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Joseph von Fraunhofer

Born

in Straubing, Bavaria, Germany

March 06, 1787

Died

June 07, 1826

Website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_von_Fraunhofer

Genre

Science, Optics, Astronomy

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Joseph Fraunhofer, ennobled in 1824 as Ritter von Fraunhofer (6 March 1787 – 7 June 1826) was a German optician. He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives.

Fraunhofer was born in Straubing, Bavaria to Franz Xaver Fraunhofer and Maria Anna Frohlich. He became an orphan at the age of 11, and he started working as an apprentice to a harsh glassmaker named Philipp Anton Weichelsberger. In 1801, the workshop in which he was working collapsed and he was buried in the rubble. The rescue operation was led by Maximilian IV Joseph, Prince Elector of Bavaria (the future Maximilian I Joseph). The prince entered Fra Joseph Fraunhofer, ennobled in 1824 as Ritter von Fraunhofer (6 March 1787 – 7 June 1826) was a German optician. He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives.

Fraunhofer was born in Straubing, Bavaria to Franz Xaver Fraunhofer and Maria Anna Frohlich. He became an orphan at the age of 11, and he started working as an apprentice to a harsh glassmaker named Philipp Anton Weichelsberger. In 1801, the workshop in which he was working collapsed and he was buried in the rubble. The rescue operation was led by Maximilian IV Joseph, Prince Elector of Bavaria (the future Maximilian I Joseph). The prince entered Fraunhofer's life, providing him with books and forcing his employer to allow the young Fraunhofer time to study.

Joseph Utzschneider was also at the site of the disaster, a fact which turned out to be important. With the money given to him by the Prince upon his rescue and the support he received from Utzschneider, Fraunhofer was able to continue his education alongside his practical training. In 1806 Utzscheider and Georg von Reichenbach then brought Fraunhofer into their Institute at Benediktbeuern, a secularised Benedictine monastery devoted to glass making. There he discovered how to make the world's finest optical glass and invented incredibly precise methods for measuring dispersion.

It was at the Institute that Fraunhofer met Pierre Louis Guinand, a Swiss glass technician, who Utzschneider had introduce Fraunhofer to the secrets of glass making. In 1809 the mechanical part of the Optical Institute was chiefly under Fraunhofer's direction, and that same year he became one of the members of the firm. In 1814, Guinand left the firm, as did Reichenbach, and Fraunhofer became a partner in the firm, the name being changed to Utzschneider und Fraunhofer. In 1818, he became the director of the Optical Institute. Due to the fine optical instruments he had developed, Bavaria overtook England as the centre of the optics industry. Even the likes of Michael Faraday were unable to produce glass that could rival Fraunhofer's.

His illustrious career eventually earned him an honorary doctorate from the University of Erlangen in 1822. In 1824, he was awarded the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown (through he was ennobled), and made an honorary citizen of Munich. Like many glassmakers of his era who were poisoned by heavy metal vapours, Fraunhofer died young, in 1826 at the age of 39. His most valuable glassmaking recipes are thought to have gone to the grave with him. ...more

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Joseph von Fraunhofer’s books

Average rating: 3.5 · 2 ratings · 0 reviews · 9 distinct works

$Prismatic And Diffraction S...$	Prismatic And Diffraction Spectra by Joseph von Fraunhofer, William Hyde Wollaston (Creator) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2015 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Joseph Von Fraunhofer's Gesammelte Schriften 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2014 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bestimmung des brechungs- und farbenzerstreuungsvermogens verschiedener glasarten in bezug auf die vervollkommnung achromatischer fernrohre 1905 [Leather Bound] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Joseph Von Fraunhofer'S Gesammelte Schriften. Im Auftrage Der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe Der Koniglich Bayerischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften Hrsg. Von E. Lommel. Mit (1888) [Leather Bound] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
$Prismatic and Diffraction S...$	Prismatic and Diffraction Spectra: Memoirs. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
$Prismatic and Diffraction S...$	Prismatic and Diffraction Spectra; Memoirs by Joseph Von Fraunhofer. Tr. and Ed. by J.S. Ames ... 1899 Leather Bound 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bestimmung des Brechungs- und Farbenzerstreuungsvermögens verschiedener Glasarten in Bezug auf die Vervollkommnung achromatischer Fernröhre. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bestimmung des Brechungs- und Farbenzerstreuungsvermögens verschiedener Glasarten in Bezug auf die Vervollkommnung achromatischer Fernröhre. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
$Prismatic and Diffraction S...$	Prismatic and Diffraction Spectra; by William Hyde Wollaston, Joseph von Fraunhofer 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Joseph von Fraunhofer (?)

“It will reward enough for me if, by the publication of the present experiment, I have directed the attention of investigators to this subject, which still promises much for physical optics and appears to open a new field.”
― Joseph Von Fraunhofer

tags: optics, physics, reward, science

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