Fritz G. Houtermans

Friedrich George Houtermans (* 22. January 1903 in Zoppot with Danzig; † 1. March 1966) was a German physicist.

He was the son of the wealthy banker Otto Houtermans living in Zoppot, grew however inVienna with its alone-educating nut/mother, the Chemikerin Elsa Wanek attained a doctorate, up.

Its study of physics (1922-1928) completed Houtermans in Goettingen. There it attained a doctorate 1927 with James Franck with a work over the fluorescence of mercury steam. From 1928 to1933 held Houtermans an assistant place with Gustav Hertz to the TH Berlin . In this time it published together with R.E. Atkinson in the magazine for physics a famous work “for the question of the structure possibility of the elements in stars” [1], thosean important step to understand the element emergence and the Energiefreisetzung in stars represents.

Because of its politically left attitude and its membership in the communist party F had. Houtermans 1933, after which seizure of power of the national socialists, to England emigrieren. There workedit at a then well-known company in the music business named “His master's voice”. Obviously dissatisfied with its situation there and also because of its per-communist attitude Houtermans went 1935 into the Soviet Union and was there busy at Ukrainian physical-technical Institut in Charkow.

At the 1. December 1937 was arrested Houtermans however victim of the Stalin cleaning actions and in Moscow. After two years detention he was delivered 1940 due to the Hitler Stalin pact at Germany, where he was again arrested of the Gestapo. The physicist max ofLaue could private Forschungsinstitut in Berlin however its influence valid make, cause its release, and for it an employment at Manfred von Ardennes provide. There it achieved after short time meaning research work which it in a confidential report “for the question of the releasefrom nuclear chain reactions " [2] summarized. In this report Houtermans says, still before the discovery of the plutonium by Glenn T. Seaborg and its coworkers, new elements more with difficulty than uranium (transuranic element) ahead and pointed the possibility to these elements to the power productionto use. Although this report national places unite and in the uranium association organized physicists were accessible, it seems to have had however no influence on the German nuclear project.

After a short period of 1944-1945 at the physical-technical institute for realm in Berlin was Houtermans until 1952 again in Goettingen employs, where he began to concern itself among other things with the age determination from rocks to. In the year 1950 F wrote. Houtermans as well as K.F. Schteppa, one its suffering comrades in Soviet shank, under the aliases F.Beckand W.Godin a book with the title “Russian Purge and The extraction OF Confession”, into which it on their experiences in the Soviet prisons report.

From 1952 to its death F had 1966. Houtermans a Professur at physical Institutthe University of Berne, Switzerland. Among other things it employs there with geochemistry, Kosmochemie, cosmic radiation, thermal luminescence and the meteorite research and provided physical Institut as a director international reputation. It computed by means of uranium lead dating, based on uranium lead isotope data of theAn earth age of approximately 4.5 billion years and this published meteorites Canon Diablo, which by Clair Cameron Patterson had been measured, in December 1953 [3]. Dies war eine der ersten Publikationen in welcher das heute allgemein akzeptierte Erdalter erwähnt wurde.Friedrich Begeman at the time at that time graduate student with Houtermans reports [4] that Patterson computes the earth age already before, for his part computer models of Houtermans falling back, and in September 1953 to a conference over Nuclear Processes in geo logic Settings in WilliamsBay, Wisconsin spoke and into the Proceedings published. Patterson published those age which it for some meteorites and the earth had intended 1955 and 1956 in several articles in scientific magazines [5,6,7].


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references

  • [1] Atkinson, R.E. and Houtermans, F. G. (1929) “to the question of the structure possibility of the elements in stars” magazine for physics 54, 656-665
  • [2] Houtermans F.G. (1941) “to the question of the release of nuclear chain reactions” (confidential report)
  • [3] Houtermans, F. (1953) “Determination OF the Age OF the Earthfrom the Isotopic Composition OF Meteoritic Lead " Nuovo Cimento 10, 1623-1633,
  • [4] Marvin U.B. (2002) “oral of histories in meteoritics and planetary sciences: VIII Friedrich Begemann " Meteoritics & Planetary Sciences 37 B69-B77.
  • [5] Patterson C. (1955) “The Pb 207 /Pb 206Ages OF some stone meteorites " Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 7, 151-53
  • [6] Patterson C, Tilton G., Inghram M. (1955) “Age OF the Earth” Science 212, 69-75
  • [7] Patterson C. (1956) “Age OF of meteorites and the Earth” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 10,230-237
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other literature

  • Iosif B. Khriplovich (1992) “The Eventful would run OF Fritz Houtermans”, Physics Today, pp. 29 - 37.
  • V.J. Frenkel (1997) “professor Friedrich Houtermans - work, life, fate”, pc. Petersburg (Russian)
  • Edoardo Amaldi (1998) “The adventurous would runOF Friedrich George Houtermans, physicist (1903-1966) “in 20th Century Physics, essay and recollections - A selection OF historical writings by Edoardo Amaldi, G. Battimelli and G.Paoloni Eds, World Scientific
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person data
NAME Houtermans, Friedrich George
ALTERNATIVE NAME
SHORT DESCRIPTION physicist
DATE OF BIRTH 22. January 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Zoppot with Danzig
DYING DATE 1. March 1966
DYING PLACE
 

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