Stefan Meyer (physicist)
Encyclopedia
Stefan Meyer was an Austria
n physicist
involved in research on radioactivity. He became director of the Institute for Radium Research
in Vienna
and received the Lieben Prize
in 1913 for his research on radium. He was the brother of Hans Leopold Meyer
who was also awarded the Lieben Prize
.
). He went to school in Vienna and later graduated from gymnasium
in Horn in 1892. He studied physics at the University of Vienna and attended the University of Leipzig for one year. He obtained his PhD in 1896 for work with Franz Serafin Exner. In 1897, Meyer became assistant of Ludwig Boltzmann
at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Vienna. His research was dedicated to magnetic permeability of liquids. After a talk of Friedrich Oskar Giesel
– a pioneer in the research and production of radium – he obtained a sample of radium from Giesel to determine magnetic properties of the new element. Meyer and his colleague Egon von Schweidler were able to show that the Becquerel
rays (beta rays) could be deflected by magnetic fields; this effect was discovered simultaneously by several scientists, but Meyer et al. also showed that the radiation from polonium (alpha rays) behaved differently in the magnetic field.
Meyer was able to organize the production of 4 gram
s of radium, as recommended in 1901 by the Austrian Academy of Sciences
. The chemical plant of Auer von Welsbach
, which was used to produce rare earth elements, provided the necessary technical equipment and knowledge for separation of small quantities of material from ore. Meyer became interim head of the institute for one year after the suicide of Boltzmann. During that time, Meyer had also contacted Lise Meitner
before she left for Berlin in 1907. Meyer became assistant of Exner in 1908 and professor in 1909. The ample supply of radium which he shared with the Curies in Paris, Rutherford in Manchester and Ramsey in London made him a key figure in the research on radium.
The only larger source for radium-containing pitchblende was the Sankt Joachimsthal
mines, which were located in Austria-Hungary
. To improve the industrial use and mining of radium, Austrian industrialist Karl Kupelwieser donated 500,000 Austrian krone
n to found an institute for research on radium in 1908. In 1910, the Institute for Radium Research
in Vienna
was opened. Meyer became its first acting director, and Exner was the director of the institute. The institute in Vienna opened two years before the Institute du Radium in Paris.
During the time when Meyer was acting director, a number of prominent scientists worked at the institute, including George de Hevesy
, Victor Francis Hess
and Friedrich Paneth
. With the Anschluss Österreichs
in 1938, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, Meyer as a Jew had to leave office. He requested retirement before he was forced out of the institute. He stayed in his house in the countryside of Austria and, because of the intervention of several people, was left unharmed for the rest of the war. His older brother Hans Leopold Meyer
, a professor of chemistry, was less protected and was killed in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
in 1942. After the war, Meyer was rehabilitated and allowed to return to his Institute as director. Meyer died in 1949.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
involved in research on radioactivity. He became director of the Institute for Radium Research
Institute for Radium Research, Vienna
The Institute for Radium Research was an Austrian research institute associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. The Institute's researchers won multiple Nobel Prizes...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and received the Lieben Prize
Lieben Prize
The Ignaz Lieben Prize is an annual Austrian award for young scientists working in the fields of molecular biology, chemistry, or physics.The Ignaz Lieben Prize has been called the Austrian Nobel Prize. It is similar in intent but somewhat older than the Nobel Prize. The Austrian merchant Ignaz L...
in 1913 for his research on radium. He was the brother of Hans Leopold Meyer
Hans Leopold Meyer
Hans Leopold Meyer 31 March 1871–28 November 1942) was an Austrian chemist. He was the brother of Stefan Meyer who also received the Lieben Prize. Hans Leopold Meyer studied at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Vienna University of Technology and University of Heidelberg he received...
who was also awarded the Lieben Prize
Lieben Prize
The Ignaz Lieben Prize is an annual Austrian award for young scientists working in the fields of molecular biology, chemistry, or physics.The Ignaz Lieben Prize has been called the Austrian Nobel Prize. It is similar in intent but somewhat older than the Nobel Prize. The Austrian merchant Ignaz L...
.
Life and work
Stefan was the second son of the lawyer and notary Gotthelf Karl Meyer and his wife Clara (née Goldschmidt, sister of Victor GoldschmidtVictor Goldschmidt
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt was a mineralogist considered to be the founder of modern geochemistry and crystal chemistry, developer of the Goldschmidt Classification of elements.-Early life & career:Goldschmidt was born in Zürich...
