Hans Geiger
Born: September 30, 1882
Neustadt an-der-Haardt, Germany
Died: September 24, 1945
Potsdam, Germany
German experimental physicist
Hans Geiger was a German nuclear physicist (a person who studies the inner core of the atom) best known for his invention of the Geiger counter, a device used for detecting and counting atomic particles, and for his work in nuclear physics with Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937).
Early life
Johannes Wilhelm Geiger was born in Neustadt an-der-Haardt (now Neustadt ander-Weinstrasse), Germany, on September 30, 1882. His father, Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger, was a professor at the University of Erlangen from 1891 to 1920. The eldest of five children, Geiger was educated first at Erlangen Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1901. After completing his required military service, he studied physics (the study of the relationship between matter and energy) at the University of Munich and at the University of Erlangen, receiving a doctorate from Erlangen in 1906 for his study of electrical releases through gases.
Hans Geiger. Reproduced by permission of Getty Images.
Hans Geiger.
Reproduced by permission of
Getty Images
.
Partners with Rutherford
Geiger moved to Manchester University in England, where he met Ernest Rutherford, head of the physics department. Rutherford and Geiger began a lifelong personal and professional friendship. They began experiments based on Rutherford's detection of the release of alpha particles (particles with "positive" electric charges) from radioactive substances (substances whose atoms give off particles of matter and harmful rays of energy).
Since alpha particles can penetrate thin walls of solids, Rutherford and Geiger presumed that they could also move through atoms. Geiger designed a machine that would shoot alpha particles through gold foil onto a screen, where they were observed as tiny flashes of light. Counting the thousands of flashes per minute was a long, hard task. Geiger decided to try
Neustadt an-der-Haardt, Germany
Died: September 24, 1945
Potsdam, Germany
German experimental physicist
Hans Geiger was a German nuclear physicist (a person who studies the inner core of the atom) best known for his invention of the Geiger counter, a device used for detecting and counting atomic particles, and for his work in nuclear physics with Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937).
Early life
Johannes Wilhelm Geiger was born in Neustadt an-der-Haardt (now Neustadt ander-Weinstrasse), Germany, on September 30, 1882. His father, Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger, was a professor at the University of Erlangen from 1891 to 1920. The eldest of five children, Geiger was educated first at Erlangen Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1901. After completing his required military service, he studied physics (the study of the relationship between matter and energy) at the University of Munich and at the University of Erlangen, receiving a doctorate from Erlangen in 1906 for his study of electrical releases through gases.
Hans Geiger. Reproduced by permission of Getty Images.
Hans Geiger.
Reproduced by permission of
Getty Images
.
Partners with Rutherford
Geiger moved to Manchester University in England, where he met Ernest Rutherford, head of the physics department. Rutherford and Geiger began a lifelong personal and professional friendship. They began experiments based on Rutherford's detection of the release of alpha particles (particles with "positive" electric charges) from radioactive substances (substances whose atoms give off particles of matter and harmful rays of energy).
Since alpha particles can penetrate thin walls of solids, Rutherford and Geiger presumed that they could also move through atoms. Geiger designed a machine that would shoot alpha particles through gold foil onto a screen, where they were observed as tiny flashes of light. Counting the thousands of flashes per minute was a long, hard task. Geiger decided to try