Johannes Stark
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Johannes Stark (; 15 April 1874 – 21 June 1957) was a German
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 ...
who received the
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
in 1919 "for his discovery of the
Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...
in canal rays and the splitting of
spectral line A spectral line is a weaker or stronger region in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum. It may result from emission (electromagnetic radiation), emission or absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of light in a narrow frequency ...
s in
electric field An electric field (sometimes called E-field) is a field (physics), physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles such as electrons. In classical electromagnetism, the electric field of a single charge (or group of charges) descri ...
s". This phenomenon is known as the
Stark effect The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is the electric-field analogue of the Zeeman effect, where a spectral line is split into several compon ...
. Stark received his Ph.D. in physics from the
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
in 1897 under the supervision of Eugen von Lommel, and served as Lommel's assistant until his appointment as a lecturer at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
in 1900. He was an
extraordinary professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...
at Leibniz University Hannover from 1906 until he became a professor at
RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...
in 1909. In 1917, he became professor at the University of Greifswald, and he also worked at the
University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...
from 1920 to 1922. A supporter of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
from 1924, Stark was one of the main figures, along with fellow Nobel laureate
Philipp Lenard Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (; ; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a Hungarian-German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 "for his work on cathode rays" and the discovery of many of their properties. One of his most im ...
, in the antisemitic '' Deutsche Physik'' movement, which sought to remove Jewish scientists from German physics. He was appointed head of the
German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bud ...
in 1933 and was president of the Reich Physical-Technical Institute from 1933 to 1939. In 1947 he was found guilty as a "Major Offender" by a denazification court.


Biography


Early years

Born in Schickenhof,
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
(now Freihung), Stark was educated at Bayreuth Gymnasium (secondary school) and later in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
. His collegiate education began at the
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
, where he studied physics,
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
, and
crystallography Crystallography is the branch of science devoted to the study of molecular and crystalline structure and properties. The word ''crystallography'' is derived from the Ancient Greek word (; "clear ice, rock-crystal"), and (; "to write"). In J ...
. His tenure at that college began in 1894; he graduated in 1897, with his
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
dissertation titled ''Untersuchung über einige physikalische, vorzüglich optische Eigenschaften des Rußes '' (Investigation of some physical, in particular optical properties of soot).


Career

Stark worked in various positions at the Physics Institute of his alma mater until 1900, when he became an unsalaried
lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...
r at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
. An extraordinary professor at
Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
by 1906, in 1908 he became professor at
RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...
. He worked and researched at physics departments of several universities, including the University of Greifswald, until 1922. In 1919, he won the
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
for his "discovery of the
Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...
in canal rays and the splitting of spectral lines in electric fields" (the latter is known as the
Stark effect The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is the electric-field analogue of the Zeeman effect, where a spectral line is split into several compon ...
). From 1933 until his retirement in 1939, Stark was elected President of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, while also President of the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bu ...
. It was Stark who, as the editor of the ''Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik'', asked in 1907, then still rather unknown,
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
to write a review article on the
principle of relativity In physics, the principle of relativity is the requirement that the equations describing the laws of physics have the same form in all admissible frames of reference. For example, in the framework of special relativity, the Maxwell equations ...
. Stark seemed impressed by relativity and Einstein's earlier work when he quoted "the principle of relativity formulated by H. A. Lorentz and A. Einstein" and "Planck's relationship ''M''0 = ''E''0/''c''2" in his 1907 paper in
Physikalische Zeitschrift ''Physikalische Zeitschrift'' (English: ''Physical Journal'') was a German scientific journal of physics published from 1899 to 1945 by S. Hirzel Verlag. In 1924, it merged with ''Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik''. From 1944 onwards, t ...
, where he used the equation ''e''0 = ''m''0''c''2 to calculate an "elementary quantum of energy", i.e. the amount of energy related to the mass of an electron at rest. While working on his article, Einstein began a line of thought that would eventually lead to his general theory of relativity, which in turn became (after its confirmation) the start of Einstein's worldwide fame. This is ironic, given Stark's later work as an anti-Einstein and anti-relativity propagandist in the ''Deutsche Physik'' movement. Stark published more than 300 papers, mainly regarding
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and other such topics. He received various awards, including the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
, the Baumgartner Prize of the Vienna Academy of Sciences (1910), the Vahlbruch Prize of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences (1914), and the
Matteucci Medal The Matteucci Medal is an Italian award for physicists, named after Carlo Matteucci from Forlì. It was established to award physicists for their fundamental contributions. Under an Italian Royal Decree dated July 10, 1870, the Italian Society ...
of the Rome Academy. Probably his best known contribution to the field of
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
is the
Stark effect The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is the electric-field analogue of the Zeeman effect, where a spectral line is split into several compon ...
, which he discovered in 1913. In 1970 the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
honored him with a crater on the far-side of the Moon, without knowing about his Nazi activities. The name was dropped on August 12, 2020. He married Luise Uepler, and they had five children. His hobbies were the cultivation of fruit trees and forestry. He worked in his private laboratory, which he set up using his Nobel prize money, on his country estate in Upper Bavaria after the second world war. There he studied the deflection of light in an electric field.


