Johann Philipp Gustav von Jolly (26 September 1809 – 24 December 1884) was a German experimental physicist. He measured

gravitational acceleration In physics, gravitational acceleration is the acceleration of an object in free fall within a vacuum (and thus without experiencing drag (physics), drag). This is the steady gain in speed caused exclusively by gravitational attraction. All bodi ...

with precision weights and also worked on

osmosis Osmosis (, ) is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively permeable membrane, selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of ...

. He also designed several tools like the Jolly balance in 1864, a special eudiometer in 1878, as well as his own air pump and Jolly air thermometer. He is the father of neurologist Friedrich Jolly.

Life

Johann Phillip Gustav Jolly was born in Mannheim, as the son of merchant and Marie Eleonore Jolly, who came originally from France. Politician Julius Jolly was Philipp's brother. His primary education was in Mannheim. Jolly attended joined

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

in 1829, to study physics and mathematics. During his studies he worked in Vienna as a mechanician for factories and mining plants, before returning back to Heidelberg in 1834, where he received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. After his studies, he was appointed professor of mathematics in 1839 and professor of physics in 1846, in Heidelberg. He moved to 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 1854, where he took the position once held by Georg Simon Ohm. He was knighted in 1854 (and henceforth referred to as von Jolly). Jolly died in Munich.

Relationship with other scientists

Von Jolly was initially skeptical of Julius von Mayer's theory on the mechanical equivalent of heat.

Ernst Mach Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach ( ; ; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, who contributed to the understanding of the physics of shock waves. The ratio of the speed of a flow or object to that of ...

recalled a time when von Mayer was looking for advice, but Jolly said that if von Meyer's theory was right "then water should be warmed by merely shaking it." Von Meyer immediately left the room without saying a word, and after a few weeks, he surprised von Jolly in his office by shouting "and so it is!" (). One of Jolly's students at the University of Munich was

Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quantum, quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial con ...

, whom he advised in 1878 not to go into theoretical physics. Nevertheless, Planck's later work led to the discovery of

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

. Later in life Planck reported: Philipp Carl earned his doctorate in 1860 in Munich, supervised by von Jolly and Johann von Lamont.

Selected works

* ''Anleitung zur Differential- und Integralrechnung'', 1846 – Manual of differential and integral calculus. * ''Die Principien der Mechanik'', 1852 – The principles of mechanics. * ''Eine Federwage zu exacten Wägungen'', 1864 – A spring balance for exact weight measurements. * ''Die Anwendung der Waage auf Probleme der Gravitation'', 1878, ''zweite Abhandlung'', 1881 – Application of a scale to problems of gravitation in two parts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolly, Philipp von 19th-century German physicists 19th-century German mathematicians Science teachers Bavarian nobility Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Academic staff of Heidelberg University 1809 births 1884 deaths Scientists from Mannheim People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Heidelberg University alumni University of Vienna alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni