Erik Edlund (14 March 1819 – 19 August 1888) was a Swedish

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 ...

. His scientific research was confined chiefly to the theory of electricity. He helped secure the introduction of

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...

s to Sweden.

Biography

Edlund was born in

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...

, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in physics in 1845 at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

under Svanberg. Edlund then worked under

Weber Weber may refer to: Places United States * Weber, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Weber City, Virginia, a town * Weber City, Fluvanna County, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Weber County, Utah * Weber Canyon, Utah * Weber R ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

for two years after obtaining his PhD. Edlund was employed as a professor of physics by the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1850, and became a member of the academy in 1851. In 1858, he became a member of the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. Early members included Emanuel Swedenborg an ...

, and also of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (), formerly the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture (), founded in 1813 at the initiative of Crown Prince Charles, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. Initially the academy had a functi ...

; the latter academy made him an honorary member in 1878. In 1858, Edlund was instrumental in securing the introduction of

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

stations in Sweden. He conducted these observatories until 1873, when a central meteorological station was erected. The meteorological observations made by Edlund from 1858 to 1873 were published in 14 volumes by the Academy of Sciences. Edlund is notable as the doctoral advisor of

Svante Arrhenius Svante August Arrhenius ( , ; 19 February 1859 – 2 October 1927) was a Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. In 1903, he received ...

. In 1872, he was elected to the lower house of the

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, f ...

. Edlund died in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Research

Edlund investigated

fluid In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously motion, move and Deformation (physics), deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are M ...

motion,

polarization of light , or , is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. One example of a polarize ...

during a

total eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

, and thermal phenomena accompanying changes in volume of solids. He studied electricity, describing a method of simultaneously transmitting messages in opposite directions along the same telegraph wire. He investigated the heat given off by induction currents. He studied

electromotive force In electromagnetism and electronics, electromotive force (also electromotance, abbreviated emf, denoted \mathcal) is an energy transfer to an electric circuit per unit of electric charge, measured in volts. Devices called electrical ''transducer ...

s generated when two different metals are put in contact. He investigated the resistance of

arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...

s. He developed a theory of atmospheric electricity to explain the phenomenon of the northern lights. His publications include ''Theorie des phénomènes électriques'' (1874).

References

* Electrician 1888, 21, 595–596. * La Lumière Électrique 1888, 29, 632–633. * Leopoldina 1888, 24, 169–170. * Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon; Albert Bonniers: 1918–1985; vol. 12, p161-166. * Humboldt Monatsschr. Gesamt. Naturwiss. 1888, 7, 403. * Stockh. Vet. Akad. Lefnadsteckn. 1886–94, 5, 281–305. * Helsingfors. Öfvers. 1889, 31, 247–264. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edlund, Erik 1819 births 1888 deaths Swedish physicists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Andra kammaren Swedish meteorologists People from Örebro County