mach) ** TR: The atmospheric electricity, 1903 (with H. Mach) * Über Schwankungen der radioaktiven Umwandlung, Comptes Rendus du Premier Congres International pour L’etude de la Radiologie et de Ionisation, Liege, 12.-14. ** TR: About fluctuations of the radioactive transformation, Comptes Rendus Prime du Congres International pour la de L'etude et de Radiologie ionization, Liege, 12.-14. September 1905 September 1905 * Standardwerk über Radioaktivität, (mit S. Meyer), 1916 (2. Auflage 1927) ** TR:Standard work on radioactivity, (with S. Meyer), 1916 (2nd edition 1927)

Sources

* Berta Karlik, Erich Schmid: Franz Serafin Exner und sein Kreis. Verlag der Österreichischen Akadademie der Wissenschaft, Wien 1982, ** TR: Franz Exner and his circle. * Wolfgang L. Reiter: Stefan Meyer: Pioneer of Radioactivity. Physics in Perspective. Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 106–127, 2001 106-127 2001 * Max von Laue: History of Physics. 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweidler, Egon 1873 births 1948 deaths Scientists from Vienna University of Vienna alumni Austrian physicists Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck Burials at Döbling Cemetery Physicists from Austria-Hungary