Georg Ohm
Born on: 16 March 1789 AD
Born in: Erlangen, Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Died on: 06 January 1854 AD
Nationality: Germany
Works & Achievements: Ohm's law, Ohm's phase law, Ohm's acoustic law
A German physicist and mathematician, Georg
Simon Ohm is best remembered for his formulation of Ohm's Law, which
defines the relationship between electrical resistance, electric force
and electric current. This was an important discovery made in the field
of science as it symbolized the true beginning of electrical circuit
analysis. What is interesting to note is that Ohm wasn't the only
scientist who was trying to develop this relationship. There were many
other researchers, prior to Ohm, who tried to establish the relationship
but failed. Ohm, with his philosophical arguments and physical reality
of experiments proved his hypothesis. Just like other scientists, his
idea too was rejected but Ohm was not the one to be disheartened. His
strong will power backed his research which later was not only accepted
but made a law in physics. To know more about this ingenious scientist,
browse through the following lines.
Childhood & Early Life
Coming from a family of Protestants, Georg
Simon
Ohm was born to Johann Wolfgang Ohm and Maria Elizabeth Beck. While his
father was a locksmith, his mother was the daughter of a tailor. Though
his parents did not have any formal education, this did not stop his
father from educating himself. And not just educating himself, Johann
even educated his children through his own teachings. Ohm had two
siblings, his younger brother Martin, who later became a well-known
mathematician, and his sister Elizabeth Barbara. Georg, along with his
brother Martin, trained himself in mathematics, physics, chemistry and
philosophy at such a high standard that his formal education seemed to
be valueless and uninspiring. At the age of eleven, Georg enrolled
himself in Erlangen Gymnasium, where he continued his studies, until he
was fifteen. However, this phase of learning, as mentioned above, wasn’t
a very motivating one, for all that the education centre stressed on
was rote learning and interpretating texts. Such was both the brothers’
intelligence quotient that Karl Christian von Langsdorf, professor at
the University of Erlangen, compared the two to the Bernoulli family.
In 1805, Georg Ohm enrolled in the University of
Erlangen. However, instead of concentrating on his studies, Ohm
dribbled away his time on extracurricular activities. Johann, upon
seeing that his son was wasting his valuable years and missing out on
the educational opportunity, sent Georg Ohm to Switzerland in 1806.
Therein, Georg took up a post as a mathematics teacher in a school in
Gottstadt bei Nydau. In 1809, Karl Christian von Langsdorf left the
University of Erlangen to take up a post in the University of
Heidelberg. Ohm too wanted to join him, but on the advice of Langsdorf,
he read the works of Euler, Laplace and Lacroix. For the same, Ohm left
his teaching post in Gottstadt bei Nydau in March 1809 to become a
private tutor in Neuchâtel. During his free time, he continued his
private study of mathematics. This continued for two years, after which,
in the April of 1811, Ohm returned to the University of Erlangen
Career in Teaching
Georg Ohm had excelled in his private studies so
much so that his own studies prepared him for his doctorate degree. Ohm
received his PhD degree from the University of Erlangen on October 25,
1811. Immediately thereafter, he joined the department of mathematics as
a lecturer. However, this did not continue for long as Ohm left his
position three months later due to less growth opportunity. Since Ohm
was poverty stricken, the meagre salary that he received from the
university did not do much to uplift him from his pitiable state. Next,
Ohm took up the job as a teacher of mathematics and physics in Bamberg
offered to him by the Bavarian government in 1813. However, unsatisfied
with this too, Georg began writing an elementary textbook on geometry as
a way to give vent to his abilities. In 1816, the school in which Ohm
was teaching was shut down and Ohm was posted to another overcrowded
school in Bamberg as a teacher of mathematics.
The following year, in September 1817, Ohm was
offered a position of a teacher in mathematics and physics at the Jesuit
Gymnasium of Cologne. The opportunity was an excellent one, as not only
was the school better off than any other in which Ohm had taught, it
also had a well-equipped laboratory. During his years as a teacher, Ohm,
however, did not give up on his private studies and continued reading
texts of the learned French mathematics, Lagrange, Legendre, Laplace,
Biot and Poisson. Later, Ohm read the works of Fourier and Fresnel as
well. Simultaneously, Ohm started his own experimental work in the
school physics laboratory, after he learnt about Oersted's discovery of
electromagnetism in 1820. These experiments that Ohm undertook were only
as a measure to uplift his educational standard. Also, Ohm realised
that if he wanted to attain a job that really inspired him, he had to
work on research publications, for that was the only way he could prove
himself to the world and have something solid on which he could petition
for a position in a more stimulating environment.
His Research
Ohm submitted a paper in the year 1825, which
dealt with the decrease in the electromagnetic force produced by a wire
as the length of the wire increased. The paper was purely based on the
experimental evidence that Ohm had charted from his tests and trials.
Later the next year, Ohm presented two more papers in which he presented
a mathematical description of conduction in circuits based on Fourier's
study of heat conduction. The second paper was particularly an
important one for in it, Ohm proposed laws which explained results of
others working on galvanic electricity. It is also deemed to be a
significant paper as it was the stepping stone for what we today know as
Ohm’s law that came in the book published the following year. In 1827,
Ohm published his famous book, Die galvanische Kette, mathematisch bearbeitet,
wherein he gave a detailed explanation on the theory of electricity.
What is interesting to note in the book is that Ohm, instead of jumping
directly onto the subject, gave a mathematical background necessary for
an understanding of the rest of the work. This was essential, for even
the most learned and educated German physicist, required such an
introduction as the approach to physics in the book was a
non-mathematical one, a phenomenon unheard of in those days. According
to Ohm’s theory, communication of electricity occurred between
“contiguous particles”. In addition to this, the paper also illustrated
the difference in the scientific approach of Ohm from that of Fourier
and Navier.
Later Years
Ohm, who was given a year off by the Jesuit
Gymnasium of Cologne at half pay, to concentrate his research in 1826,
had to resume work in the September of 1827. During his year off that he
spent in Berlin, Ohm all through believed that his publication would
definitely earn him a better position at some reputed university, but
the same did not happen and Ohm, reluctantly, resumed his post at Jesuit
Gymnasium of Cologne. What was even worse was the fact that despite
Ohm’s work was strongly an influential one, it was received with almost
no enthusiasm. Deeply hurt by this, he decided to shift base to Berlin.
As a result, Ohm formally resigned his position in March 1828, and took
up a temporary work teaching mathematics in schools in Berlin. In 1833,
Ohm accepted the position of a professor at the Nuremburg. Though this
gave him the title that he so much desired for all his life, he was
still not satisfied. Ohm’s hard work and peseverance was finally
realised in 1842, when he received the Copley Medal award by the Royal
Society. The following year, he was appointed as the foreign member of
the Royal Society. In 1845, Ohm became a full member of the Bavarian
Academy. Four years later, he took up a post in Munich as a curator of
the Bavarian Academy’s physics cabinet and gave lectures in the
University of Munich. It was only in 1852 that Ohm was designated for
the chair of physics at the University of Munich, a position that he had
been craving and striving for all through his life.
Death & Legacy
Georg Ohm breathed his last in Munich in the
year 1854. He was interred in the Alter Südfriedhof. Not much is known
about what caused the death of Georg Ohm. His name has been used in the
terminology of electrical science in Ohm’s Law. Additionally, the SI
unit of resistance, the ohm (symbol Ω) also adopts the name of this ace
No comments:
Post a Comment