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42-562: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was a German physicist , satirist , and Anglophile . He was the first person in Germany to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics . He is remembered for his posthumously published notebooks, which he himself called Sudelbücher  [ de ] , a description modelled on the English bookkeeping term " waste books " or "scrapbooks", and for his discovery of

84-700: A master's degree like MSc, MPhil, MPhys or MSci. For research-oriented careers, students work toward a doctoral degree specializing in a particular field. Fields of specialization include experimental and theoretical astrophysics , atomic physics , biological physics , chemical physics , condensed matter physics , cosmology , geophysics , gravitational physics , material science , medical physics , microelectronics , molecular physics , nuclear physics , optics , particle physics , plasma physics , quantum information science , and radiophysics . The three major employers of career physicists are academic institutions, laboratories, and private industries, with

126-438: A "Compass of Motives" in a discussion on the combination of human compounded motives and quoted him as saying, "The motives that lead us to do anything might be arranged like the thirty-two winds and might be given names on the same pattern: for instance, 'food-food-fame' or 'fame-fame-food'.” Lichtenberg is not read by many outside Germany. Leo Tolstoy held Lichtenberg's writings in high esteem, expressing his perplexity of "why

168-411: A few pages. Lichtenberg became a hunchback as a child owing to a malformation of his spine suffered from a fall. This left him unusually short, even by 18th-century standards. Over time, this malformation grew worse, ultimately affecting his breathing. In 1777, he met Maria Stechard, then aged 13, who lived with the professor permanently after 1780. She died in 1782. Their relationship was made into

210-513: A large electrophorus to generate static electricity through induction . One of the largest made, it was 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and could produce 38-centimetre (15 in) sparks. With it, he discovered the basic principle of modern xerography copy machine technology . By discharging a high voltage point near an insulator , he was able to record strange, tree-like patterns in fixed dust. These Lichtenberg figures are considered today to be examples of fractals . A crater on

252-464: A marked degree, Sterne's delight in ridiculing pedantry. Physicist Physicists can apply their knowledge towards solving practical problems or to developing new technologies (also known as applied physics or engineering physics ). The study and practice of physics is based on an intellectual ladder of discoveries and insights from ancient times to the present. Many mathematical and physical ideas used today found their earliest expression in

294-452: A minimum, the owner must possess a three-year bachelors or equivalent degree in physics or a related field and an additional minimum of six years' experience in a physics-related activity; or an Honor or equivalent degree in physics or a related field and an additional minimum of five years' experience in a physics-related activity; or master or equivalent degree in physics or a related field and an additional minimum of three years' experience in

336-821: A novel by Gert Hofmann , which was translated by his son Michael Hofmann into English with the title Lichtenberg and the Little Flower Girl . In 1783, the following year, Lichtenberg met Margarethe Kellner (1768–1848). He married her in 1789, to give her a pension , as he thought he was to die soon. They had six children: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1786–1845), Louise Wilhelmina Lichtenberg (1789–1802), Agnes Lichtenberg (1793–1820), Augusta Friederike Lichtenberg (1795–1837), Heinrich August Lichtenberg (1797–1836) and Christian Wilhelm Lichtenberg (1799–1860), and she outlived him by 49 years. In 1799, Lichtenberg died in Göttingen after

378-438: A physicist, and created a satirical poster that was intended to prevent Philadelphia from performing his exhibition in Göttingen. The placard, called “ Lichtenberg's Avertissement ,” described extravagant and miraculous tricks that were to be performed. As a result, Philadelphia left the city without a performance. Based on his visits to England, his Briefe aus England , with admirable descriptions of David Garrick 's acting, are

420-555: A physics-related activity; a Doctorate or equivalent degree in Physics or a related field; or training or experience which, in the opinion of the Council, is equivalent to any of the above. Physicists may be a member of a physical society of a country or region. Physical societies commonly publish scientific journals, organize physics conferences and award prizes for contributions to the field of physics. Some examples of physical societies are

462-454: A powerful satire, Über die Pronunciation der Schöpse des alten Griechenlandes . For Laurence Sterne 's wit on the bigotry of the clergy , in his novel Tristram Shandy , Lichtenberg condemned him as a scandalum ecclesiae (a scandal for the Church). In 1777, Lichtenberg opposed the apparent misrepresentation of science by Jacob Philadelphia . Lichtenberg considered him to be a magician, not