Affiliation with Nazism

From 1924 onwards, Stark supported Hitler. During the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
regime, Stark attempted to become the
Führer ( , spelled ''Fuehrer'' when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially cal ...
of German physics through the '' Deutsche Physik'' ("German physics") movement (along with fellow Nobel laureate
Philipp Lenard Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (; ; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a Hungarian-German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 "for his work on cathode rays" and the discovery of many of their properties. One of his most im ...
) against the "Jewish physics" of
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...
(who was not Jewish). After Werner Heisenberg defended Albert Einstein's
theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...
, Stark wrote an angry article in the official SS newspaper '' Das Schwarze Korps'', calling Heisenberg a "White Jew". On August 21, 1934, Stark wrote to physicist and fellow Nobel laureate
Max von Laue Max Theodor Felix von Laue (; 9 October 1879 – 24 April 1960) was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 "for his discovery of the X-ray diffraction, diffraction of X-rays by crystals". In addition to his scientifi ...
, telling him to toe the party line or suffer the consequences. The letter was signed off with "Heil Hitler." In his 1934 book '' Nationalsozialismus und Wissenschaft'' (English: "National Socialism and Science") Stark maintained that the priority of the scientist was to serve the nation—thus, the important fields of research were those that could help German arms production and industry. He attacked theoretical physics as "Jewish" and stressed that scientific positions in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
should only be held by pure-blooded Germans. Writing in ''Das Schwarze Korps'', Stark argued that even if
racial antisemitism Racial antisemitism is prejudice against Jews based on a belief or assertion that Jews constitute a distinct Race (human categorization), race that has inherent traits or characteristics that appear in some way abhorrent or inherently inferior ...
were to triumph, it would only be a 'partial victory' if 'Jewish' ideas were not similarly defeated: "We also have to eradicate the Jewish spirit, whose blood can flow just as undisturbed today as before if its carriers hold beautiful
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
passes".Stone, Dan "Nazi Race Ideologues", in ''Patterns of Prejudice'', Volume 50, Issue 4-5 (2016), p. 452. In 1947, following the defeat of Germany in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Stark was classified as a "Major Offender" and received a sentence of four years' imprisonment (later suspended) by a denazification court.


Later life and death

Stark spent the last years of his life on his Gut Eppenstatt near Traunstein in Upper Bavaria, where he died in 1957 at the age of 83. He was buried in Schönau am Königssee in the mountain cemetery.UKw
''Ausflug in die Vergangenheit''
Bericht vom 9. Juli 2013 im Berchtesgadener Anzeiger über eine geschichtliche Führung von Alfred Spiegel-Schmidt über den ''Bergfriedhof'', online unter ''berchtesgadener-anzeiger''


