September 8, 1906
Ludwig Boltzmann killed himself on September 5th during a summer vacation in Duino (Italy).
He was 62 years old. He was born
on February 20th, 1844. He was a professor in Graz, Leipzig and
Vienna. (He confirmed for the first time the “Maxwellian” light theory).
The central problem of his theoretical life’s work was the tracing back of thermal dynamics to static mechanics. Boltzmann was a controversial follower
of the atom theory. His opponents found the study of atoms to be not so
important and therefore they never paid attention to his work. He never
lived to see the victory of the atom theory, which was initiated and led by
Albert Einstein in 1905. Boltzmann’s many interests included the arts. He
took music lessons with Anton Bruckner, and he was a fan of Shakespeare,
Goethe and Schiller. The terrible disputes with his opponents led Boltzmann,
a sensitive man, into a deep depression. It is assumed that these were the
reasons for his suicide.
December 3, 1907
Ernst Mach was born on February 18, 1838 in Turas (Czech Republic).
In
1864 he became a professor in mathematics in Graz. Three years later he
became a professor in physics in Prague
and in 1895-1901 he taught philosophy at the University of Vienna. He also made a
name for himself in scientific philosophy. Without room for compromise he
believes that physical knowledge is only valid, if it can be
proven. But he is also a successful physicist. He has done experiments on acoustics and
through these he has become a pioneer of aerodynamics. The mach-numbers can tell
at what speed a body breaks the sound barrier. At mach1 the sound barrier is
broken. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound. Ernst Mach is well known
internationally both as a physicist and a philosopher.
Ernst Mach at
work
November 12, 1905
Sigmund Freud was born on May 6 1856 in Freiberg (Marburg). One of his most important discoveries was the discovery of psychoanalysis for the treatment of psychological and emotional disorders. He graduated from the University of Vienna in 1881 as a Doctor of Medicine. He married Martha Bernays in 1886 and opened a private office. Together with Josef Breuer, he published “Studies on Hysteria” and the “Methods of free Association” in 1895.
The analyst tried to breakthrough to patients hidden
fears through spontaneous remarks. In 1899 Freud published the “Traumdeutung”-
(“Dream Theory”), the basis for psychoanalysis. He tried to make patients
understand their dreams and their subconscious wishes that lay within.
According to Freud, dreams are coded hints to conflicts between wishes and
the forbidden. “ Three Treatises to Sexual Theory” is the name of Sigmund
Freud’s newest work. Freud describes in it the sexual component of normal
and abnormal behavior. For the first time he addressed the existence
of erotic impulses in small children and emphasized again the importance of sexual impulses in
human behavior.