). He went to school in Vienna and later graduated from gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Horn in 1892. He studied physics at the University of Vienna and attended the University of Leipzig for one year. He obtained his PhD in 1896 for work with Franz Serafin Exner. In 1897, Meyer became assistant of Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Vienna. His research was dedicated to magnetic permeability of liquids. After a talk of Friedrich Oskar Giesel
Friedrich Oskar Giesel
Friedrich Oskar Giesel was a German organic chemist. During his work in a quinine factory in the late 1890s he started to work on the at-that-time-new field of radiochemistry and started the production of radium. In the period between 1902 and 1904 he was able to isolate a new element emanium...
– a pioneer in the research and production of radium – he obtained a sample of radium from Giesel to determine magnetic properties of the new element. Meyer and his colleague Egon von Schweidler were able to show that the Becquerel
Becquerel
The becquerel is the SI-derived unit of radioactivity. One Bq is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. The Bq unit is therefore equivalent to an inverse second, s−1...
rays (beta rays) could be deflected by magnetic fields; this effect was discovered simultaneously by several scientists, but Meyer et al. also showed that the radiation from polonium (alpha rays) behaved differently in the magnetic field.
Meyer was able to organize the production of 4 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s of radium, as recommended in 1901 by the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
. The chemical plant of Auer von Welsbach
Auer von Welsbach
Auer von Welsbach:* Alois Auer, Ritter von Welsbach** Carl Auer, Freiherr von Welsbach, son of Alois...
, which was used to produce rare earth elements, provided the necessary technical equipment and knowledge for separation of small quantities of material from ore. Meyer became interim head of the institute for one year after the suicide of Boltzmann. During that time, Meyer had also contacted Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
before she left for Berlin in 1907. Meyer became assistant of Exner in 1908 and professor in 1909. The ample supply of radium which he shared with the Curies in Paris, Rutherford in Manchester and Ramsey in London made him a key figure in the research on radium.
The only larger source for radium-containing pitchblende was the Sankt Joachimsthal
Jáchymov
For other places called Joachimsthal, see Joachimsthal Jáchymov . compl: "Sant Joachim's Sthal" is a spa town in north-west Bohemia in the Czech Republic belonging to the Karlovy Vary Region. It is situated at an altitude of 733 m above sea level in the eponymous St...
mines, which were located in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. To improve the industrial use and mining of radium, Austrian industrialist Karl Kupelwieser donated 500,000 Austrian krone
Austrian krone
The Krone was the currency of Austria and Liechtenstein after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the introduction of the Schilling and the Franken, respectively.-Coins:...
n to found an institute for research on radium in 1908. In 1910, the Institute for Radium Research
Institute for Radium Research, Vienna
The Institute for Radium Research was an Austrian research institute associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. The Institute's researchers won multiple Nobel Prizes...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
was opened. Meyer became its first acting director, and Exner was the director of the institute. The institute in Vienna opened two years before the Institute du Radium in Paris.
During the time when Meyer was acting director, a number of prominent scientists worked at the institute, including George de Hevesy
George de Hevesy
George Charles de Hevesy, Georg Karl von Hevesy, was a Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel laureate, recognized in 1943 for his key role in the development of radioactive tracers to study chemical processes such as in the metabolism of animals.- Early years :Hevesy György was born in Budapest,...
, Victor Francis Hess
Victor Francis Hess
Victor Francis Hess was an Austrian-American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics, who discovered cosmic rays.-Early years:...
and Friedrich Paneth
Friedrich Paneth
Friedrich Adolf Paneth was an Austrian-born British chemist. Fleeing the Nazis, he escaped to Britain and became a British citizen in 1939 but returned as director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in 1953....
. With the Anschluss Österreichs
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
in 1938, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, Meyer as a Jew had to leave office. He requested retirement before he was forced out of the institute. He stayed in his house in the countryside of Austria and, because of the intervention of several people, was left unharmed for the rest of the war. His older brother Hans Leopold Meyer
Hans Leopold Meyer
Hans Leopold Meyer 31 March 1871–28 November 1942) was an Austrian chemist. He was the brother of Stefan Meyer who also received the Lieben Prize. Hans Leopold Meyer studied at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Vienna University of Technology and University of Heidelberg he received...
, a professor of chemistry, was less protected and was killed in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
in 1942. After the war, Meyer was rehabilitated and allowed to return to his Institute as director. Meyer died in 1949.