August Herman Pfund | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1879-12-28)December 28, 1879 |
| Died | January 4, 1949(1949-01-04) (aged 69) |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Pfund cell Pfund series Pfund sky compass Pfund telescope |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins University |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert W. Wood |
August Herman Pfund (December 28, 1879 – January 4, 1949) was an Americanphysicist,spectroscopist, and inventor.
Pfund was born inMadison, Wisconsin and attended Wisconsin public schools until his entry into theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a B.S. degree in physics and studied underRobert W. Wood.
Both Wood and Pfund left Wisconsin forJohns Hopkins University in 1903. From 1903 to 1905 Pfund was a Carnegie research assistant and continued to work under Wood. In 1906 Pfund earned his Ph.D. in physics and was a Johnston scholar from 1907 to 1909. He remained at Hopkins for the remainder of his career, eventually becoming a full professor and later chair of the physics department. From 1943 to 1944 Pfund served as the president of theOptical Society of America.
Within thehydrogen spectral series Pfund discovered the fifth series, where an electron jumps up from or drops down to the fifth fundamental level. This Series is known as the "Pfund series". He also invented thePfund telescope, which is a method for achieving a fixed telescope focal point regardless of where the telescope line of sight is positioned, and thePfund sky compass,[1] which arose from Pfund's studies of the polarization of scattered light from the sky in 1944, and which greatly helpedtranspolar flights by allowing the determination of the Sun's direction in twilight.[2] Pfund is also noted for his work into the area of infrared gas analysis.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
