Victor Francis Hess
Encyclopedia
Victor Francis Hess was an Austria
n-American
physicist
, and Nobel laureate in physics
, who discovered cosmic ray
s.
, Austria
. His father was a royal forester in Prince Louis of Oettingen-Wallerstein
's service. He attended secondary school at Graz
Gymnasium from 1893 to 1901.
, and continued postgraduate studies in physics until he received his PhD there in 1910. He worked as Assistant under Stefan Meyer
at the Institute for Radium Research
, Viennese Academy of Sciences, from 1910 to 1920. Hess took a leave of absence in 1921 and travelled to the United States, working at the US Radium Corporation, in New Jersey
, and as Consulting Physicist for the US Bureau of Mines, in Washington DC. In 1923, he returned to the University of Graz, and was appointed the Ordinary Professor of Experimental Physics in 1925. The University of Innsbruck appointed him Professor, and Director Institute of Radiology, in 1931.
Hess relocated to the United States with his Jewish wife in 1938, in order to escape Nazi persecution. The same year Fordham University
appointed him Professor of Physics, and he later became a naturalized United States citizen in 1944. Retiring from Fordham in 1956, Hess died on 17 December 1964, in Mount Vernon, New York
, United States.
The result of Hess's meticulous work was published in the Proceedings of the Viennese Academy of Sciences, and showed the level of radiation decreased up to an altitude of about 1 km, but above that the level increased considerably, with the radiation detected at 5 km about twice that at sea level. His conclusion was that there was radiation penetrating the atmosphere from outer space, and his discovery was confirmed by Robert Andrews Millikan in 1925, who gave the radiation the name "cosmic ray
s". Hess's discovery opened the door to many new discoveries in nuclear physics
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, and Nobel laureate 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...
, who discovered cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s.
Early years
Hess was born to Vinzens Hess and Serafine Edle von Grossbauer-Waldstätt, in Waldstein Castle, near Peggau in StyriaDuchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. His father was a royal forester in Prince Louis of Oettingen-Wallerstein
Louis of Oettingen-Wallerstein
Ludwig Kraft Ernst, Prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein was a German nobleman of the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein. His mother was Wilhelmine Friederike , a daughter of Louis Eugene, Duke of Württemberg....
's service. He attended secondary school at Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
Gymnasium from 1893 to 1901.
Career
From 1901 to 1905 Hess was an undergraduate student at the University of GrazUniversity of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
, and continued postgraduate studies in physics until he received his PhD there in 1910. He worked as Assistant under Stefan Meyer
Stefan Meyer (physicist)
Stefan Meyer was an Austrian physicist involved in research on radioactivity. He became director of the Institute for Radium Research in Vienna and received the Lieben Prize in 1913 for his research on radium...
at the Institute for Radium Research
Institute for Radium Research, Vienna
The Institute for Radium Research was an Austrian research institute associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. The Institute's researchers won multiple Nobel Prizes...
, Viennese Academy of Sciences, from 1910 to 1920. Hess took a leave of absence in 1921 and travelled to the United States, working at the US Radium Corporation, in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and as Consulting Physicist for the US Bureau of Mines, in Washington DC. In 1923, he returned to the University of Graz, and was appointed the Ordinary Professor of Experimental Physics in 1925. The University of Innsbruck appointed him Professor, and Director Institute of Radiology, in 1931.
Hess relocated to the United States with his Jewish wife in 1938, in order to escape Nazi persecution. The same year Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
appointed him Professor of Physics, and he later became a naturalized United States citizen in 1944. Retiring from Fordham in 1956, Hess died on 17 December 1964, in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
, United States.
Pioneering discovery
Between 1911 and 1913, Hess undertook the work that won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936. For many years, scientists had been puzzled by the levels of ionizing radiation measured in the atmosphere. The assumption at the time was that the radiation would decrease as the distance from the earth, the source of the radiation, increased. The electroscopes previously used gave an approximate measurement of the radiation, but indicated that higher in the atmosphere the level of radiation may actually be more than that on the ground. Hess approached this mystery first by greatly increasing the precision of the measuring equipment, and then by personally taking the equipment aloft in a balloon. He systematically measured the radiation at altitudes up to 5.3 km during 1911-12. The daring flights were made both at day and during the night, at significant risk to himself.The result of Hess's meticulous work was published in the Proceedings of the Viennese Academy of Sciences, and showed the level of radiation decreased up to an altitude of about 1 km, but above that the level increased considerably, with the radiation detected at 5 km about twice that at sea level. His conclusion was that there was radiation penetrating the atmosphere from outer space, and his discovery was confirmed by Robert Andrews Millikan in 1925, who gave the radiation the name "cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s". Hess's discovery opened the door to many new discoveries in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
.
Honours and awards
- Lieben Prize (1919)
- Abbe Memorial Prize
- Abbe Medal of the Carl Zeiss Institute in Jena (1932)
- Nobel Prize in Physics (1936)