{{Short description|German physicist (1894–1956)}} '''Christian Gerthsen''' (21 November 1894 in Hörup, Alsen, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, German Reich – 8 December 1956 in Karlsruhe, West Germany) was a German physicist who made contributions to atomic and nuclear physics, as well as writing numerous textbooks.
==Education==
Gerthsen studied at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München from 1913 to 1914. Around 1914 to 1918, he served in the military. Around 1919 to 1920, he attended the Georg August University of Göttingen. In 1920, he went to Kiel University. With Walther Kreisel as his advisor, he was awarded his doctorate in 1929.<ref>[http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ Author Catalog: Gerthsen] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205234854/http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ |date=February 5, 2007 }} – American Philosophical Society puts the date for Gerthsen’s doctorate as 1929, while it is cited as 1922 by Hentschel, 1966, p. 281.</ref> He stayed as Kossel’s assistant until 1930, and then went to the University of Tübingen as a Privatdozent.<ref name="Author Catalog: Gerthsen">[http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ Author Catalog: Gerthsen] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205234854/http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ |date=February 5, 2007 }} – American Philosophical Society</ref><ref name="Hentschel, 1966, p. 281">Hentschel, 1966, p. 281.</ref>
==Career==
In 1932, Gerthsen was appointed ordinarius professor of experimental physics and director of the physics institute at the University of Giessen.<ref name="Gerthsen">[http://meyweb.physik.uni-giessen.de/1_Nuetzliches/history/Gechichte.html Gerthsen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209033514/http://meyweb.physik.uni-giessen.de/1_Nuetzliches/history/Gechichte.html |date=2007-02-09 }} – University of Giessen</ref> In 1939, he went to the First Physics Institute at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he was director.<ref name="Gerthsen"/> From 1948, he worked at the University of Karlsruhe (TH), where he remained for the rest of his career.<ref name="Author Catalog: Gerthsen"/><ref name="Hentschel, 1966, p. 281"/>
Gerthsen co-authored a number of textbooks with Karl Bechert. One of Gerthsen’s textbooks on physics, first published in 1948, has since his death seen continuous development and is, as of 2020, in its 25th updated edition, more than 50 years after his death.<ref>Christian Gerthsen, author and Dieter Meschede, editor ''Gerthsen Physik'' (Springer; 25 edition, 2015)</ref>
==Selected Literature==
*C. Gerthsen (Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Kiel) ''Über die Möglichkeit der Erregung von Röntgenstrahlen durch den Stoß von α- und Kanalstrahlen'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 36, Number 7, Pages 540-547 (1926). Received 14 February 1926. *C. Gerthsen ''Ein Maltekationsverfahren von Kanalstrahlenenergien und seine Anwendung auf Atomzertrümmerung'', ''Naturwissenschaften'' Volume 20, Number 40, Pages 743-744 (1932) *C. Gertshen (I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Berlin) and E. Grimm (I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Berlin) ''Der Ionisierungsaufwand von radioaktiven Rückstoßatomen'', ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' Volume 120, Numbers 7-10, Pages 476-485 (1943). Received 30 September 1942.
==Books==
*Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. I Allgemeine Grundlagen'' (De Gruyter, 1944, 1955, 1959) *Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. II Allgemeine Grundlagen'' (De Gruyter, 1944, 1959, 1963) *Christian Gerthsen ''Physik'' (Volk u. Wissen, 1948, 1951) (Springer, 1956, 1958) *Christian Gerthsen und Max Pollermann ''Einführung in das physikalische Praktikum zum Studium der Physik als Nebenfach'' (Springer, 1953) *Christian Gerthsen and Max Pollermann ''Einführung in das physikalische Praktikum'' (Springer, 1960, 1964, 1967) * Christian Gerthsen und M. Pollermann ''Einführung in das Physikalische Praktikum. Für Mediziner und das Anfängerpraktikum'' (Springer-Verlag, 1982) *Christian Gerthsen und Hans Otto Kneser ''Physik'' (Springer, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1969) *Karl Bechert and Christian Gerthsen ''Atomphysik Bd. III, Theorie des Atombaus'' (De Gruyter, 1954, 1963) *Karl Bechert, Christian Gerthsen, and Arnold Flammersfeld ''Atomphysik. Bd. IV. Theorie des Atombaus 2. Teil'' (De Gruyter, 1954, 1963, 1984) *Christian Gerthsen, Hans O. Kneser, and Helmut Vogel ''Physik: Ein Lehrbuch Zum Gebrauch Neben Vorlesungen'' (Springer-Verlag, 17th edition, 1993) *Christian Gerthsen und Helmut Vogel Gerthsen ''Physik'' (Springer-Verlag, 1995, 1997, 2001) *Christian Gerthsen and Dieter Meschede ''Gerthsen Physik. Mit 1074 Aufgaben und vollständigen Lösungen auf CD-ROM'' (Springer, 2003, 2005) *Christian Gerthsen, author and Dieter Meschede, editor ''Gerthsen Physik'' (Springer; 23 edition, 2007) This textbook is cited as having 1157 pages.
==References== * Klaus Hentschel, editor and Ann M. Schenkel, editorial assistant and translator ''Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources'' (Birkhaüser, 1996) {{ISBN|3-7643-5312-0}}
==Notes== <references/>
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerthsen, Christian}} Category:1894 births Category:1956 deaths Category:People from Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein Category:People from Sønderborg Municipality Category:German physicists Category:German nuclear physicists