Gustav Robert Kirchhoff
Gustav Kirchhoff
Born	12 March 1824(1824-03-12) Königsberg, East Prussia
Died	17 October 1887 (aged 63) Berlin, Germany
Residence	Germany
Nationality	German
Fields	Physicist
Institutions	University of Berlin University of Breslau University of Heidelberg
Alma mater	University of Königsberg
Doctoral advisor	Franz Ernst Neumann
Doctoral students	Max Noether Ernst Schröder
Known for	Kirchhoff's circuit laws Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation
Notable awards	Rumford medal

Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (March 12, 1824 – October 17, 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He coined the term "black body" radiation in 1862, and two sets of independent concepts in both circuit theory and thermal emission are named "Kirchhoff's laws" after him. is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin) This is... The University of Breslau (Universität Breslau) was a university in Breslau, Germany, which existed from 1702 until the city with the rest of Silesia was occupied by Stalin and given to the Peoples Republic of Poland after the Second World War. ... The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (German Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; also known as simply University of Heidelberg) was established in the town of Heidelberg in the Rhineland in 1386. ... For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation). ... The inscription upon Kants tomb in Kaliningrad. ... Franz Ernst Neumann (September 11, 1798 - May 23, 1895) was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician. ... Max Noether (September 24, 1844 - December 13, 1921) was a German mathematician. ... Ernst Schröder Ernst Schröder (25 November 1841 Mannheim, Germany - 16 June 1902 Karlsruhe Germany) was a German mathematician mainly known for his work on algebraic logic. ... Not to be confused with Kerckhoffs principle. ... Kirchhoffs law in thermodynamics, also called e. ... In 1796, Benjamin Thompson, known as Count Rumford, gave $5000 separately to the Royal Society of London and the other by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to give awards every two years for outstanding scientific research on heat or light. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... An electrical network or electrical circuit is an interconnection of analog electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, diodes, switches and transistors. ... Animation of the dispersion of light as it travels through a triangular prism. ... As the temperature decreases, the peak of the black-body radiation curve moves to lower intensities and longer wavelengths. ... This article is about 1862 . ... There are several Kirchhoffs laws, all named after Gustav Robert Kirchhoff: Kirchhoffs circuit laws Kirchhoffs law of thermal radiation Kirchhoffs Three Empirical Laws of Spectroscopy Scientific laws named after people Category: ...

Life and work

Gustav Kirchhoff was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, the son of Friedrich Kirchhoff, a lawyer, and Johanna Henriette Wittke. He graduated from the Albertus University of Königsberg in 1847 where he attended the mathematico-physical seminar directed by Franz Ernst Neumann and Friedrich Julius Richelot. He married Clara Richelot, the daughter of his mathematics professor Richelot. In the same year, they moved to Berlin, where he stayed until he received a professorship at Breslau. Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... The inscription upon Kants tomb in Kaliningrad. ... Franz Ernst Neumann (September 11, 1798 - May 23, 1895) was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Wrocław. ...

Kirchhoff formulated his circuit laws, which are now ubiquitous in electrical engineering, in 1845, while still a student. He completed this study as a seminar exercise; it later became his doctoral dissertation. He proposed his law of thermal radiation in 1859, and gave a proof in 1861. He was called to the University of Heidelberg in 1854, where he collaborated in spectroscopic work with Robert Bunsen. Together Kirchhoff and Bunsen discovered caesium and rubidium in 1861. At Heidelberg he ran a mathematico-physical seminar, modelled on Neumann's, with the mathematician Leo Koenigsberger. Among those who attended this seminar were Arthur Schuster and Sofia Kovalevskaya. In 1875 Kirchhoff accepted the first chair specifically dedicated to theoretical physics at Berlin. Not to be confused with Kerckhoffs principle. ... Electrical Engineers design power systems. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Kirchhoffs law in thermodynamics, also called e. ... The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (German Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; also known as simply University of Heidelberg) was established in the town of Heidelberg in the Rhineland in 1386. ... Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (31 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. ... General Name, Symbol, Number caesium, Cs, 55 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 6, s Appearance silvery gold Standard atomic weight 132. ... General Name, Symbol, Number rubidium, Rb, 37 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 5, s Appearance grey white Standard atomic weight 85. ... For other uses, see Heidelberg (disambiguation). ... Sir (Franz) Arthur (Friedrich) Schuster FRS (September 12, 1851 - October 17, 1934) was a versatile physicist known for his work in spectroscopy, electrochemistry, optics, X-radiography and the application of harmonic analysis to physics. ... Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (Russian Софья Васильевна Ковалевская), also known as Sonya Kovalevsky (January 15, 1850-February 10, 1891), was the first major Russian female mathematician, and also the first woman who was appointed to a full professorship in Europe 1889 (Sweden). ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics in an attempt to explain experimental data taken of the natural world. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

