Victor F. Hess – Biography
Victor Franz
Hess was born on the 24th of June, 1883, in Waldstein Castle, near Peggau
in Steiermark, Austria. His father, Vinzens Hess, was a forester in Prince Öttingen-Wallerstein's
service and his mother was Serafine Edle von Grossbauer-Waldstätt.
He received his entire education in Graz: Gymnasium (1893-1901), and afterwards
Graz University (1901-1905), where he took his doctor's degree in 1910.
He worked, for a short time, at the Physical Institute in Vienna, where
Professor von Schweidler initiated him in recent discoveries in the field of radioactivity.
During 1910-1920 he was Assistant under Stephan Meyer at the Institute of Radium
Research of the Viennese Academy of Sciences. In 1919 he received the Lieben Prize
for his discovery of the"ultra-radiation" (cosmic radiation), and the year after
became Extraordinary Professor of Experimental Physics at the Graz University.
From 1921 to 1923, Hess was granted leave of absence, and worked in the
United States, where he took a post as Director of the Research Laboratory (created
by him) of the U.S. Radium Corporation, at Orange (New Jersey), and as Consulting
Physicist for the U.S. Department of the Interior (Bureau of Mines), Washington
D.C.
In 1923 he returned to Graz University and in 1925 he was appointed
Ordinary Professor of Experimental Physics. In 1931 came his appointment as Professor
at Innsbruck University and Director of the newly established Institute of Radiology.
He founded the station at the Hafelekar mountain (2,300 m) near Innsbruck for
observing and studying cosmic rays.
As well as the Nobel Prize for
1936, which he shared with C.D. Anderson, Hess has been awarded the Abbe Memorial
Prize and the Abbe Medal of the Carl Zeiss Institute in Jena (1932); he was also
Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
Hess's
work which gained him the Nobel Prize, was carried out during the years 1911-1913,
and published in the Proceedings of the Viennese Academy of Sciences. In addition
he has published some sixty papers and several books, of which the most important
were: "Die Wärmeproduktion des Radiums" (The heat production of radium),
1912; "Konvektionserscheinungen in ionisierten Gasen-Ionenwind" (Convection phenomena
in ionized gas-ionwinds), 1919-1920; "The measurement of gamma rays", 1916 (with
R.W. Lawson); "The counting of alpha particles emitted from radium", 1918 (also
with R. W. Lawson); Elektrische Leitfähigkeit der Atmosphäre und
ihre Ursachen (book), 1926 (in English: The Electrical Conductivity of
the Atmosphere and Its Causes, 1928); Ionenbilanz der Atmosphäre
(The ionization balance of the atmosphere - book), 1933; Luftelektrizität
(Electricity of the air - book, with H. Benndorf), 1928; "Lebensdauer der Ionen
in der Atmosphäre" (Average life of the ions in the atmosphere), 1927-1928;
"Schwankungen der Intensität in den kosmischen Strahlen" (Intensity fluctuations
in cosmic rays), 1929-1936.
Hess has been American citizen since
1944, and is living in New York.
From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1922-1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam,
1965
This
autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published
in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information
is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this
document, always state the source as shown above.
Victor
F. Hess died on December 17, 1964.
Victor
F. Hess – Nobel Lecture
Nobel Lecture, December
12, 1936
Unsolved Problems in Physics: Tasks for
the Immediate Future in Cosmic Ray Studies
From a consideration
of the immense volume of newly discovered facts in the field of physics, especially
atomic physics, in recent years it might well appear to the layman that the main
problems were already solved and that only more detailed work was necessary.
This
is far from the truth, as will be shown by one of the biggest and most important
newly opened fields of research, with which I am closely associated, that of cosmic
rays.
