Helmholtz : a life in science / David Cahan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cahan, David, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Helmholtz, Hermann von, 1821-1894.

Helmholtz, Hermann von.

Scientists--Germany--Biography.

Scientists.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (946 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Summary:

Hermann von Helmholtz was a towering figure of nineteenth-century scientific and intellectual life. Best known for his achievements in physiology and physics, he also contributed to other disciplines such as ophthalmology, psychology, mathematics, chemical thermodynamics, and meteorology. With Helmholtz: A Life in Science, David Cahan has written a definitive biography, one that brings to light the dynamic relationship between Helmholtz’s private life, his professional pursuits, and the larger world in which he lived. ​ Utilizing all of Helmholtz’s scientific and philosophical writings, as well as previously unknown letters, this book reveals the forces that drove his life—a passion to unite the sciences, vigilant attention to the sources and methods of knowledge, and a deep appreciation of the ways in which the arts and sciences could benefit each other. By placing the overall structure and development of his scientific work and philosophy within the greater context of nineteenth-century Germany, Helmholtz also serves as cultural biography of the construction of the scientific community: its laboratories, institutes, journals, disciplinary organizations, and national and international meetings. Helmholtz’s life is a shining example of what can happen when the sciences and the humanities become interwoven in the life of one highly motivated, energetic, and gifted person.

Contents:

The making of a scientist

The boy from Potsdam

At the gymnasium: father and son

Becoming a medical doctor

Undiscovered

Gaining scientific renown

Scientific networking

In the private and the public eye

The new dispensation

Unhappy intermezzo in Bonn

The turning point

The new angel

The relations of science

The relations of music

Popularizing science in Britain and Germany

Learning to see the world

Almost a professor of physics

The road to Berlin

Scientific grandee

In the capital of Geist

The burdens of building physics

Among the elite

Kulturkampf in science, I

Kulturkampf in science, II

Anti-Helmholtz, again

In the scientific capitals of Europe

Institutional brilliance

Celebrations

Doyen

Science, art, and standards business

Charismatic leader

Atlantic crossings

Epilogue: Helmholtz in modern German memory.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780226549163

022654916X

OCLC:

1198932130