Fernand Holweck
Encyclopedia
Fernand Holweck was a French
physicist
who made important contributions in the fields of vacuum technology
, electromagnetic radiation
and gravitation
. He is also remembered for his personal sacrifice in the cause of the French Resistance
and his aid to Allied airmen in World War II
.
Region who had opted to remain French at the end of the Franco-Prussian war
in 1870. He studied at the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris
(ESPCI), where he graduated top of his class in engineering physics and became personal assistant to Marie Curie
. During his military service he worked under the wireless telegraphy pioneer Gustave-Auguste Ferrié
at the Eiffel Tower
radio station, and by 1914 he had produced his first patent, relating to thermionic tubes.
During the first world war, 1914–1918, he served first at the front, working on methods to detect enemy radio signals, and later at the naval study centre in Toulon
, working under Paul Langevin
on ultrasonic sounding. Demobilised in 1919, Holweck resumed his work at Institut du Radium, gaining his doctorate in 1922, and eventually becoming Director of Research at the CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research) in 1938.
which lies in between X-rays and the far ultraviolet. To facilitate his experimental studies, he invented a new type of vacuum pump, which later became known as the Holweck Pump. This pump, which utilised the drag of air molecule
s against a rotating surface, achieved vacuums as great as one millionth of a centimetre of mercury, was subsequently manufactured by the notable French scientific instrument maker, Charles Beaudouin. In the late 1920's Holweck was an early pioneer of television
, making significant advances in electron focusing and optics. Other important inventions included a highly sensitive and portable gravimetric pendulum, which was used in oil and mining exploration, and a widely used X-ray tube. Among Holweck's last major contributions was an early and important paper on the biological effect of radiation, in collaboration with Salvador Luria and E. Wollman.
. He also worked with the celebrated aviation pioneer and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
, to solve practical problems in aircraft operation. During the German occupation of France, Holweck was an active member of the French Resistance
, helping British airmen and agents. Betrayed by a notorious traitor, he was arrested and later tortured and murdered by the Gestapo
.
, awarded in alternate years to French and British physicists. Later the Société Française de Physique added a medal, originally in bronze but now in gold. Also in 1945 an auditorium in the ESPCI was named in his honour.
On 6 September 1946 a diploma of recognition was given to Holweck's family by the United Kingdom and the United States of America, for help given to the escape of allied airmen from occupied France. In Paris a street was named after Holweck in 1986, as well as a technical lycée (highschool) in 1988.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who made important contributions in the fields of vacuum technology
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
, electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space...
and gravitation
Gravitation
Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped...
. He is also remembered for his personal sacrifice in the cause of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and his aid to Allied airmen in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
Holweck was born on 21 July 1890 to a family from the AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
Region who had opted to remain French at the end of the Franco-Prussian war
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870. He studied at the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris
École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris
The école supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris or ESPCI ParisTech is a chemistry and physics engineering college run by the city of Paris, France and a member of ParisTech...
(ESPCI), where he graduated top of his class in engineering physics and became personal assistant to Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
. During his military service he worked under the wireless telegraphy pioneer Gustave-Auguste Ferrié
Gustave-Auguste Ferrié
Gustave-Auguste Ferrié was a French radio pioneer and army general.- Biography :Ferrié was born in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, Savoie...
at the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
radio station, and by 1914 he had produced his first patent, relating to thermionic tubes.
During the first world war, 1914–1918, he served first at the front, working on methods to detect enemy radio signals, and later at the naval study centre in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, working under Paul Langevin
Paul Langevin
Paul Langevin was a prominent French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an antifascist organization created in the wake of the 6 February 1934 far right riots...
on ultrasonic sounding. Demobilised in 1919, Holweck resumed his work at Institut du Radium, gaining his doctorate in 1922, and eventually becoming Director of Research at the CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research) in 1938.
Science
In his doctoral thesis, Holweck described a seminal study of soft X-rays, that part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiationElectromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space...
which lies in between X-rays and the far ultraviolet. To facilitate his experimental studies, he invented a new type of vacuum pump, which later became known as the Holweck Pump. This pump, which utilised the drag of air molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
s against a rotating surface, achieved vacuums as great as one millionth of a centimetre of mercury, was subsequently manufactured by the notable French scientific instrument maker, Charles Beaudouin. In the late 1920's Holweck was an early pioneer of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, making significant advances in electron focusing and optics. Other important inventions included a highly sensitive and portable gravimetric pendulum, which was used in oil and mining exploration, and a widely used X-ray tube. Among Holweck's last major contributions was an early and important paper on the biological effect of radiation, in collaboration with Salvador Luria and E. Wollman.
The Resistance
At the outbreak of the Second World War Holweck became a technical advisor to the French Prime Minister Paul ReynaudPaul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
. He also worked with the celebrated aviation pioneer and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
, to solve practical problems in aircraft operation. During the German occupation of France, Holweck was an active member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, helping British airmen and agents. Betrayed by a notorious traitor, he was arrested and later tortured and murdered by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
.
Legacy
Several tributes to Holweck's science and personal sacrifice came in the years following the end of the World War II. Members of the British Physical Society and others subscribed to raise money to initiate, in 1945, the Holweck PrizeHolweck Prize
The Holweck Prize is a major European prize for Physics awarded jointly every year by the British Institute of Physics and the Société Française de Physique . It is one of the four Grand Prix of the SFP and one of the four International Bilateral Awards of the IOP, consisting of a gold medal and a...
, awarded in alternate years to French and British physicists. Later the Société Française de Physique added a medal, originally in bronze but now in gold. Also in 1945 an auditorium in the ESPCI was named in his honour.
On 6 September 1946 a diploma of recognition was given to Holweck's family by the United Kingdom and the United States of America, for help given to the escape of allied airmen from occupied France. In Paris a street was named after Holweck in 1986, as well as a technical lycée (highschool) in 1988.