Wilhelm Anderson
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Robert Karl Anderson (29 October 1880, Minsk
, Belarus
– 26 March 1940, Międzyrzecz
) was a German
-Estonia
n astrophysicist who studied the physical structure of the star
s.
into an ethnic German
Family. His younger brothers were the well known mathematician
Oskar Anderson
and the folklorist Walter Anderson
. Anderson spent
some of his youth in Kazan
, where his father Nikolai Anderson was a university professor.
Between 1910 and 1920, he worked as a physics
teacher in Samara
and Minsk
. Together with his brother Walter Anderson
, he moved to Tartu
(Estonia
) in 1920. At the University of Tartu
, he first gained a Masters degree in 1923 and then a Doctorate in 1927. Early in 1940, he was resettled to Germany
, where he died in a Sanatorium
in Międzyrzecz
, shortly thereafter.
Anderson is probably best known for his work on the mass limit for white dwarf
stars (1929, Tartu
), which has since become known as the Chandrasekhar Limit
. The Stoner-Anderson Equation of state, a result of Anderson's correspondence with Edmund Stoner
, is named after him.
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
– 26 March 1940, Międzyrzecz
Miedzyrzecz
Międzyrzecz is a town in western Poland with 18,584 inhabitants . The capital of Międzyrzecz County, it was part of the Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship from 1975–1998. Since the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, Międzyrzecz has been situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship...
) 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...
-Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n astrophysicist who studied the physical structure of the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s.
Life
Wilhelm Anderson was born in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
into an ethnic 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...
Family. His younger brothers were the well known mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Oskar Anderson
Oskar Anderson
Oskar Johann Viktor Anderson was a German-Russian mathematician. He was most famously known for his work on mathematical statistics.- Life :...
and the folklorist Walter Anderson
Walter Anderson (folklorist)
Walter Anderson was a German ethnologist .- Life :Anderson was born from a German family in Minsk, but soon moved to Kazan , on the edge of Siberia. His father, Nikolai Anderson, was professor in Finno-Ugric languages at the University of Kazan...
. Anderson spent
some of his youth in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, where his father Nikolai Anderson was a university professor.
Between 1910 and 1920, he worked as a 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...
teacher in Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
and Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. Together with his brother Walter Anderson
Walter Anderson (folklorist)
Walter Anderson was a German ethnologist .- Life :Anderson was born from a German family in Minsk, but soon moved to Kazan , on the edge of Siberia. His father, Nikolai Anderson, was professor in Finno-Ugric languages at the University of Kazan...
, he moved to Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
(Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) in 1920. At the University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
, he first gained a Masters degree in 1923 and then a Doctorate in 1927. Early in 1940, he was resettled to 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...
, where he died in a Sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
in Międzyrzecz
Miedzyrzecz
Międzyrzecz is a town in western Poland with 18,584 inhabitants . The capital of Międzyrzecz County, it was part of the Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship from 1975–1998. Since the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, Międzyrzecz has been situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship...
, shortly thereafter.
Anderson is probably best known for his work on the mass limit for white dwarf
White dwarf
A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored...
stars (1929, Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
), which has since become known as the Chandrasekhar Limit
Chandrasekhar limit
When a star starts running out of fuel, it usually cools off and collapses into one of three compact forms, depending on its total mass:* a White Dwarf, a big lump of Carbon and Oxygen atoms, almost like one huge molecule...
. The Stoner-Anderson Equation of state, a result of Anderson's correspondence with Edmund Stoner
Edmund Clifton Stoner
Edmund Clifton Stoner was a British theoretical physicist. He is principally known for his work on the origin and nature of itinerant ferromagnetism , including the collective electron theory of ferromagnetism...
, is named after him.
Work (selection)
- Über die Existenzmöglichkeit von kosmischem Staube in der Sonnenkorona. Zeitschrift für Physik 28, Berlin, 1924.
- Über die Grenzdichte der Materie und der Energie. Zeitschrift für Physik 56, Berlin, 1929.