Julius Elster

Julius Johann Phillipp Ludwig Elster(24 December 1854 in Blankenburg – 6 April 1920) was a teacher and physicist.

Biography

Elster andHans Friedrich Geitel,the son of aForstmeisterwho had moved toBlankenburgwith his family in 1861, grew up in the same neighborhood and attended school and high school together. The personal friendship was deepened by the shared interest in thenatural sciencesduring their years at university inHeidelbergandBerlin.After they received theirteaching certificationinBrunswick,they went their separate ways for a short time. In 1881 they were working together at theHerzogliche Große Schule(translation: Ducal Great School) inWolfenbütteland used their leisure forexperimental research.ThereKarl Bergwitz(1875–1958) was among their students.

Elster was awarded anhonorary doctorate(1915) along with Geitel at theBraunschweig University of Technology.In 1919, he was diagnosed withdiabetes mellitus.In April 1920, the Privy Councilor Julius Elster died in Bad Harzburg during a spa stay.

Publications

Together with his friendHans Geitel,he has well over 100 publications onatmospheric electricity,the intensity of thestarlight,ihe problems ofionizing radiation(example: "On the radioactivity of the earth substrate and its possible relationship to the geothermal") and other important areas of research a valuable contribution paid to the development of physics. Together with Geitel, Julius Elster invented a modernphotoelectric cell.

References

Literature

• Rudolf G. A. Fricke: J. Elster & H. Geitel. Jugendfreunde, Gymnasiallehrer, Wissenschaftler aus Passion. Döring Druck, Braunschweig, 1992,ISBN3-925268-12-X.
• Rudolf E. Ottmer: Elster, Julius. In:Neue Deutsche Biographie(NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1959,ISBN3-428-00185-0,pp. 468 f.