When, in 1912, I was able to demonstrate by means
of a series of balloon ascents, that the ionization in a hermetically sealed vessel
was reduced with increasing height from the earth (reduction in the effect of
radioactive substances in the earth), but that it noticeably increased from 1,000
m onwards, and at 5 km height reached several times the observed value at earth
level, I concluded that this ionization might be attributed to the penetration
of the earth's atmosphere from outer space by hitherto unknown radiation of exceptionally
high penetrating capacity, which was still able to ionize the air at the earth's
surface noticeably. Already at that time I sought to clarify the origin of this
radiation, for which purpose I undertook a balloon ascent at the time of a nearly
complete solar eclipse on the 12th April 1912, and took measurements at heights
of two to three kilometres. As I was able to observe no reduction in ionization
during the eclipse I decided that, essentially, the sun could not be the source
of cosmic rays, at least as far as undeflected rays were concerned.
Many
esteemed physicists in Europe and America have tried since then to solve the problems
of the origin of cosmic rays. The fluctuations of intensity of the radiation already
incidentally observed by me in 1912 have been thoroughly studied using apparatuses
which have been constantly improved and perfected. An influence from specific
sky zones which individual research workers (1923-1927) believed they had found,
could not be confirmed later.
In the autumn of 1931 a
small observatory for the continuous recording of the fluctuations in intensity
of the cosmic rays was set up by me on a 2,300 m high mountain, the Hafelekar
at Innsbruck in Austria. A great number of results are already available from
there which will only be mentioned here briefly. The determination of a small,
regular, daily fluctuation of radiation according to solar time (maximum at midday),
which were attributed to atmospheric influences, particularly electrical and magnetic
effects in the highest layers of the atmosphere. Further indications of a still
smaller fluctuation according to stellar time, which would speak in favour of
Prof. A.H. Compton's hypothesis published a year ago, according to which the cosmic
rays come from milky-way systems external to, and far-distant from, our own. Further,
evidence of simultaneous radiation fluctuations from day to day at two measuring
devices spaced at 6 km from each other at heights of 600 and 2,300 m (fitted with
ionization chambers, as well as with counting tubes).
On
what can we now place our hopes of solving the many riddles which still exist
as to the origin and composition of cosmic rays? It must be emphasized here above
all that to attain really decisive progress greater funds must be made available.
The further improvement of the method of sending up automatically recording instruments
to heights above 25 km using pilot balloons, so successfully employed by Prof.
Regener (Stuttgart), must be still further expanded and perfected. In conjunction,
the many trial methods of automatic radiotelegraphic transmission of observation
data as used in America for stratospheric flights will serve a useful purpose.
It may well be said that the answer to the question: Of what do the cosmic rays
in fact consist before they produce their familiar secondary radiation phenomena
in the earth's atmosphere? can only be obtained from numerous measurements in
the stratosphere. In conjunction with this, the study of the occurrence of the
so-called showers and Hoffmann's bursts (release of enormous quantities of ions
resulting from atomic disintegration processes) of cosmic rays at various heights
will provide new knowledge about the effects of these rays.
In
addition, the tracing of the occurrence of these "showers" in the depths of the
earth, in mines and through the immersion of recording apparatus in water to some
hundreds of metres depth will yield very important results.
In
order to make further progress, particularly in the field of cosmic rays, it will
be necessary to apply all our resources and apparatus simultaneously and side-by-side;
an effort which has not yet been made, or at least, only to a limited extent.
Simultaneous recording with superimposed ionization chambers and Wilson chambers,
ionization chambers and sets of counting tubes, has not yet been carried out.
The photographic method of observing the tracks of the particles of cosmic radiation,
first successfully tried out by Prof. Wilkins (Rochester, USA) merits great attention.
The application of a strong magnetic field enables the measurement of the energy
of the most penetrating particles to be carried out, and the method may be capable
of still further extension and improvement.
The investigation
into the possible effects of cosmic rays on living organisms will also offer great
interest.
The investigation of the tracks of cosmic rays
in strong magnetic fields by means of the Wilson cloud chamber method has led
to the discovery of the positron (positively charged electrons), that is, one
of the hitherto unknown fundamental components of matter; this was carried out
by Prof. Carl Anderson (Pasadena) who was in 1936 awarded the Nobel Prize for
this work, at the same time as I myself received the award.
It
is likely that further research into "showers" and "bursts" of the cosmic rays
may possibly lead to the discovery of still more elementary particles, neutrinos
and negative protons, of which the existence has been postulated by some theoretical
physicists in recent years.
From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1922-1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam,
1965
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