Fritz Walther Meissner
created by dcho39
Personal Life
Fritz Walther Meissner was born in Berlin, Germany on December 16, 1882 to Waldemar Meissner and Johanna Greger. He was educated at the Technical University of Berlin, studying physics and mechanical engineering; his supervisor was Max Planck. After, he attended the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Berlin. In 1926, he became chair in technical physics at the Technical University of Munich. He also later became the president of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Sadly, Meissner lived lonely for the last few years until his death in 1974, with only his two dogs to accompany him.
Scientific Contributions
Meissner Effect
Aided by fellow German physicist Robert Ochsenfeld, Meissner discovered this scientific phenomenon in 1933. The Meissner effect is when a superconductor expels all magnetic fields from its interior during its transition to the superconducting state. This finding was actually done so indirectly. The two scientists were observing how the magnetic flux is conserved by a superconductor. They found that their sample of tin and lead were cooled below their critical, or superconducting transition, temperature when in the presence of an applied magnetic field. At this point, almost all interior magnetic fields were neutralized.
Explanation
The Meissner effect was given a phenomenological explanation by the brothers Fritz and Heinz London, who showed that the electromagnetic free energy in a superconductor is minimized provided
https://upload.wikimedia.org/math/7/5/e/75e2993bfe886881e0895c466c7661bf.png
where H is the magnetic field and λ is the London penetration depth.
Connectedness
- How is this topic connected to something that you are interested in?
- How is it connected to your major?
- Is there an interesting industrial application?
History
Put this idea in historical context. Give the reader the Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
See also
Are there related topics or categories in this wiki resource for the curious reader to explore? How does this topic fit into that context?
Further reading
Books, Articles or other print media on this topic
External links
References
This section contains the the references you used while writing this page