AUERBACH

GERMANY (see also List of Individuals)

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12.11.1856 Breslau/D - 26.2.1933 Jena/D

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Felix Auerbach began his studies with Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887) with only sixteen years and received his title Dr.phil. in 1876 from Berlin University. Three years later he moved to the University of Breslau, today's Wrocław in Poland, as an assistant at the institute of physics, and was promoted to Privatdozent in 1880. Auerbach was appointed professor of theoretical physics in 1889 at the University of Jena where he initiated works in hydrodynamics. He was promoted to full professor in 1923. He terminated his life with suicide.

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Auerbach was a versatile researcher who contributed to acoustics, to magnetism, to an universal machine for absolute hardness determination of materials, and to the history of sciences next to his works in hydrodynamics. He thus presented books relating to the development of theoretical hydrodynamics thereby accounting in particular for the contributions of his teachers; the development of aviation based on the centennial of the balloon ascent of the Montgolfier's brothers. He is remembered for his encyclopedic books series initiated with Hort during World War I. The series consists of seven volumes treating the following subjects: Mechanics of rigid systems, Physics of solid body, Dynamics of elastic body, Mechanics of fluids, Mechanics of gas and steams, Methods of theoretical physics, and Borders of physical and technical mechanics. The series appeared in an era when Germany was known for the quality of encyclopedic works, and Auerbach added a masterpiece that summarized the knowledge of the time.

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_{Anonymous (1926). Prof. Dr. Felix Auerbach. Umschau 30: 940. P}

_{Auerbach, F. (1881). Die theoretische Hydrodynamik nach dem Gange ihrer Entwicklung in der neuesten Zeit in Kürze dargestellt. Vieweg: Braunschweig.}

_{Auerbach, F. (1883). Hundert Jahre Luftschiffahrt: Die Aeronautik nach ihrer Entwicklung und ihrem gegenwärtigen Stande für weitere Kreise wissenschaftlich dargestellt. Kern: Breslau.}

_{Auerbach, F., Hort, W., eds. (1931). Mechanik der Flüssigkeiten. Handbuch der physikalischen und technischen Mechanik 5. Barth: Leipzig.}

_{Klinckowstroem, C. Graf von (1953). Auerbach, Felix. Neue Deutsche Biographie 1: 433.}

_{Duncker&Humblot: Berlin.}

_{Poggendorff, J.C. (1898). Auerbach, Felix. Biographisch-Literarisches Handwörterbuch}

_{3: 49-50; 4: 46; 5: 40; 6: 88; 7a: 64. Barth: Leipzig, with bibliography.}