Seebeck, Thomas Johann

Seebeck, Thomas Johann

▪ German physicist
born Apr. 9, 1770, Tallinn, Estonia, Russian Empire
died Dec. 10, 1831, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]

      German physicist who discovered (1821) that an electric current flows between different conductive materials that are kept at different temperatures, known as the Seebeck effect.

      Seebeck studied medicine at Berlin and at the University of Gottingen, where he acquired an M.D. in 1802. However, he abandoned medical practice for scientific research. He was chosen (1814) as a member of the Berlin Academy and was awarded (1816) the academy's annual prize for his investigation of polarization in stressed glass.

      In numerous experiments on the magnetizability of various metals, he observed the anomalous reaction of magnetized red-hot iron, which eventually resulted in the phenomenon now known as hysteresis. Continued experiments with different metal pairs and a variety of conductors revealed that it was possible to place the many conducting materials in a thermoelectric series.

      His most important contribution, however, was the Seebeck effect. He discovered that if a copper strip was joined to a strip of bismuth to form a closed circuit, heating one junction induced a current of electricity to flow around the circuit as long as the difference in temperature existed. This remained true of any pair of metals, and his original experiment revealed that merely holding one junction by hand was adequate to produce a measurable current.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Seebeck , Thomas Johann — (1770–1831) Estonian–German physicist Seebeck was born into a wealthy family in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, and moved to Germany at the age of 17. He studied medicine in Berlin and in 1802 received an MD from the University of Göttingen. More… …   Scientists

  • Seebeck, Thomas Johann — ► (1770 1831) Físico alemán. Descubrió los fenómenos de termoelectricidad e indicó el comportamiento anómalo del hierro incandescente magnetizado, conocido después como histéresis …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thomas Johann Seebeck — Thomas Seebeck Thomas Johann Seebeck (* 29. Märzjul./ 9. April 1770greg. in Reval (heute Tallinn); † 10. Dezember 1831 in Berlin) war ein deutsch baltischer Physiker …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thomas Johann Seebeck — (9 avril 1770 à Tallinn (Empire Russe) 10 décembre 1831 à Berlin (Prusse)), est un physicien allemand qui découvrit l effet Seebeck en 1821 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Thomas Johann Seebeck — Artículo principal: Efecto Peltier Seebeck Thomas Johann Seebeck. Thomas Johann Seebeck (Reval, 9 de abril de 1770 – Berlín, 10 de diciembre de 1831). Médico e investigador físico natural de Estonia, de origen …   Wikipedia Español

  • Thomas Johann Seebeck — Infobox Scientist name = Thomas Johann Seebeck box width = |thumb|225px image width = caption = birth date = April 9 1770 birth place = Reval death date = December 10 1831 death place = Berlin [cite book | title = A Scientific German Reader |… …   Wikipedia

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  • Thomas J. Seebeck — Thomas Seebeck Thomas Seebeck (* 9. April 1770 in Reval (heute Tallinn); † 10. Dezember 1831 in Berlin) war ein deutsch baltischer Physiker. Biographie Thomas Seebeck wurde am 9. April 1770 in Tallinn in einer vermögenden Kaufmannsfamilie geboren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thomas Seebeck — (* 9. April 1770 in Reval (heute Tallinn); † 10. Dezember 1831 in Berlin) war ein deutsch baltischer Physiker. Biographie Thomas Seebeck wurde am 9. April 1770 in Tallinn in einer vermögenden Kaufmannsfamilie geboren. Sein Vater war de …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Seebeck — Seebeck,   Thomas Johann, Physiker, * Reval 9. 4. 1770, ✝ Berlin 10. 12. 1831; befreundet mit G. W. F. Hegel und Goethe, den er bei seinen optischen Studien beriet; ab 1818 Mitglied der Berliner Akademie der Wissenschaften Seebeck entdeckte 1818… …   Universal-Lexikon

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