Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten (13 July 1754 – 10 June 1849) was an Austrian printer and mineralogist. His name is sometimes given as Alois von Beckh-Widmannstätten or Aloys Joseph Franz Xaver Beck Edler von Widmanstätten. He is known for recognizing a unique pattern of cross-hatching lines on the surface of iron-rich meteorites, now called Widmanstätten patterns, resulting from the cooling and crystallization of interstitial minerals. A crater on the Moon is named after Widmanstätten.
A print of the pattern from Elbogen iron meteorite made by Von Widmannstätten
Von Widmanstätten was born in Graz where his family had a printing business and was trained in the printing art by his father. His family owned exclusive printing rights in the Steiermark province, but this was lost in 1784 and Alois sold the business in 1807. In 1804, he ran a spinning mill in Pottendorf, Austria. In 1806 he was invited by the emperor to head a newly founded Imperial Technical Museum or Fabriksproduktenkabinett begun in 1807. From 1808, he was the director of the Imperial Porcelain works in Vienna.
While working at the Fabriksproduktenkabinett, he began to examine iron meteorites along with Karl von Schreibers. They polished and etched the surface of iron meteorites with dilute nitric acid and noticed that it revealed a patterning of cross-hatched lines that came to be called Widmanstätten patterns.[1][2] He examined by flame-heating a slab of Hraschina meteorite.[3][4] The different iron alloys of meteorites oxidized at different rates during heating, causing color and luster differences.[5] In 1813 he made imprints of these structures with printing ink and paper. These were unpublished during his life. A print of the structures from the Hraschina meteorite collected in 1751 was used in a supplement to the book Über Feuer-Meteore, und über die mit denselben herabgefallenen Massen of Ernst Chladni which was published by Schreibers in 1820 as Beiträge zur Geschichte und Kenntniss meteorischer Stein und Metallmassen.[6] Schreibers named the structure after Widmanstätten and the term is widely used in metallurgy.[7][8]
^In a letter of 22 June 1812, German physicist Ernst Chladni told N.A. Neumann, a professor of chemistry in Prague, that Widmanstätten had observed patterns in the surface of a meteorite that had been etched with nitric acid. Neumann, N.A. (September 1812). "Der verwünschte Berggraf in Ellbogen, ein Meteorolit" [The accursed governor of the castle in Elbogen [now: Loket, Czech Republic], a meteorite]. Hesperus, ein Nationalblatt für gebildete Leser (Hesperus, a national newspaper for intellectual readers) (in German). 1 (55): 433–437. From p. 435: "Dasselbe Gefüge ist auch bei noch manchem andern Gediegeneisen mehr oder weniger bemerkbar, und ist unstreitig der Grund von der Erscheinung, die Hr. von Widmannstädten in Wien zuerst an dem Agramer und noch ein paar Arten von Gediegeneisen beobachtet hat, daß wenn man eine Fläche polirt, und mit Scheidewasser äzt, sich Figuren zeigen, die aus parallen geraden Streifen bestehen, welche in verschiedenen Richtungen gegen einander gestellt sind." (The same figure is also more or less noticeable in some other native irons, and is indisputably the basis of the phenomenon that Mr. von Widmannstädten in Vienna first observed in the Agram [now: Hrašćina, Croatia] [meteorite] and in a few other types of native iron, [namely,] that when one polishes a surface [of such a meteorite] and etches it with nitric acid, figures show themselves which consist of parallel straight lines, which are positioned in various directions relative to each other.)
