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Ernst Abbe

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Ernst Abbe

Born

Ernst Karl Abbe

23 January 1840

Died

14 January 1905

(aged 64)

Alma mater

Known for

Scientific career

Fields

Institutions

Doctoral

students

Other notable

students

Ernst Karl Abbe

(23 January 1840 – 14 January 1905),

was a German

businessman, optical engineer, physicist, and social reformer. Together with

and

, he developed numerous optical instruments. He was

also a co-owner of

, a German manufacturer of scientific

microscopes, astronomical telescopes, planetariums, and other advanced

optical systems.

Personal life

[

]

Else Snell

Abbe was born 23 January 1840 in

to Georg Adam Abbe

and Elisabeth Christina Barchfeldt.

came from a humble home – his father was a

foreman in a spinnery. Supported by his father's employer, Abbe was able to

attend secondary school and to obtain the general qualification for university

entrance with fairly good grades, at the Eisenach Gymnasium, which he

graduated from in 1857.

By the time he left school, his scientific talent

and his strong will had already become obvious. Thus, in spite of the family's

strained financial situation, his father decided to support Abbe's studies at

the Universities of

(1857–1859) and

(1859–1861).

During his

time as a student, Abbe gave private lessons to improve his income. His

father's employer continued to fund him. Abbe was awarded his

in Göttingen

on 23 March 1861.

While at school, he was influenced by

and

, who also happened to be one of the

This was followed by two short assignments at the Göttingen

and at Physikalischer Verein in

(an association of

citizens interested in physics and chemistry that was founded by

in 1824 and still exists today).

On 8 August 1863 he

qualified as a university lecturer at the University of Jena. In 1870, he

accepted a contract as an associate

of experimental

and

in Jena.

In 1871, he married Else Snell,

daughter of the mathematician and physicist Karl Snell, one of Abbe's

teachers,

with whom he had two daughters.

He attained full professor

status by 1879.

He became director of the

in 1878.

In 1889, he became a member of the

. He also was a member of the

Saxon Academy of Sciences. He was relieved of his teaching duties at the

University of Jena in 1891. Abbe died 14 January 1905 in Jena.

He was an

atheist.

Life work

[

]

Microscope by Carl

Zeiss (1879) with optics

by Abbe

The resolution limit

formula engraved in an

Ernst Abbe memorial in

Jena, Germany

Ernst Abbe, relief at

his grave

In 1866, he became a research director at the

, and in 1868 he invented

the

, a microscope lens which eliminates both the primary and secondary

color distortion.

By 1870, Abbe invented the

, used for microscope

illumination.

In 1871, he designed the first

, which he described in a

booklet published in 1874.

He developed the laws of image of non-luminous objects by

1872.

Zeiss Optical Works began selling his improved microscopes in 1872, including

models with homogenous immersion objective by 1877 and his apochromatic objective

microscopes in 1886.

He created the

, a measure of any

material's

variation of

with

and Abbe's criterion, which tests the

hypothesis, that a systematic trend exists in a set of observations (in terms of resolving

power this criterion stipulates that an angular separation cannot be less than the ratio of

the wavelength to the aperture diameter, see

Already a professor in

, he was hired by

to improve the manufacturing process of optical

instruments, which back then was largely based on trial and error.

Abbe was the first to define the term

as the sine of the half angle

multiplied by the refractive index of the medium filling the space between the cover glass and front lens.

Abbe is credited by many for discovering the resolution limit of the microscope, and the formula (published in 1873)

Eq. 1

although in a publication in 1874,

states this formula was first derived by

, who

had died 61 years prior. Helmholtz was so impressed as to offer Abbe

a professorship at the

which he declined because of his ties to Zeiss.

Abbe was in the camp of the wide aperturists, arguing that

microscopic resolution is ultimately limited by the aperture of the optics, but also argued that depending on

application there are other parameters that should be weighted over the aperture in the design of objectives. In Abbe's

1874 paper, titled "A Contribution to the Theory of the Microscope and the nature of Microscopic Vision",

Abbe

states that the resolution of a microscope is inversely dependent on its aperture, but without proposing a formula for

the resolution limit of a microscope.

In 1876, Abbe was offered a partnership by Zeiss and began to share in the considerable profits.

Although the first

theoretical derivations of

were published by others, it is fair to say that Abbe was the first to reach this

conclusion experimentally. In 1878, he built the first homogenous immersion system for the microscope.

The

objectives that the Abbe Zeiss collaboration were producing were of ideal ray geometry, allowing Abbe to find that the

aperture sets the upper limit of microscopic resolution, not the curvature and placement of the lenses. Abbe's first

publication of

occurred in 1882.

In this publication, Abbe states that both his theoretical and experimental

investigations confirmed

. Abbe's contemporary Henry Edward Fripp, English translator of Abbe's and Helmholtz's

papers, puts their contributions on equal footing. He also perfected the

, in 1884.

Abbe, Zeiss, Zeiss' son,

, and

formed, in 1884, the

. This

company, which in time would in essence merge with Zeiss Optical Works, was responsible for research and production of

44 initial types of optical glass.

Working with

, he built an image reversal system in 1895.

In order to produce high quality objectives, Abbe made significant contributions to the diagnosis and correction of

, both

and

, which is required for an objective to reach the

resolution limit of

. In addition to spherical aberration, Abbe discovered that the rays in optical systems must

have constant angular magnification over their angular distribution to produce a diffraction limited spot, a principle

known as the

So monumental and advanced were Abbe's calculations and achievements that

based his

work on them, for which he was awarded the

in 1953, and

used

them to work on the development of the

During his association with

works, not only was he at the forefront of the field of optics but

also labor reform. He founded the

Jenaische Zeitung (newspaper) in 1890

and in 1900, introduced

the

, in remembrance of the 14-hour workday of his own father.

