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| President of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt |
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Friedrich Kohlrausch was the second president of the Physikalisch- Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR) since its foundation on March 28, 1887. Here, as in the past, his activities were focused on experimental and instrumental physics: he constructed instruments and devised new measuring techniques to examine electrolytic conduction in solutions. He concluded the setup of the PTR, a task which had not yet been completed on the death of its first president. He introduced fixed regulations, work schedules and working hours for the institute.
Practical Know-how and Basic Research
Like Helmholtz and Siemens, Kohlrausch also saw the inherent possibilities in applied and basic research in the natural sciences and technology. He laid the foundations for scientific knowledge which promoted and advanced industry and technology. The PTR developed standardized precision instruments for university research institutes and industrial laboratories. It introduced uniform electrical units for Germany and also played a significant role in their international usage. In the period to 1905, there were many examples of the importance of the PTR for German industry, in particular for the high technologies of the time – the electrical, optical and mechanical industries. The PTR attained world fame with its work on the radiation of black bodies. New knowledge on the interaction of matter and radiation was to achieve immense scientific and philosophic importance – through Max Planck’s quantum theory.
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| Kohlrausch measuring bridge, ca. 1900. | Kohlrausch at the Physikalisch-Technischen Reichsanstalt. |
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Optimum Working Conditions for the PTR
Kohlrausch was intent on creating optimum working conditions in the laboratories and to shield the labs from disturbing external influences. For six years, for instance, he fought against a streetcar line which was due to be laid near the PTR. However, before the streetcar was to make its first journey, the institute succeeded in developing an astatic torsion magnetometer which was uninfluenced by disturbing electromagnetic fields. The use of this instrument and the shielded wire galvanometer developed by du Bois and Rubens meant that precision electrical and magnetic work continued to be possible. In 1905 Kohlrausch retired from his post as President of the PTR.
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