Rudolf Tomaschek
Encyclopedia
Rudolf Karl Anton Tomaschek (23 December 1895 in Budweis
, Bohemia
– 1966) was a German
experimental physicist. His scientific efforts included work on phosphorescence, fluorescence, and (tidal
) gravitation. Tomaschek was a supporter of deutsche Physik
, which resulted in his suspension from his university posts after World War II. From 1948 to 1954, he worked in England for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). In 1954, when AIOC became BP, he went to Germany and was president of the Permanent Tidal Commission.
. He earned his doctorate in the early 1920s under Philipp Lenard
, at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, and then became Lenard’s assistant. He completed his Habilitation
under Lenard in 1924.
drift experiments, repetitions of the Michelson-Morley experiment
and the Trouton–Noble experiment, whose negative outcome further supported Albert Einstein
's special relativity
– although Tomaschek was a critic
of that theory.
In November 1926, Tomaschek went to the Technische Hochschule München (today, the Technische Universität München
) and then to the Philipps-Universität Marburg, where he was appointed ausserordentlicher Professor (extraordinarius professor) for experimental physics, in late 1927. From 1934, Tomaschek was the director of the physics department at the Technische Hochschule Dresden (today, the Technische Universität Dresden
). From 1939 to 1945, Tomaschek was an ordentlicher Professor (ordinarius professor) and director of the physics department at the Technische Hochschule München.
Tomaschek was a supporter of deutsche Physik
. The deutsche Physik movement was anti-Semitic and anti-theoretical physics. As applied in the university environment, political factors took priority over the historically applied concept of scholarly ability, even though its two most prominent supporters were the Nobel Laureates in Physics
Philipp Lenard
and Johannes Stark
. When Adolf Hitler
became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, the concept and movement took on more favor and more fervor. Supporters of deutsche Physik launched vicious attacks against leading theoretical physicists, including Arnold Sommerfeld
and Werner Heisenberg
.
It was in the summer of 1940 that Finkelnburg became an acting director of the Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund (NSDDB, National Socialist German University Lecturers League) at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (today, the Technische Universität Darmstadt
). As such, he organized the Münchner Religionsgespräche, which took place on November 15, 1940. The event was an offensive against the deutsche Physik movement. Finkelnburg invited five representatives to make arguments for theoretical physics and academic decisions based on ability, rather than politics: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
, Otto Scherzer
, Georg Joos
, Otto Heckmann, and Hans Kopfermann
. Alfons Bühl
, a supporter of deutsche Physik, invited Harald Volkmann, Bruno Thüring
, Wilhelm Müller, Rudolf Tomaschek, and Ludwig Wesch. The discussion was led by Gustav Borer, with Herbert Stuart and Johannes Malsch as observers. While the technical outcome of the event may have been thin, it was a political victory against deutsche Physik and signaled the decline of the influence of the movement within the German Reich.
In 1945, the Allied occupation authority in Germany suspended Tomaschek from his positions at the Technische Hochschule München; he was succeeded by Georg Joos
in September 1946.
From 1948 to 1954, Tomaschek was employed at the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
(AIOC) Research Centre, Kirklington Hall, near Newark, England
; the AIOC became British Petrolim
in 1954. From 1954, he went to Breitbrunn-Chiemsee
, in Bavaria
, where he continued his research activities; there he was President of the Permanenten Gezeitenkommission (Permanent Tidal Commission).
Ceské Budejovice
České Budějovice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
– 1966) was a German
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...
experimental physicist. His scientific efforts included work on phosphorescence, fluorescence, and (tidal
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
) gravitation. Tomaschek was a supporter of deutsche Physik
Deutsche Physik
Deutsche Physik or Aryan Physics was a nationalist movement in the German physics community in the early 1930s against the work of Albert Einstein, labeled "Jewish Physics"...
, which resulted in his suspension from his university posts after World War II. From 1948 to 1954, he worked in England for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). In 1954, when AIOC became BP, he went to Germany and was president of the Permanent Tidal Commission.
