Background
Carl P. Pulfrich was born on September 24, 1858, in Burscheid, Rhein-Berg District, Germany, the son of a schoolteacher.
University of Bonn, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Pulfrich studied physics, mathematics, and mineralogy at the University of Bonn. In 1881 he passed an examination enabling him to teach in secondary schools and in 1882 earned the doctorate under Clausius.
Pulfrich was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class.
Pulfrich was awarded the Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph
(The Pulfrich refractometer was advertised as being partic...)
The Pulfrich refractometer was advertised as being particularly suited for 1) measurement of refractive index and dispersion for any given light of all transparent liquids and solids, 2) studies of fluids at high temperatures, and 3) measurements of differences of refraction or dispersion over small ranges. The Pulfrich refractometer was considered a higher precision and more flexible instrument than the standard Abbe refractometer.
1905
inventor optician physicist scientist
Carl P. Pulfrich was born on September 24, 1858, in Burscheid, Rhein-Berg District, Germany, the son of a schoolteacher.
Pulfrich attended the Realschule in Miilheim an der Ruhr and then studied physics, mathematics, and mineralogy at the University of Bonn. In 1881 he passed an examination enabling him to teach in secondary schools and in 1882 earned the doctorate under Clausius for his dissertation “Photometrische Untersuchungen Uber die Absorption des Lichtes in isotropen und anisotropen Medien.”
From 1883 to 1889 Pulfrich was an assistant to Rudolf Clausius and then, after the latter’s death, to Hertz. At Bonn, Pulfrich investigated the refraction of light in crystals, glasses, and fluids and constructed a total reflectometer and a refractometer. On the basis of this research, he qualified in 1888 as a university lecturer; and in 1890 he met Abbe, who was then employed at the Zeiss Works in Jena.
In the same year (1890) Pulfrich accepted an offer to work as a physicist, under Abbe’s direction, for the Zeiss company, where he was made head of the department of optical measuring instruments, a post he held for many years.
Pulfrich’s first task was to improve some of the instruments that Abbe had devised, including the micrometer, dilatometer, and Abbe refractometer for liquids. In 1895 he designed, for use by chemists, an improved model of the latter device, which became known as “the Pulfrich.” He also constructed, in collaboration with R. Wollny, a butterfat refractometer; and he was instrumental in the development of heatproof glasses, which were manufactured at the Jena glassworks of Schott and Associates.
In 1899, at a scientific congress in Munich, Pulfrich presented the first model of a stereoscopic rangefinder with a staggering scale. He subsequently devoted himself completely to stereophotogrammetry. He introduced the so-called floating mark and constructed new surveying equipment and auxiliary devices, including the stereo comparator and stereo copying machine. For these devices, he employed the ideas of E. von Orel.
In 1925 Pulfrich devised a step photometer adapted to the range of sensitivity of the human eye. This photometer also finds application as a colorimeter and turbidimeter.
Pulfrich was a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
In 1891 Carl Pulfrich married a sister-in-law of Heinrich Hertz.