Robert Pohl
German physicist (1884-1976) · Germany · On the map · Scientists · Died at 91
Robert Wichard Pohl was a German physicist and professor of the University of Göttingen. The physical institute in Göttingen led by Pohl was one of the first schools in solid state physics and Nevill Francis Mott described Pohl as the "father of solid state physics.".
Robert Pohl is read about 15 times a day, in 11 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 16 June 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
Media & music
Photos 5
Göttingen, City Cemetery: The gravestone of Prof. Robert Wichard Pohl and his father-in-law, Prof. Otto Wilhelm Madelung, as well as their wives, Tussa Madelung Pohl and Ottilie Franziska Madelung, and the Pohls' daughter, Ottilie Pohl.
Monorail: RWP demonstrates the stabilization of a monorail vehicle using a gyroscope (R. W. Pohl, Mechanics. all editions).
n- and p-type conduction: visualization of n-type conduction (at left by electrons, green) and of p-type conduction (at the right by holes, brown) in a KI crystal. The cathode (at left) and the anode (right) are Pt needles which have been melted into the crystal. From R.W. Pohl, Electromagnetism, from the 10th edition (1944) on.
An intense spatial optical-interference field, projected onto the wall of the lecture hall (R.W. Pohl, "Optik", 1941. Since the 22nd edition in 2006 titled "Elektrizitätslehre und Optik")Awards
About this person
He is known for relating color in alkali metal halides with the presence of vacancies and F-centers, a type of crystallographic defect. He also demonstrated the first transistor based on color centers. The Gudden-Pohl effect and the Pohl torsion pendulum are named after him.