Education
From 1913 to 1918, Tomaschek studied at the Deutschen Universität PragCharles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
. He earned his doctorate in the early 1920s under Philipp Lenard
Philipp Lenard
Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard , known in Hungarian as Lénárd Fülöp Eduárd Antal, was a Hungarian - German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties...
, at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, and then became Lenard’s assistant. He completed his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
under Lenard in 1924.
Career
Beginning with 1921, he conducted several aetherAether
-Metaphysics and mythology:* Aether , the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere* Aether was the personification of the "upper sky", space and heaven, in Greek mythology-Science and engineering:...
drift experiments, repetitions of the Michelson-Morley experiment
Michelson-Morley experiment
The Michelson–Morley experiment was performed in 1887 by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Its results are generally considered to be the first strong evidence against the theory of a luminiferous ether and in favor of special...
and the Trouton–Noble experiment, whose negative outcome further supported Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
's special relativity
Special relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
– although Tomaschek was a critic
Criticism of relativity theory
Criticism of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity was mainly expressed in the early years after its publication on a scientific, pseudoscientific, philosophical, or ideological basis. Reasons for criticism were, for example, alternative theories, rejection of the abstract-mathematical method,...
of that theory.
In November 1926, Tomaschek went to the Technische Hochschule München (today, the Technische Universität München
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
) and then to the Philipps-Universität Marburg, where he was appointed ausserordentlicher Professor (extraordinarius professor) for experimental physics, in late 1927. From 1934, Tomaschek was the director of the physics department at the Technische Hochschule Dresden (today, the Technische Universität Dresden
Dresden University of Technology
The Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
). From 1939 to 1945, Tomaschek was an ordentlicher Professor (ordinarius professor) and director of the physics department at the Technische Hochschule München.
Tomaschek was a supporter of deutsche Physik
Deutsche Physik
Deutsche Physik or Aryan Physics was a nationalist movement in the German physics community in the early 1930s against the work of Albert Einstein, labeled "Jewish Physics"...
. The deutsche Physik movement was anti-Semitic and anti-theoretical physics. As applied in the university environment, political factors took priority over the historically applied concept of scholarly ability, even though its two most prominent supporters were the Nobel Laureates in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
Philipp Lenard
Philipp Lenard
Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard , known in Hungarian as Lénárd Fülöp Eduárd Antal, was a Hungarian - German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties...
and Johannes Stark
Johannes Stark
Johannes Stark was a German physicist, and Physics Nobel Prize laureate who was closely involved with the Deutsche Physik movement under the Nazi regime.-Early years:...
. When Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, the concept and movement took on more favor and more fervor. Supporters of deutsche Physik launched vicious attacks against leading theoretical physicists, including Arnold Sommerfeld
Arnold Sommerfeld
Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and groomed a large number of students for the new era of theoretical physics...
and Werner Heisenberg
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
.
It was in the summer of 1940 that Finkelnburg became an acting director of the Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund (NSDDB, National Socialist German University Lecturers League) at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (today, the Technische Universität Darmstadt
Darmstadt University of Technology
The Technische Universität Darmstadt, abbreviated TU Darmstadt, is a university in the city of Darmstadt, Germany...
). As such, he organized the Münchner Religionsgespräche, which took place on November 15, 1940. The event was an offensive against the deutsche Physik movement. Finkelnburg invited five representatives to make arguments for theoretical physics and academic decisions based on ability, rather than politics: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
, Otto Scherzer
Otto Scherzer
Otto Scherzer was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to electron microscopy.-Education:...
, Georg Joos
Georg Joos
Georg Jakob Christof Joos was a German theoretical physicist. He wrote Lehrbuch der theoretischen Physik, first published in 1932 and one of the most influential theoretical physics textbooks of the 20th Century.-Education:Joos began his higher education in 1912 at the Technische Hochschule...
