Jonathan Zenneck
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Adolf Wilhelm Zenneck (April 15, 1871 - April 8, 1959) was a physicist
and electrical engineer. Zenneck was born in Ruppertshofen
, Württemberg
. Zenneck contributed to researches in radio circuit performance
and to the scientific
and educational contributions to the literature of the pioneer radio art
. Zenneck improved the Braun cathode ray tube
, by adding a second deflection structure at right angles to the first, which allowed two-dimensional viewing of a waveform. This two-dimensional display is fundamental to the oscilloscope
.
in Maulbronn
. In 1887, in a Blaubeuren seminary, Zenneck learned Latin
, Greek
, French
, and Hebrew
. In 1889, Zenneck enrolled in the Tübingen University. At the Tuebingen Seminary, Zenneck studied mathematics
and natural sciences. In 1894, Zenneck took the State examination in mathematics and natural sciences and the examination for his doctor's degree.
In 1894, Zenneck conducted zoological research (Natural History Museum, London
). Between 1894-1895, Zenneck served in the military.
, Alsace
. Nikola Tesla
lectures introduced him to the wireless sciences. In 1899, Zenneck started propagation studies of wireless telegraphy
, first over land, but then became more interested in the larger ranges that were reached over sea. In 1900 he started ship-to-coast experiments in the Northern Sea near Cuxhaven, Germany
. in 1902 he conducted tests of directional antenna
s. In 1905, Zenneck left Strasbourg since he was appointed assistant-professor
at the Danzig Technische Hochschule and in 1906, he was became professor of experimental physics
in the Braunschweig Technische Hochschule. Also in 1906, Zenneck wrote "Electromagnetic Oscillations and Wireless Telegraphy", the then standard textbook on the subject). In 1909, he joined Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik in Ludwigshafen to experiment with electrical discharges in air to produce bound nitrogen
as fertilizer
.
, Zenneck went to the front as a Captain in the Marines. However, yet in 1914, the german government sent him to the United States
as technical advisor
in a patent case of great importance to Germany. When the United States
entered the war they declared Zenneck a Prisoner of War
. He was dismissed only in 1920 when he could finally take over the professorship of experimental physics at the Technische Hochschule
in Munich
. In that time he resumed propagation studies, now with shortwaves and was first in Germany to study the Ionosphere
with vertical sounding at his station at Kochel/Bavaria
. Since the 1930s Zenneck directed the Deutsche Museum
in Munich
and rebuilt it after World War II
. Zenneck was awarded the 1928 IRE Medal of Honor For his achievements in basic research on radio technology and for fostering academic and technical offspring he received the Siemens-Ring in 1956.
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...
and electrical engineer. Zenneck was born in Ruppertshofen
Ruppertshofen
Ruppertshofen refers to several places in Germany:*Ruppertshofen, Baden-Württemberg*Ruppertshofen, Rhineland-Palatinate...
, Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. Zenneck contributed to researches in radio circuit performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
and to the scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and educational contributions to the literature of the pioneer radio art
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
. Zenneck improved the Braun cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
, by adding a second deflection structure at right angles to the first, which allowed two-dimensional viewing of a waveform. This two-dimensional display is fundamental to the oscilloscope
Oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
.
Early years
In 1885, Zenneck entered the Evangelical-Theological SeminaryEvangelical Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren
The Protestant Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren in Baden-Württemberg, Germany are two Gymnasiums and Protestant boarding schools in the Württemberg tradition....
in Maulbronn
Maulbronn
Maulbronn is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-History:Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1886, Maulbronn officially became a German town and was an...
. In 1887, in a Blaubeuren seminary, Zenneck learned Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. In 1889, Zenneck enrolled in the Tübingen University. At the Tuebingen Seminary, Zenneck studied mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and natural sciences. In 1894, Zenneck took the State examination in mathematics and natural sciences and the examination for his doctor's degree.
In 1894, Zenneck conducted zoological research (Natural History Museum, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
). Between 1894-1895, Zenneck served in the military.
Middle years
1895 Zenneck left zoology and turned over to the new field of radio science, He became assistant to Ferdinand Braun and lecturer at "Physikalisches Institut" in StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Alsace
Alsace
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...
. Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
lectures introduced him to the wireless sciences. In 1899, Zenneck started propagation studies of wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
, first over land, but then became more interested in the larger ranges that were reached over sea. In 1900 he started ship-to-coast experiments in the Northern Sea near Cuxhaven, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. in 1902 he conducted tests of directional antenna
Directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources....
s. In 1905, Zenneck left Strasbourg since he was appointed assistant-professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Danzig Technische Hochschule and in 1906, he was became professor of experimental physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in the Braunschweig Technische Hochschule. Also in 1906, Zenneck wrote "Electromagnetic Oscillations and Wireless Telegraphy", the then standard textbook on the subject). In 1909, he joined Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik in Ludwigshafen to experiment with electrical discharges in air to produce bound nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
as fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
.
Later years
Around World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Zenneck went to the front as a Captain in the Marines. However, yet in 1914, the german government sent him to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
in a patent case of great importance to Germany. When the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered the war they declared Zenneck a Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. He was dismissed only in 1920 when he could finally take over the professorship of experimental physics at the Technische Hochschule
Technische Hochschule
Technische Hochschule is what an Institute of Technology used to be called in German-speaking countries, as well as in the Netherlands, before most of them changed their name to Technische Universität or Technische Universiteit in the 1970s and in the...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In that time he resumed propagation studies, now with shortwaves and was first in Germany to study the Ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
with vertical sounding at his station at Kochel/Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Since the 1930s Zenneck directed the Deutsche Museum
Deutsches Museum
The Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of technology and science, with approximately 1.5 million visitors per year and about 28,000 exhibited objects from 50 fields of science and technology. The museum was founded on June 28, 1903, at a meeting of the Association...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and rebuilt it after 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...
. Zenneck was awarded the 1928 IRE Medal of Honor For his achievements in basic research on radio technology and for fostering academic and technical offspring he received the Siemens-Ring in 1956.