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504-416: A professional practice examination must also be passed. An exemption can be granted to a candidate that has practiced physics for at least seven years and provide a detailed description of their professional accomplishments which clearly demonstrate that the exam is not necessary. Work experience will be considered physics-related if it uses physics directly or significantly uses the modes of thought (such as

546-541: A short illness at the age of 56. At Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was 17 brothers and sisters, most of whom died in infancy. The "scrapbooks" ( Sudelbücher in German ) are notebooks, in the tradition of commonplace books or waste books , which Lichtenberg kept from his student days until the end of his life. Each volume was accorded a letter of the alphabet from A, which began in 1765, to L, which broke off at Lichtenberg's death in 1799. These notebooks first became known to

588-589: Is the Nobel Prize in Physics , awarded since 1901 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . National physical societies have many prizes and awards for professional recognition. In the case of the American Physical Society , as of 2023, there are 25 separate prizes and 33 separate awards in the field. Chartered Physicist (CPhys) is a chartered status and a professional qualification awarded by

630-734: The Institute of Physics . It is denoted by the postnominals "CPhys". Achieving chartered status in any profession denotes to the wider community a high level of specialised subject knowledge and professional competence. According to the Institute of Physics, holders of the award of the Chartered Physicist (CPhys) demonstrate the "highest standards of professionalism, up-to-date expertise, quality and safety" along with "the capacity to undertake independent practice and exercise leadership" as well as "commitment to keep pace with advancing knowledge and with

672-626: The Moon is named Lichtenberg in his honour. His life and works are fictionalized in French novelist Pierre Senges's Fragments de Lichtenberg (2008; English translation, 2017). He proposed the standardized paper size system used globally today except in Canada and the US defined by ISO 216 , which has A4 as the most commonly used size. Robert Wichard Pohl , a 20th-century successor of Lichtenberg in Göttingen and one of

714-584: The University of Göttingen . In 1769 he became extraordinary professor of physics , and six years later ordinary professor . He held this post till his death. Invited by his students, he visited England twice, from Easter to early Summer 1770 and from August 1774 to Christmas 1775, where he was received cordially by George III and Queen Charlotte . He led the King through the royal observatory in Richmond , upon which

756-505: The supercentenarian Francesco Hupazoli 's life), titles of books to read, autobiographical sketches, and short or long reflections, including keen observations on human nature, in the manner of the 17th-century French moralists . Those reflections helped him earn his posthumous fame as one of the best aphorists in Western intellectual history. Some scholars have attempted to distill a system of thought of Lichtenberg's scattered musings, but he

798-709: The Germans of the present day neglect this writer so much." The Chinese scholar and wit Qian Zhongshu quotes the Scrapbooks in his works several times. As a satirist, Lichtenberg takes high rank among the German writers of the 18th century. His biting wit involved him in many controversies with well-known contemporaries, such as the Swiss physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater whose science of physiognomy he ridiculed, and Johann Heinrich Voss , whose views on Greek pronunciation called forth

840-584: The Lord a thousand times for having made me become an atheist." Arthur Schopenhauer admired Lichtenberg greatly for what he had written in his notebooks. He called him one of those who "think ... for their own instruction", who are "genuine 'thinkers for themselves' in both senses of the words". Other admirers of Lichtenberg's notebooks include Friedrich Nietzsche , Sigmund Freud , Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jacques Barzun . Sigmund Freud (in his "Why War?” letter to Albert Einstein) mentioned Lichtenberg's invention of

882-399: The approach to problem-solving) developed in your education or experience as a physicist, in all cases regardless of whether the experience is in academia, industry, government, or elsewhere. Management of physics-related work qualifies, and so does appropriate graduate student work. The South African Institute of Physics also delivers a certification of Professional Physicist (Pr.Phys). At

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924-517: The designation of Professional Engineer (P. Eng.). This designation was unveiled at the CAP congress in 1999 and already more than 200 people carry this distinction. To get the certification, at minimum proof of honours bachelor or higher degree in physics or a closely related discipline must be provided. Also, the physicist must have completed, or be about to complete, three years of recent physics-related work experience after graduation. And, unless exempted,

