Ernst Karl Abbe

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Ernst Abbe
Ernst Karl Abbe (1840-1905)
Born	January 23, 1840(1840-01-23) Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Died	January 14, 1905 (aged 64) Jena, Germany
Residence	Germany
Nationality	German
Fields	Physicist
Institutions	University of Jena
Alma mater	University of Göttingen University of Jena
Doctoral advisor	Wilhelm Weber Carl Snell
Doctoral students	Heinrich Friedrich Weber
Known for	Abbe number

Ernst Karl Abbe (January 23, 1840 in Eisenach – January 14, 1905 in Jena), was a German physicist. He was a professor at the University of Jena.

Abbe is best known for his work in optics. He designed the first refractometer, which he described in a booklet published in 1874.^[1] He discovered the Abbe number, a measure of any transparent material's variation of refractive index with wavelength. Already a professor in Jena, he was hired by Carl Zeiss to improve the manufacturing process of optical instruments, which back then was largely based on trial and error. In a long and fruitful collaboration, Abbe created the mathematical foundation of microscope design, which became essential for the later preeminent position of the Zeiss company. In particular, he discovered the Abbe sine condition, a breakthrough in lens design. He also invented the Abbe condenser, used for microscope illumination.^[2] During his association with Carl Zeiss' microscope works, he also introduced the eight-hour workday, in remembrance of the 14-hour workday of his own father.

The Abbe crater on the Moon was named in his honour.

See also:

• Abbe condenser
• Abbe number
• Abbe prism
• Abbe refractometer
• Abbe sine condition
• Aberration in optical systems
• Calculation of glass properties

[edit] References

1. ^ Abbe, E. (1874). Neue Apparate zur Bestimmung des Brechungs - und Zerstreuungsvermögens fester und fluüssiger Körper. Jena: Mauke's Verlag. 
2. ^ Abbe, Ernst - Encyclopædia Britannica - Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.

[edit] Further reading

• Gunther, N. "Abbe, Ernst." in Dictionary of Scientific Biography. (1970). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Vol. 1: p.6-9.

[edit] External links

• Paselk, Richard A.. The Evolution of the Abbe Refractometer.
• Basic Principles of Refractometers (and Polarimeters}
• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., “Ernst Karl Abbe”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive 
• Molecular Expressions's biography
• Works by Ernst Abbe at Project Gutenberg

Persondata
NAME	Abbe, Ernst Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German Physicist
DATE OF BIRTH	January 23, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH	Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DATE OF DEATH	January 14, 1905
PLACE OF DEATH	Jena, Germany