In addition, he created a pension

fund and a discharge compensation fund.

In 1889, Ernst Abbe set up and endowed the

for

research in science.

The aim of the foundation was "to secure the economic, scientific, and technological future

and in this way to improve the job security of their employees."

He made it a point that the success of an employee

was based solely on their ability and performance, not on their origin, religion, or political views.

In 1896, he

reorganized the Zeiss optical works into a cooperative with profit-sharing.

His social views were so respected as

to be used by the

state as a model and idealized by

in the 1947 book

Schriften der Heidelberger

Aktionsgruppe zur Demokratie und Zum Freien Sozialismus

(

Writings of the Heidelberg Action Group on Democracy and Free

Socialism

The crater

on the

was named in his honour.

Bibliography

[

]

Abbe was a pioneer in optics, lens design, and microscopy, and an authority of his time. He left us with numerous

publications of his findings, inventions, and discoveries. Below is a list of publications he authored including many

links to the scanned Google Books pages.

Abbe, Ernst (1873).

[About a New Illumination Apparatus to the

Microscope].

Archiv für mikroskopische Anatomie

(in German).

. Bonn, Germany: Verlag von Max Cohen & Sohn:

469–

480.

—— (1873).

[Contributions to the

Theory of the Microscope and of Microscopic Perception].

Archiv für Mikroskopische Anatomie

(in German).

(1).

Bonn, Germany: Verlag von Max Cohen & Sohn:

413–

468.

Retrieved

27 August

2010

—— (1874).

[New Equipment for Determining the Refraction and Dispersion Property of Solids and Liquids].

Jenaische Zeitschrift

für Naturwissenschaft

(in German).

. Jena, Germany: Mauke's Verlag:

96–

174.

—— (1875).

The Monthly Microscopical Journal

(2).

London, UK: Robert Hardwicke:

77–

82.

—— (1876). Lawson, Henry (ed.).

Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society

. Translated by Fripp, H. E. London, UK: Williams &

Northgate:

200–

261.

—— (1875). —— (ed.).

The Monthly Microscopical Journal

(4). London, UK: Williams & Northgate:

191–

201.

—— (1875). —— (ed.).

The Monthly Microscopical Journal

. London, UK: Williams & Northgate:

245–

254.

—— (1878).

[About Micrometric Measurement by Means of

Optical Images].

Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav Fischer:

11–

17.

—— (1878).

[About Counting Blood Cells].

Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav Fischer:

98–

105.

—— (1878).

[The Conditions Under Which Aplanatism of

the Lens Systems].

Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav

Fischer:

129–

142.

—— (1878).

[Beyond the Limits of Geometric Optics].

Jenaische

Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav Fischer:

71–

109.

—— (11 June 1879). Crisp, Frank (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

(3). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

256–

265.

—— (1879). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

(7). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

812–

824.

—— (2 May 1879).

[The

Determination of Time and Latitude Observations Made in Höhenparallen].

Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav Fischer:

57–

66.

—— (21 February 1879).

[The Determination of the Refractive Ratios of Solids by Means of Refractometers].

Jenaische

Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft

(in German). Jena, Germany: Verlag Von Gustav Fischer:

35–

44.

—— (1880). Crisp, Frank (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

. London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

509–

515.

[

]

—— (1880). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

20–

31.

—— (1880). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical

Society

. 2.

. London, UK: Williams & Norgate: 831.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

. London, UK: Williams & Norgate: 526.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

. 2.

. London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

690–

692.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

831–

832.

—— (1881).

[Description of a New Stereoscopic Eye-piece].

Repertorium für Experimental-Physik für Physikalische Technik

(in German).

. Munich, Germany: Druck und Verlag

Von R. Oldenbourg:

197–

224.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

131–

134.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

. 2.

. London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

680–

689.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical

Society

(3). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

388–

423.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

(2). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

203–

211.

—— (1881). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

298–

299.

—— (1882). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

. 2.

. London, UK:

Williams & Norgate:

693–

696.

—— (1882). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

(3). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

300–

309.

—— (1882). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

. 2.

(1). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

460–

473.

—— (1883). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

. 2.

(1). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

790–

812.

—— (1884). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society

(1). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

348–

351.

—— (1884). —— (ed.).

Journal of the Royal

Microscopical Society

(1). London, UK: Williams & Norgate:

20–

27.

—— (1886). "The new microscope".

S Ber Jena Ges Med

107–

108.

[

]

—— (1886).

[

About Enhancements of the

Microscope Using New Types of Optical Glass

] (in German).

—— (1890). "Messapparate für Physiker" [Measuring Equipment for Physicists].

Zeitschrift für Instrumentenkunde

(in German).

446–

447.

—— (1895).

Double Prism for Totally-Reflecting Refractometers

. Google Patents.

—— (1895).

Motive und Erläuterungen zum Entwurf eines Statuts der Carl Zeiss-Stiftung

[

Motives and Explanations on

the Draft Statute of the Carl Zeiss Foundation

] (in German). Vopelius.

——; Rudolph, P. (1897). "Anamorphotisches Linsensystem" [Anamorphic Lens System].

German Pat

(in German).

99722

—— (1904).

Gesammelte Abhandlungen

[

Collected Essay

] (in German). 5 volumes, released from 1904 until 1940. New

York, NY: Hildesheim.

——; Lummer, Otto; Reiche, Fritz (1910).

Die Lehre von der Bildentstehung im Mikroskop

[

The Theory of Image

Formation in the Microscope

] (in German). Braunschweig, Germany: F. Vieweg und Sohn.

—— (1921).

Sozialpolitische Schriften

[

Socio-political Writings

] (in German). Jena, Germany: Gustav Fischer.