966-440: The early 21st century includes a large increase in understanding physical cosmology . The broad and general study of nature, natural philosophy , was divided into several fields in the 19th century, when the concept of "science" received its modern shape. Specific categories emerged, such as "biology" and "biologist", "physics" and "physicist", "chemistry" and "chemist", among other technical fields and titles. The term physicist

1008-478: The founders of solid state physics used a similar research programme, in which the experiment was an essential part of narrating scientific knowledge. Works published during his lifetime Complete works in German English translations Not only are the two longest chapters in the novel (Trim's sermon and Slawkenbergius's tale) concerned with the bigotry of the orthodox clergy, but, even more significantly,

1050-518: The great figures of that era, including Goethe and Kant . In 1784, Alessandro Volta visited Göttingen especially to see him and his experiments. Mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss sat in on his lectures. In 1793, he was elected a member of the Royal Society . Lichtenberg was prone to procrastination . He failed to launch the first hydrogen balloon . He always dreamed of writing a novel à la Fielding 's Tom Jones , but never finished more than

1092-735: The increasing expectations and requirements for which any profession must take responsibility". Chartered Physicist is considered to be equal in status to Chartered Engineer, which the IoP also awards as a member of the Engineering Council UK, and other chartered statuses in the UK. It is also considered a "regulated profession" under the European professional qualification directives. The Canadian Association of Physicists can appoint an official designation called Professional Physicist ( P. Phys. ), similar to

1134-604: The king proposed that he become professor of philosophy. He also met with participants of Cook 's voyages. Great Britain impressed him, and he subsequently became a well-known Anglophile. One of the first scientists to introduce experiments with apparatus in their lectures, Lichtenberg was a popular and respected figure in contemporary European intellectual circles. He was one of the first to introduce Benjamin Franklin 's lightning rod to Germany by installing such devices in his house and garden sheds. He maintained relations with most of

1176-1172: The largest employer being the last. Physicists in academia or government labs tend to have titles such as Assistants, Professors , Sr./Jr. Scientist, or postdocs . As per the American Institute of Physics , some 20% of new physics Ph.D.s holds jobs in engineering development programs, while 14% turn to computer software and about 11% are in business/education. A majority of physicists employed apply their skills and training to interdisciplinary sectors (e.g. finance ). Job titles for graduate physicists include Agricultural Scientist , Air Traffic Controller , Biophysicist , Computer Programmer , Electrical Engineer , Environmental Analyst , Geophysicist , Medical Physicist , Meteorologist , Oceanographer , Physics Teacher / Professor / Researcher , Research Scientist , Reactor Physicist , Engineering Physicist , Satellite Missions Analyst, Science Writer , Stratigrapher , Software Engineer , Systems Engineer , Microelectronics Engineer , Radar Developer, Technical Consultant, etc. The majority of Physics terminal bachelor's degree holders are employed in

1218-483: The more faltering its theories become. It is always good though not to abandon them instantly. For every hypothesis which used to be good at least serves the purpose of duly summarizing and keeping all phenomena until its own time. One should lay down the conflicting experience separately, until it has accumulated sufficiently to justify the efforts necessary to edifice a new theory. (Lichtenberg: scrapbook JII/1602) Lichtenberg, an atheist, satirized religion saying "I thank

1260-733: The most attractive of his writings published during his lifetime. From 1778 onward, Lichtenberg published the Göttinger Taschen Calender and contributed to the Göttingisches Magazin der Wissenschaften und Literatur , which he edited for three years (1780–1782) with J. G. A. Forster . The Göttinger Taschen Calender , beside being a usual Calendar for everyday usage, contained not only short writings on natural phenomena and new scientific discoveries (which would be termed popular science today), but also essays in which he contested quackery and superstition. It also contained attacks on

1302-433: The private sector. Other fields are academia, government and military service, nonprofit entities, labs and teaching. Typical duties of physicists with master's and doctoral degrees working in their domain involve research, observation and analysis, data preparation, instrumentation, design and development of industrial or medical equipment, computing and software development, etc. The highest honor awarded to physicists