See also

* Stark-Einstein law


Publications

* ''Die Entladung der Elektricität von galvanisch glühender Kohle in verdünntes Gas.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Annalen der Physik und Chemie', Neue Folge, Band 68). Leipzig, 1899 * ''Der elektrische Strom zwischen galvanisch glühender Kohle und einem Metall durch verdünntes Gas.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Annalen der Physik und Chemie', Neue Folge, Band 68). Leipzig, 1899 * ''Aenderung der Leitfähigkeit von Gasen durch einen stetigen elektrischen Strom.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Annalen der Physik', 4. Folge, Band 2). Leipzig, 1900 * ''Ueber den Einfluss der Erhitzung auf das elektrische Leuchten eines verdünnten Gases.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Annalen der Physik', 4. Folge, Band 1). Leipzig, 1900 * ''Ueber elektrostatische Wirkungen bei der Entladung der Elektricität in verdünnten Gasen.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Annalen der Physik', 4. Folge, Band 1). Leipzig, 1900 * ''Kritische Bemerkungen zu der Mitteilung der Herren Austin und Starke über Kathodenstrahlreflexion.'' Sonderabdruck aus 'Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft', Jahrgang 4, Nr. 8). Braunschweig, 1902 * ''Prinzipien der Atomdynamik. 1. Teil. Die elektrischen Quanten.'', 1910 * ''Schwierigkeiten für die Lichtquantenhypothese im Falle der Emission von Serienlinien.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft', Jg. XVI, Nr 6). Braunschweig, 1914 * ''Bemerkung zum Bogen – und Funkenspektrum des Heliums''. (Sonderabdruck aus 'Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft.', Jg. XVI, Nr. 10). Braunschweig, 1914 * ''Folgerungen aus einer Valenzhypothese. III. Natürliche Drehung der Schwingungsebene des Lichtes.'' (Sonderabdruck aus `Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik', Heft 2, Mai 1914), Leipzig, 1914 * ''Methode zur gleichzeitigen Zerlegung einer Linie durch das elektrische und das magnetische Feld.'' (Sonderabdruck aus 'Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft.', Jg. XVI, Nr. 7). Braunschweig, 1914 * ''Die gegenwärtige Krise der deutschen Physik'', ("The Thoroughgoing Crisis in German Physics") 1922 * ''Natur der chemischen Valenzkräfte'', 1922 * ''Hitlergeist und Wissenschaft'', 1924 together with
Philipp Lenard Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (; ; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a Hungarian-German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 "for his work on cathode rays" and the discovery of many of their properties. One of his most im ...
* ''Die Axialität der Lichtemission und Atomstruktur'', Berlin 1927 * ''Atomstruktur und Atombindung'', A. Seydel, Berlin 1928 * ''Atomstrukturelle Grundlagen der Stickstoffchemie.'', Leipzig, 1931 * ''Nationalsozialismus und Katholische Kirche'', ("National Socialism and the Catholic Church") 1931 * ''Nationalsozialismus und Katholische Kirche. II. Teil: Antwort auf Kundgebungen der deutschen Bischöfe.'', 1931 * ''Nationale Erziehung'', 1932 * ''Nationalsozialismus und Wissenschaft'' ("National Socialism and Science") 1934 * * ''Physik der Atomoberfläche'', 1940 * ''Jüdische und deutsche Physik'', ("Jewish and German Physics") with
Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1821) and ''Winterreise'' (1823). These would later be the source of inspiration for two song cy ...
, written at the
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
in 1941 * ''Nationale Erziehung, Zentrumsherrschaft und Jesuitenpolitik'', undated * ''Hitlers Ziele und Persönlichkeit'' ("Hitler's Aims and Personality"), undated


Notes


References

* Andreas Kleinert: ''"Die Axialität der Lichtemission und Atomstruktur". Johannes Starks Gegenentwurf zur Quantentheorie.'' In: Astrid Schürmann, Burghard Weiss (Eds.): ''Chemie – Kultur – Geschichte. Festschrift für Hans-Werner Schütt anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstages.'' Berlin u. Diepholz 2002, pp. 213–222.


External links


Pictures of a Danish translation of Stark's ''Adolf Hitler: Aims and Personality''
* Klaus Hentschel (ed.) Physics and National Socialism. An Anthology of Primary Sources., Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel, 1996; 2. Aufl. 2011, . * * including the Nobel Lecture, June 3, 1920 ''Structural and Spectral Changes of Chemical Atoms'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Johannes 1874 births 1957 deaths 20th-century German physicists German Nobel laureates Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German optical physicists Nobel laureates in Physics People from Amberg-Sulzbach Scientists from the Kingdom of Bavaria Relativity critics German spectroscopists Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of Leibniz University Hannover Academic staff of the University of Würzburg Recipients of the Matteucci Medal Academic staff of RWTH Aachen University Nazi Party members