In 1862 he was awarded the Rumford Medal for his researches on the fixed lines of the solar spectrum, and on the inversion of the bright lines in the spectra of artificial light. In 1796, Benjamin Thompson, known as Count Rumford, gave $5000 separately to the Royal Society of London and the other by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to give awards every two years for outstanding scientific research on heat or light. ...

He contributed greatly to the field of spectroscopy by formalizing three laws that describe the spectral composition of light emitted by incandescent objects, building substantially on the discoveries of David Alter and Anders Jonas Angstrom (see also: spectrum analysis) The visible spectrum is the portion of the optical spectrum (light or electromagnetic spectrum) that is visible to the human eye. ... For other uses, see Light (disambiguation). ... David Alter (born December 3, 1807 - died September 18, 1881) was a very prominent scientist of the 19th century. ... Anders Jonas Ångström (August 13, 1814 – June 21, 1874) was a physicist in Sweden, one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy. ... Spectrum analysis also known as Emission Spectrochemical Analysis is the original scientific method of charting and analyzing the chemical properties of matter and gases by looking at the bands in their optical spectrum. ...

Kirchhoff's Three Laws of Spectroscopy:

1. A hot solid object produces light with a continuous spectrum.
2. A hot tenuous gas produces light with spectral lines at discrete wavelengths (i.e. specific colors) which depend on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. (See also: emission spectrum)
3. A hot solid object surrounded by a cool tenuous gas (i.e. cooler than the hot object) produces light with an almost continuous spectrum which has gaps at discrete wavelengths depending on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. (See also: absorption spectrum)

The existence of discrete spectral lines was later explained by the Bohr model of the atom, which helped lead to quantum mechanics. A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from an excess or deficiency of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. ... For other uses, see Wavelength (disambiguation). ... An elements emission spectrum is the relative intensity of electromagnetic radiation of each frequency it emits when it is heated (or more generally when it is excited). ... A materials absorption spectrum shows the fraction of incident electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the material over a range of frequencies. ... The Bohr model of the hydrogen atom () or a hydrogen-like ion (), where the negatively charged electron confined to an atomic shell encircles a small positively charged atomic nucleus, and an electron jump between orbits is accompanied by an emitted or absorbed amount of electromagnetic energy . ... For a generally accessible and less technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ...

Kirchhoff died in 1887, and was buried in the St Matthäus Kirchhof Cemetery in Schöneberg, Berlin, only a few meters from the graves of the Brothers Grimm. Schöneberg is a district of Berlin. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... For other uses, see Brothers Grimm (disambiguation). ...

See also

Spectroscope of Kirchhoff and Bunsen

• Kirchhoff's circuit laws
• Kirchhoff equations
• Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor
• Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation
• Kirchhoff Institute of Physics
• Spectrum analysis
• Spectroscope
• Kirchhoff's theorem

Not to be confused with Kerckhoffs principle. ... Motion of a rigid body in an ideal fluid in projections onto the axes of the body fixed frame can be described by the equations where and are vectors of bodys angular velocity and the velocity of the point respectively; and are a central tensor of inertia of the... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Kirchhoffs law in thermodynamics, also called e. ... The Kirchhoff Institute for Physics The Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik (Kirchhoff Institute of Physics), built in 2002, is a research institute located in Heidelberg, Germany. ... Spectrum analysis also known as Emission Spectrochemical Analysis is the original scientific method of charting and analyzing the chemical properties of matter and gases by looking at the bands in their optical spectrum. ... A spectroscope is a device which measures the spectrum of light. ... In the mathematical field of graph theory Kirchhoffs theorem or Kirchhoffs matrix tree theorem named after Gustav Kirchhoff is a theorem about the number of spanning trees in a graph. ...

References

Grave of Gustav Kirchhoff

• Gustav Kirchhoff at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., "Gustav Kirchhoff", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive 
• Eric W. Weisstein, Kirchhof, Gustav (1824-1887) at ScienceWorld.