Friedrich Paschen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1865-01-22)22 January 1865 |
| Died | 25 February 1947(1947-02-25) (aged 82) |
| Known for | Paschen–Back effect Paschen series Paschen's law |
| Awards | Rumford Medal(1928) |
Louis Carl Heinrich Friedrich Paschen (22 January 1865 – 25 February 1947) was a Germanphysicist, known for his work on electrical discharges. He is also known for thePaschen series, a series of hydrogen spectral lines in the infrared region that he first observed in 1908. He established the now widely usedPaschen curve in his article"Über die zum Funkenübergang in Luft, Wasserstoff und Kohlensäure bei verschiedenen Drücken erforderliche Potentialdifferenz".[1] He is known for thePaschen-Back effect, which is theZeeman effect's becoming non-linear at high magnetic field. He helped explain thehollow cathode effect in 1916.[2]
Paschen was born inSchwerin,Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. From 1884 to 1888 he studied at the universities ofBerlin andStrassburg, after which he became an assistant at theAcademy of Münster. He became a professor at theTechnische Hochschule Hannover in 1893 and professor of physics at theUniversity of Tübingen in 1901. He served as president of thePhysikalisch-Technischen Reichsanstalt from 1924–33 and an honorary professor of the University of Berlin in 1925.
During the second world war he had the Chinese scientistHe Zehui to stay at his house and she became like a daughter to him. With his help she was introduced toWalther Bothe who led theKaiser Wilhelm Institute in Heidelberg.[3]
Paschen taught in Berlin until his death inPotsdam in 1947. He is buried at theStahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery.[4]
