Ludwig Prandtl Took up the Chair of Applied Mechanics Göttinger Klassiker Der Strömungsmechanik Bd
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When Ludwig Prandtl took up the Chair of Applied Mechanics Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik Bd. 9 at Göttingen University in 1904, the small university town be- herausgegeben von Andreas Dillmann came the cradle of modern fl uid mechanics and aerodynamics. Not only did Prandtl found two research institutions of world- wide renown, the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung, but with the so-called ‘Göttingen School’ he also established an excep- Johanna Vogel-Prandtl tionally fertile line of scientifi c thinking, unique for its special balance of intuition for physics and mathematical precision. Ludwig Prandtl The scientifi c methods developed by Prandtl and his pupils are A Personal Biography Drawn from Memories manifested in numerous dissertations, monographs and text- books that now rate as classics and hence belong to the fun- and Correspondence damental works on fl uid mechanics. Yet many of these publi- cations have long been out of print and inaccessible for study. The series Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik is thus making available selected publications that emerged from Lud- wig Prandtl’s ‘Göttingen School’ or stand in a particular histo- rical relationship to it. This highly personal biography of Ludwig Prandtl compiled by his daughter, Johanna Vogel-Prandtl, is complemented by nu- merous photographs depicting Prandtl’s working and private life. It completes the picture of the founding father of modern fl uid mechanics whose scientifi c importance continues to reso- nate to this day. Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik, Band 9 Vogel-Prandtl: Ludwig Prandtl — A Biography Ludwig Band 9 Vogel-Prandtl: Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik, Göttinger ISBN: 978-3-86395-160-3 ISSN: 1863-1088 Universitätsverlag Göttingen Universitätsverlag Göttingen Johanna Vogel-Prandtl Ludwig Prandtl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Erschienen als Band 9 in der Reihe „Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik“ im Universitätsverlag Göttingen 2014 Johanna Vogel-Prandtl Ludwig Prandtl A Personal Biography Drawn from Memories and Correspondence Translated into English by David A. Tigwell Universitätsverlag Göttingen 2014 Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.ddb.de> abrufbar. Herausgeber der Reihe „Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik“: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Dr.-Ing.habil. Andreas Dillmann (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen und Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) Schriftleitung der Reihe „Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik“: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Rein (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen und Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) Die deutsche Fassung (Band 1 der Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik) erschien ursprünglich in den „Mitteilungen aus dem Max-Planck-Institut für Strömungsforschung“, Nr. 107, herausgegeben von E.-A. Müller, Selbstverlag: Max-Planck-Institut für Strömungsforschung, Göttingen 1993 Dieses Buch ist auch als freie Onlineversion über die Homepage des Verlags sowie über den OPAC der Niedersächsischen Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de) erreichbar. Es gelten die Lizenzbestimmungen der Onlineversion. Titelabbildung: Ludwig Prandtl an einem Wasserkanal. Fotografie aus Privatbesitz © 2014 Universitätsverlag Göttingen http://univerlag.uni-goettingen.de ISBN: 978-3-86395-160-3 ISSN: 1863-1088 Ludwig Prandtl 4.2.1875 - 15.8.1953 Preface With his seminal contributions to applied mechanics, hydro-, aero- and gas dynamics, Ludwig Prandtl decisively advanced developments in these fields in the first half of this century. With the publication of his collected works, in three volumes, which took place a few years after his death, his papers became accessible to subsequent generations. This written legacy is, however, only a part of his lifework which science has to thank this genial scholar for. Through his encouragement, he also contributed to the work of numerous students and research associates, as well as many colleagues throughout the world. The portrait of Ludwig Prandtl the researcher would be incomplete if reference were not made, in addition to his scientific works, to his qualities as a person. Some of his former co-workers have, on the occasion of remembrance, described their experiences stemming from encounters with their teacher and so have tried to keep alive the memory of his radiant and exemplary character. As the essays and treatises with recollections are widely scattered, there is a danger that, in the course of time, they will fall into oblivion. So, there has also been the fear that a biography of Ludwig Prandtl would never be written. This gap is filled by the book presented here which was written by his daughter Johanna Vogel-Prandtl. With her memories and other material, she wished, above all, to