, Otto Heckmann, and Hans Kopfermann
Hans Kopfermann
Hans Kopfermann was a German atomic and nuclear physicist. He devoted his entire career to spectroscopic investigations, and he did pioneering work in measuring nuclear spin...
. Alfons Bühl
Alfons Bühl
Alfons Bühl was a German physicist. From 1934 to 1945, he was director of the physics department at the Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe.-Education:...
, a supporter of deutsche Physik, invited Harald Volkmann, Bruno Thüring
Bruno Thüring
Bruno Jakob Thüring was a German physicist and astronomer.Thüring studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the University of Munich and received his doctorate in 1928, under Alexander Wilkens and Arnold Sommerfeld...
, Wilhelm Müller, Rudolf Tomaschek, and Ludwig Wesch. The discussion was led by Gustav Borer, with Herbert Stuart and Johannes Malsch as observers. While the technical outcome of the event may have been thin, it was a political victory against deutsche Physik and signaled the decline of the influence of the movement within the German Reich.
In 1945, the Allied occupation authority in Germany suspended Tomaschek from his positions at the Technische Hochschule München; he was succeeded by Georg Joos
Georg Joos
Georg Jakob Christof Joos was a German theoretical physicist. He wrote Lehrbuch der theoretischen Physik, first published in 1932 and one of the most influential theoretical physics textbooks of the 20th Century.-Education:Joos began his higher education in 1912 at the Technische Hochschule...
in September 1946.
From 1948 to 1954, Tomaschek was employed at the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. It was the first company to extract petroleum from the Middle East...
(AIOC) Research Centre, Kirklington Hall, near Newark, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; the AIOC became British Petrolim
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in 1954. From 1954, he went to Breitbrunn-Chiemsee
Breitbrunn am Chiemsee
Breitbrunn am Chiemsee is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany....
, in 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...
, where he continued his research activities; there he was President of the Permanenten Gezeitenkommission (Permanent Tidal Commission).
Books by Tomaschek
- From 1933 to 1945, Tomaschek revised editions of Ernst Grimsehl’s Lehrbuch der Physik. Zum Gebrauch beim Unterricht neben akademischen Vorlesungen und zum Selbststudium (Teubner), starting with the 8th edition.
- Rudolf Tomaschek Die Messungen der zeitlichen Änderung der Schwerkraft (Springer 1937)
- Rudolf Tomaschek Leuchten und Struktur fester Stoffe (Oldenbourg, 1943)
- Rudolf Tomaschek Kosmische Kraftfelder und astrale Einflüsse (Ebertin 1959)
- Rudolf Tomaschek Probleme der Erdgezeitenforschung (Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften 1956)
Literature by Tomaschek
- Alfred Eckert and Rudolf Tomaschek Zur Kenntnis des Mesonaphtobianthrons, Monatshefte für Chemie / Chemical Monthly Volume 39, Number 10 (1918). The authors were cited as being affiliated with the Chemischen Laboratorium der k. k. Deutschen Universität Prag, Tschechoslowakei.
- Rudolf Tomaschek Zur Kenntnis der Borsäurephosphore, Annalen der Physik Volume 372, Issue 5, pp. 612-648 (1922)
- Rudolf Tomaschek Über das Verhalten des Lichtes außerirdischer Lichtquellen, Annalen der Physik Volume 378, Issue 1, pp. 105-126 (1924)
- Rudolf Tomaschek Über die Phosphoreszenzeigenschaften der seltenen Erden in Erdalkaliphosphoren. I, Annalen der Physik, Volume 380, Issue 18, pp. 109-142 (1924)
- R. Tomaschek Über die Aberration, Zeitschrift für Physik Volume 32, Number 1 (1925). The author was cited as being in Heidelberg. The article was received on 18 March 1925.
