Technikatörténeti szemle 11. (1979)
TANULMÁNYOK - Vajda Pál: Creative Hungarians in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, technical sciences and industry. A selected bio-bibliography
BOLYAI, János (1802—1860). Mathematician. János Bolyai wrote his Absolute Science of Space (Appendix scientiam spatii absolute veram exhibens) in Latin as an Apendix to the first volume of his father’s, Farkas Bolyai’s Tentamen. János Bolyai that Euclid’s parallel postulate was not necessary and that a whole system of geometry could be based on the pseudosphere of Bolyai refered to this discovery in a ltter addressed to his father, Farkas Bolyai ( ), on November the 3rd, 1823, exulting that „I have created another new world from nought.” Bolyai’s revolutionnary paper on absolute geometry opened new horizons in physics and even in philosophy. His discovery refuted the Kantian concept of „a priori” space. Thus János Bolyai, with the Russian Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevskii, was the founder of non-Euclidean geometry. Cajori, F:: A history of mathematics New York 1929. pp. 303—304., Bonola R.: Non-Euclidean geometry; a critical and historical study of its developments, New York 1955. DSB, TUW, ITS, YHC, CH, DHS, ZAB, ABE. GOTHARD, Jenő (1857—1909). Astronomer. As an astronomer, instrument-designer and photographer, he established in 1882 an astrophysical observatory where his main activity was astronomical photography and spectro-photography. He was a pioneer of astronomical photography and made many important discoveries by this method. The usefulness of photography for astronomy had not been universally acknowledged up to the time of Gothard’s early researches and therefore he was very anxious to prove to sceptics the great importance of this new method. Konkoly Thege, M.: Eugen v. Gothard (= Astronomische Nachrichten 181/1909. pp. 313—316.), Harkányi, B.: Eugen v. Gothard (= The Astrophysical Journal 31/1910. pp. 1—7.), J. Pohle: Die Sternenwelten und ihre Bewohner, Köln 1922. pp. 217, 228, 380. CH IRINYI, János (1817—1895). Chemist. In 1835, Irinyi, while still a student in Vienna, had the idea of substituting lead oxide for potassium chlorate. He thereby obtained an explosionless, noiseless and smoothly igniting match whose head consisted of white phosphorus, lead oxid, and sulphur. Klinckowström, C.: Das Zündholz (= Geschichtsblätter für Technik, Industrie und Gewerbe, Berlin 1915. p. 231.), Ullmans Encyklopädie der technischen Chemie XIX. Munich, 1969. p. 263., Partington J. R.: A History of Chemistry, London 1964. p. 197. DSB, WHC JEDLIK, Ányos (1800—1895). Physicist. During the years 1827—1828, Jedlik conducted experiments which finally resulted in the invention of the first electromotor in the history of technology (worked on the basis of electromagnetic effect). In the second half of 1850, he developed the first unipolar inductor. In this connection he discovered the principle of self-intensification and self-excitation as well. The two comprise the „dynamo electricity principle” (1861). Jedlik’s third extremely important invention was the construction of his „electrostatic machine”, a high capacity electric condenser (1873). For this invention, as recommended by Werner Siemens himself, the „Medal of Progress” was awarded to Jedlik at the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition. This equipment was an early form of the impulse- generators which are now applied in nuclear engineering research. 41
