Karl Ferdinand Braun
Karl Ferdinand Braun (
June 6,
1850 -
April 20,
1918) was a
German physicist.
Born in Fulda. Educated at the University of
Marburg and the University of
Berlin, receiving his Ph.D. in 1872. In 1874 he discovered the point-contact rectifier effect. He became director of the Physical Institute and professor of physics at
Strasbourg in 1895. In
1897 he built the first
cathode-ray tube oscilloscope, the
CRT is still called the "Braun tube" at the
University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He also worked on wireless telegraphy from 1898, inventing the crystal rectifier and
Guglielmo Marconi admitted to 'borrowing' from Braun's patents. In
1909 Braun shared the
Nobel Prize for physics with Marconi for "contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy."
Braun was detained while in America because of his German citizenship when the U.S. entered
WWI in 1917. He died before the war ended in 1918.
References
- "Ferdinand Braun – Biography". Nobel Lectures. Physics 1901-1921, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1967. \n* Naughton, Russell, "Karl Ferdinand Braun, Dr : 1850 - 1918".\n* "Karl Ferdinand Braun ". Biographies of Famous Electrochemists and Physicists Contributed to Understanding of Electricity. \n* "Karl Ferdinand Braun". Timeline of Nobel Prize Winners, PHYSICS.\n* Rybak, James P., "Forgotten" Pioneers of Wireless; Part 5 - Karl Ferdinand Braun". \n* "Karl Ferdinand Braun, 1850-1918". (German) (English translation)
Braun, Karl Ferdinand