bring the reader closer to the “man” Ludwig Prandtl. In 1904, Prandtl was appointed to a position at Göttingen University, where his research career began which gained admiration and recognition throughout the world. As the younger generation may no longer be aware of his achievements, these will be recounted in the following synopsis. Prandtl proposed the boundary layer theory and the airfoil theory, he had ground-breaking ideas regarding the flow of compressible media and the motion of turbulent fluids, and he applied flow physics to meteorology. But, I should also mention his contributions to the problems of elasticity, plasticity and rheology at this point. He established two important research institutes in Göttingen: in 1907 the Aerodynamische Versuchsveranstalt (initially named the Modellversuchs- anstalt) and, in 1925, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung. In the latter institute, freed from the constraints of external demands, he was able to carry out intensive basic research. He was particularly successful in linking theory and experiment: in addition to the theories referred to above (both bear his name), he developed wind tunnels and measurement equipment for his experiments (e.g. the Prandtl tube and the Prandtl manometer) and so proved himself to be an all-embracing scholar. Eighty-three dissertations were written under his supervision as a university lecturer. He belonged to the active cofounders of two well- respected societies, the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Luftfahrt (now called the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt) and the Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM), founded in 1922, whose president he was from the year of the society´s founding until 1945. Ludwig Prandtl was showered with honours and awards. Amongst his honorary doctorates were those awarded by the TH Danzig, TH Zurich, TH Prag, TH Trondheim, University of Cambridge (England), University of Bucharest, and the University of Istanbul. Some twenty academies or other scientific institutions made him a member or honorary member. Moreover, a large number of medals and other awards were presented to him, most recently the Großes Verdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. At the end of 1946, Prandtl resigned from being the director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung and he became an emeritus of the university. In 1953, he died at the age of 78 years. He left behind a fulfilled working life and one that was rich in honours. Ernst-August Müller Universitätsprofessor für Angewandte Mechanik und Strömungsphysik an der Universität Göttingen Direktor am Max-Panck Institut für Strömungsforschung Table of Contents Page Foreword 1. Introduction 1 2. Ludwig Prandtl’s Childhood 3 3. Ludwig Prandtl the Apprentice, Student, Engineer and Professor 15 4. Engagement and Marriage 46 5. 1911 — 1918 Everyday Professional Life 65 6. Everyday Domestic Life 79 7. Glider Flying 82 8. An Offer of a Professorship in Munich 84 9. Establishing the Institute and New Projects 93 10. The New Kaiser Wilhelm Institute 99 11. Trip to London 103 12. Trip to Japan 110 13. Everyday Domestic Routine Once More 122 14. Holiday Trips 125 15. The Year 1933 149 16. Honorary Doctorates from Cambridge and Trondheim 159 17. The Mountain House 161 18. Intervention on Behalf of W. Heisenberg 166 19. The Prevailing Climate at that Time 169 20. Congress in America 171 21. The Ideological Dispute Amongst Physicists 176 22. Trip to Rumania 179 23. The Last Years of the War 183 24. The End of the War 192 25. A New Beginning at the University 201 26. The Immediate Post-War Period 210 27. The Last Years of his Life 227 28. Final Comments 237 Appendix 238 References 244 Foreword In the past few years, it has become an ever more urgent concern of mine to create a portrait of my father, Ludwig Prandtl, in the form of a biography. As his daughter, it should be possible for me to produce a biographical portrait, based on many personal memories that would do justice to the many sides of his character. This account should also not leave aside the scenes which took place in the close circle of his family, which shed light on his personality and which I wish to record now, as the last of his offspring, at least for my children and for those who knew Ludwig Prandtl personally or by name. I should also note at this point that my uncle, Professor Ludwig Föppl, repeatedly brought up the subject, in conversation with his brother-in- law, that it would be important for him then, having reached old age, to write his memoirs, just as his father August Föppl had done. Prandtl always turned down this request with a smile, “Perhaps sometime in the future: at the moment, I have too many other things to do”. But, I knew him well enough from this kind of reply to realise that he obviously did not intend to reflect on his own life and give an account of it - not even at a later date. When my father died in 1953 my uncle Ludwig Föppl turned to me with the words, “Now, you should write about him!” This was certainly the first impulse I had to think about how such an enterprise could be undertaken.