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-469: The standard textbook for physics in German. From 1794 to 1799 he published an Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche , in which he described the satirical details in William Hogarth 's prints. As a physicist, Lichtenberg is remembered for his investigations in electricity , for discovering branching discharge patterns on dielectrics , now called Lichtenberg figures . In 1777, he built

1386-507: The tree-like electrical discharge patterns now called Lichtenberg figures . Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was born in Ober-Ramstadt near Darmstadt , Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt , the youngest of 17 children. His father, Johann Conrad Lichtenberg  [ de ] (1689–1751), was a pastor ascending through the ranks of the church hierarchy, who eventually became superintendent for Darmstadt . Mother of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

1428-517: The whole novel, which breathes tolerance, is implicitly concerned with the same thing. And the bigotry of the orthodox (Anglican) clergy was as much Schopenhauer's hobby-horse as the arts of fortification were Uncle Toby's. He was obsessed by it, as his vitriolic comments on Samuel Johnson – and on the Anglican clergy – show. Lichtenberg condemned Sterne as a 'scandalum ecclesiae'; no doubt it was precisely this that Schopenhauer appreciated. He also shared, to

1470-467: The work of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in the 11th century. The modern scientific worldview and the bulk of physics education can be said to flow from the scientific revolution in Europe, starting with the work of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus leading to the physics of Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler in the early 1600s. The work on mechanics , along with a mathematical treatment of physical systems,

1512-680: The work of ancient civilizations, such as the Babylonian astronomers and Egyptian engineers , the Greek philosophers of science and mathematicians such as Thales of Miletus , Euclid in Ptolemaic Egypt , Archimedes of Syracuse and Aristarchus of Samos . Roots also emerged in ancient Asian cultures such as India and China, and particularly the Islamic medieval period , which saw the development of scientific methodology emphasising experimentation , such as

1554-595: The world after the man's death, when the first and second editions of Lichtenbergs Vermischte Schriften (1800–06 and 1844–53) were published by his sons and brothers. After the initial publications, however, notebooks G and H, and most of notebook K, were destroyed or disappeared. Those missing parts are believed to have contained sensitive materials. The manuscripts of the remaining notebooks are preserved in Göttingen University. The notebooks contain quotations of passages that struck Lichtenberg (like his recension of

1596-567: The “ Sturm und Drang ” writers. In the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment , he strove to educate the common people to use logic, wit and the power of their own senses. In 1784 he took over the publication of the textbook Anfangsgründe der Naturlehre ("Foundations of the Natural Sciences") from his friend and colleague Johann Christian Erxleben upon his premature death in 1777. Until 1794, three further editions followed, which for many years, remained

1638-717: Was Henriette Katharina Lichtenberg, nee Eckhardt (1696–1764), daughter of pastor Johann Peter Eckhardt (1659–1702). Unusually for a clergyman in those times, he seems to have possessed a fair amount of scientific knowledge. Lichtenberg was educated at his parents' house until 10 years old, when he joined the Lateinschule in Darmstadt. His intelligence became obvious at a very early age. He wanted to study mathematics, but his family could not afford to pay for lessons. In 1762, his mother applied to Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt , who granted sufficient funds. In 1763, Lichtenberg entered

1680-738: Was coined by William Whewell (also the originator of the term "scientist") in his 1840 book The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences . A standard undergraduate physics curriculum consists of classical mechanics , electricity and magnetism , non-relativistic quantum mechanics , optics , statistical mechanics and thermodynamics , and laboratory experience. Physics students also need training in mathematics ( calculus , differential equations , linear algebra , complex analysis , etc.), and in computer science . Any physics-oriented career position requires at least an undergraduate degree in physics or applied physics, while career options widen with

1722-493: Was further developed by Christiaan Huygens and culminated in Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation by the end of the 17th century. The experimental discoveries of Faraday and the theory of Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism were developmental high points during the 19th century. Many physicists contributed to the development of quantum mechanics in the early-to-mid 20th century. New knowledge in

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-406: Was not a professional philosopher, and had no need to present, or to conceive, a consistent philosophy. The scrapbooks reveal a critical and analytical way of thinking and emphasis on experimental evidence in physics, through which he became one of the early founders and advocates of modern scientific methodology. The more experience and experiments are accumulated during the exploration of nature,

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