- R. Tomaschek Über Versuche zur Auffindung elektrodynamischer Wirkungen der Erdbewegung in großen Höhen II, Annalen der Physik, Volume 385, Issue 13, pp. 509-514 (1926)
- R. Tomaschek Über die Emission der Phosphore I. Verhalten des Samariums in Sulfiden und Sulfaten, Annalen der Physik Volume 389, Issue 19, pp. 329-383 (1927)
- Rudolf Tomaschek and Henriette Tomaschek Über die Emission der Phosphore II. Umwandlung der Teilbanden im Samariumsulfidspektrum, Annalen der Physik Volume 389, Issue 24, pp. 1047-1073 (1927)
- R. Tomaschek and W. Schaffernicht Zu den gravimetrischen Bestimmungsversuchen der absoluten Erdbewegung, Astronomische Nachrichten, Volume 244, p. 257 (1932)
- R. Tomaschek and W. Schffernicht Ether-Drift and Gravity, Nature Volume 129, 24-25 (1932)
- R. Tomaschek and W. Schaffernicht Tidal Oscillations of Gravity, Nature Volume 130, 165-166 (1932)
- R. Tomaschek and O. Deutschbein Über die Emission der Phosphore. III Verhalten des Samariums in den Oxyden der II. Gruppe, Annalen der Physik, Volume 408, Issue 8, pp. 930-948 (1933)
- R. Tomaschek and O. Deutschbein Fluorescence of Pure Salts of the Rare Earths. Nature Volume 131, 473-473 (1933)
- R. Tomaschek and O. Deutschbein Über den Zusammenhang der Emissions- und Absorptionsspektren der Salze der Seltenen Erden im festen Zustand I. Fremdstoffphosphore, Zeitschrift für Physik Volume 82, Numbers 5-6, 309-327 (1933). The authors were cited as being at the Physikal. Institut d. Universität, Marburg a. d. Lahn. The article was received on 17 February 1933.
- R. Tomaschek Schwerkraftmessungen, Die NaturwissenschaftenDie NaturwissenschaftenNaturwissenschaften is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer on behalf of several learned societies.- History :...
Volume 25, Issue 12, pp. 177-185 (1937)
- R. Tomaschek On the application of phosphorescence spectra to the investigation of the structure of solids and solutions, Trans. Faraday Society Volume 35, 148 - 154 (1939)
- R. Tomaschek Non-elastic tilt of the Earth's crust due to meteorological pressure distributions, Pure and Applied Geophysics Volume 25, Number 1, 17-25 (1953). The author was cited as being at the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. Research Centre, Kirklington Hall, Nr. Newark Notts, Notts, UK.
- R. Tomaschek Earth Tilts in the British Isles Connected With Far Distant Earthquakes, Nature Volume 176, 24 - 25 (1955). The author was cited as being affiliated with the British Petroleum Company, Ltd., Research Centre, Kirklington Hall, near Newark, Notts.
- R. Tomaschek Fundamental behaviour of sensitive springs, J. Sci. Instrum Volume 33, 78-81 (1955). The author was cited as being affiliated with the British Petroleum Co., Ltd., Kirklington Hall, Nr. Newark, Notts. The article was received 18 May 1955.
- R. Tomaschek Tidal Gravity Measurements in the Shetlands: Effect of the Total Eclipse of June 30, 1954, Nature Volume 175, 937 - 939 (1955)
- R. Tomaschek Measurements of tidal gravity and load deformations on Unst (Shetlands), Pure and Applied Geophysics Volume 37, Number 1, 55-78 (1957). The author was cited as being at Loiberting 7, Breitbrunn/Chiemsee, (West-Deutschland). The article was received on 15 June 1957.
- R. Tomaschek Great Earthquakes and the Astronomical Positions of Uranus, Nature Volume 184, 177 - 178 (1959). The author was cited as being in Breitbrunn-Chiemsee, Bavaria.
- R. Tomaschek and E. Groten Die Residualbewegungen in den Registrierungen der horizontalen Gezeitenkomponenten, Journal Pure and Applied Geophysics Volume 56, Number 1, 1-15 (1963). Tomaschek was identified as being in Breitbrunn-Chiemsee, and Groten was identified as being at Ohio-State University, Columbus, Ohio. The article was received on 5 July 1963.