^Schreibers, Carl von (1820) Beyträge zur Geschichte und Kenntniß meteorischer Stein- und Metall-Massen und der Erscheinungen, welche deren Niederfallen zu begleiten pflegen [Contributions to the history and knowledge of meteoric stony- and metallic masses, and the phenomena which usually accompany their showers] (Vienna, Austria: J.G. Heuber, 1820), pp. 70-71. (in German)
^Meteoritics & planetary science: Volume 42, Ed. 9-12. Meteoritical Society at the University of Arkansas, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2007
^O. Richard Norton. Rocks from Space: Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters. Mountain Press Pub. (1998) ISBN0-87842-373-7
^Cohn, E., Meteoritenkunde [The study of meteorites] (Stuttgart, Germany: E. Schweizerbart, 1894), pp. 40–41. From pp. 40–41: "Von hervorragender Bedeutung für das Studium des Nickeleisen wurde jedoch erst die Entdeckung des Directors der kaiserlichen Porcellanfabrik in Wien, Alois von Widmanstätten, im Jahre 1808. Als er auf Veranlassung von Schreibers prüfen wollte, wie sich eine polirte Platte von Hraschina beim starken Erhitzen verhalte, erhielt keine einheitliche Anlauffarbe, sondern Partien mit verschiedenen Anlauffarben, welche regelmässig angeordnet waren und zierliche Zeichnungen lieferten. … Bald darauf bewirkte er die oberflächliche Oxydation durch Behandlung mit Salpetersäure statt durch Erhitzung, untersuchte nach dieser Richtung noch eine Reihe anderer Eisen (Mexico, Elbogen, Lenarto) und benutzte solche polirten und geätzten Platten direct zur Vervielfältigung durch Druck ... . Damit war nachgewiesen, dass in vielen Meteoreisen das Nickeleisen nicht eine homogene Masse ist, wie es ohne nähere Untersuchung den Anschein hat, sondern dass es sich aus Theilen von verschiedener Oxydirbarkeit aufbaut. Die beim Ätzen entstehenden Figuren wurden bald allgemein nach dem Entdecker als Widmanstätten'sche Figuren bezeichnet." (Of paramount importance for the study of nickel-iron [meteorites], however, was the discovery of the director of the imperial porcelain factory in Vienna, Alois von Widmanstätten, in 1808. When, at Schreibers' urging, he wanted to test how a polished slice of the Hraschina [meteorite] behaved during strong heating, [it] didn't attain a uniform color during warming; rather, [there appeared] parts with different colors during warming, which were regularly ordered and yielded fine patterns of lines. … Soon thereafter he produced the surface oxidation by treatment with nitric acid instead of heat; he investigated in this way a series of other iron [meteorites] ([from] Mexico, Elbogen [now: Loket, Czech Republic], Lenarto [now in Slovakia]) and used such polished and etched slices to reproduce [impressions of the Widmanstätten patterns] directly by printing [i.e., by applying ink to the etched slices] …. Thereby [it] was proved that in many meteoric irons, the nickel-iron is not a homogeneous mass, as it appears without closer investigation, but that it formed from parts of varying susceptibility to oxidation. The figures arising during etching were soon generally named, after the discoverer, "Widmanstätten figures.")
^Marvin, Ursula B. (1996). "Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (1756–1827) and the origins of modern meteorite research". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 31 (5): 545–588. Bibcode:1996M&PS...31..545M. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1996.tb02031.x. S2CID 210038676.
^Goldstein, J.I.; Ogilvie, R.E. (1965). "The growth of the Widmanstätten pattern in metallic meteorites". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 29 (8): 893–920. Bibcode:1965GeCoA..29..893G. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(65)90085-2.
^ abcJohn G. Burke. Cosmic Debris: Meteorites in History. University of California Press, 1986. ISBN0-520-05651-5
^Thomson, G. (1804) "Essai sur le fer malléable trouvé en Sibérie par le Prof. Pallas" (Essay on malleable iron found in Siberia by Prof. Pallas), Bibliotèque Britannique, 27 : 135–154 ; 209–229. (in French)
^ abTorrens, Hugh S. (2006) "The geological work of Gregory Watt, his travels with William Maclure in Italy (1801–1802), and Watt's "proto-geological" map of Italy (1804)" in: Vai, Gian Battista; Caldwell, W. Glen E., ed.s, The Origins of Geology in Italy (Boulder, Colorado: The Geological Society of America, 2006) ISBN0-8137-2411-2, p.184
^Paneth, F.A. (1960). "The discovery and earliest reproductions of the Widmanstatten figures". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 18 (3): 176–182. Bibcode:1960GeCoA..18..176P. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(60)90085-5.
^O. Richard Norton. The Cambridge encyclopedia of meteorites. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN0-521-62143-7.
December 21, 2023
alois, beck, widmanstätten, count, alois, beckh, widmanstätten, july, 1754, june, 1849, austrian, printer, mineralogist, name, sometimes, given, alois, beckh, widmannstätten, aloys, joseph, franz, xaver, beck, edler, widmanstätten, known, recognizing, unique, . Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstatten 13 July 1754 10 June 1849 was an Austrian printer and mineralogist His name is sometimes given as Alois von Beckh Widmannstatten or Aloys Joseph Franz Xaver Beck Edler von Widmanstatten He is known for recognizing a unique pattern of cross hatching lines on the surface of iron rich meteorites now called Widmanstatten patterns resulting from the cooling and crystallization of interstitial minerals A crater on the Moon is named after Widmanstatten A print of the pattern from Elbogen iron meteorite made by Von WidmannstattenContents 1 Working life 2 Widmanstatten pattern 3 Named after him 4 See also 5 NotesWorking life editVon Widmanstatten was born in Graz where his family had a printing business and was trained in the printing art by his father His family owned exclusive printing rights in the Steiermark province but this was lost in 1784 and Alois sold the business in 1807 In 1804 he ran a spinning mill in Pottendorf Austria In 1806 he was invited by the emperor to head a newly founded Imperial Technical Museum or Fabriksproduktenkabinett begun in 1807 From 1808 he was the director of the Imperial Porcelain works in Vienna nbsp Widmanstatten pattern appears when an iron meteorite is sliced polished and etched with nitric acidWidmanstatten pattern editWhile working at the Fabriksproduktenkabinett he began to examine iron meteorites along with Karl von Schreibers They polished and etched the surface of iron meteorites with dilute nitric acid and noticed that it revealed a patterning of cross hatched lines that came to be called Widmanstatten patterns 1 2 He examined by flame heating a slab of Hraschina meteorite 3 4 The different iron alloys of meteorites oxidized at different rates during heating causing color and luster differences 5 In 1813 he made imprints of these structures with printing ink and paper These were unpublished during his life A print of the structures from the Hraschina meteorite collected in 1751 was used in a supplement to the book Uber Feuer Meteore und uber die mit denselben herabgefallenen Massen of Ernst Chladni which was published by Schreibers in 1820 as Beitrage zur Geschichte und Kenntniss meteorischer Stein und Metallmassen 6 Schreibers named the structure after Widmanstatten and the term is widely used in metallurgy 7 8 The Widmanstatten pattern had been observed previously in 1804 by the English mineralogist William Guglielmo Thomson During the period that he spent in Naples he discovered these figures by bathing a Krasnojarsk meteorite in nitric acid for the purpose of removing rust and he published his discovery in French in the Bibliotheque Britannique 9 8 125 10 11 but Thomson s publication escaped Schreibers notice 8 10 12 Named after him editWidmanstatten patterns of iron meteorites The crater Widmannstatten on the Moon 21564 Widmanstatten asteroidSee also editWilliam Thomson mineralogist MeteoriteNotes edit In a letter of 22 June 1812 German physicist Ernst Chladni told N A Neumann a professor of chemistry in Prague that Widmanstatten had observed patterns in the surface of a meteorite that had been etched with nitric acid Neumann N A September 1812 Der verwunschte Berggraf in Ellbogen ein Meteorolit The accursed governor of the castle in Elbogen now Loket Czech Republic a meteorite Hesperus ein Nationalblatt fur gebildete Leser Hesperus a national newspaper for intellectual readers in German 1 55 433 437 From p 435 Dasselbe Gefuge ist auch bei noch manchem andern Gediegeneisen mehr oder weniger bemerkbar und ist unstreitig der Grund von der Erscheinung die Hr von Widmannstadten in Wien zuerst an dem Agramer und noch ein paar Arten von Gediegeneisen beobachtet hat dass wenn man eine Flache polirt und mit Scheidewasser azt sich Figuren zeigen die aus parallen geraden Streifen bestehen welche in verschiedenen Richtungen gegen einander gestellt sind The same figure is also more or less noticeable in some other native irons and is indisputably the basis of the phenomenon that Mr von Widmannstadten in Vienna first observed in the Agram now Hrascina Croatia meteorite and in a few other types of native iron namely that when one polishes a surface of such a meteorite and etches it with nitric acid figures show themselves which consist of parallel straight lines which are positioned in various directions relative to each other Schreibers Carl von 1820 Beytrage zur Geschichte und Kenntniss meteorischer Stein und Metall Massen und der Erscheinungen welche deren Niederfallen zu begleiten pflegen Contributions to the history and knowledge of meteoric stony and metallic masses and the phenomena which usually accompany their showers Vienna Austria J G Heuber 1820 pp 70 71 in German Meteoritics amp planetary science Volume 42 Ed 9 12 Meteoritical Society at the University of Arkansas Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry 2007 O Richard Norton Rocks from Space Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters Mountain Press Pub 1998 ISBN 0 87842 373 7 Cohn E Meteoritenkunde The study of meteorites Stuttgart Germany E Schweizerbart 1894 pp 40 41 From pp 40 41 Von hervorragender Bedeutung fur das Studium des Nickeleisen wurde jedoch erst die Entdeckung des Directors der kaiserlichen Porcellanfabrik in Wien Alois von Widmanstatten im Jahre 1808 Als er auf Veranlassung von Schreibers prufen wollte wie sich eine polirte Platte von Hraschina beim starken Erhitzen verhalte erhielt keine einheitliche Anlauffarbe sondern Partien mit verschiedenen Anlauffarben welche regelmassig angeordnet waren und zierliche Zeichnungen lieferten Bald darauf bewirkte er die oberflachliche Oxydation durch Behandlung mit Salpetersaure statt durch Erhitzung untersuchte nach dieser Richtung noch eine Reihe anderer Eisen Mexico Elbogen Lenarto und benutzte solche polirten und geatzten Platten direct zur Vervielfaltigung durch Druck Damit war nachgewiesen dass in vielen Meteoreisen das Nickeleisen nicht eine homogene Masse ist wie es ohne nahere Untersuchung den Anschein hat sondern dass es sich aus Theilen von verschiedener Oxydirbarkeit aufbaut Die beim Atzen entstehenden Figuren wurden bald allgemein nach dem Entdecker als Widmanstatten sche Figuren bezeichnet Of paramount importance for the study of nickel iron meteorites however was the discovery of the director of the imperial porcelain factory in Vienna Alois von Widmanstatten in 1808 When at Schreibers urging he wanted to test how a polished slice of the Hraschina meteorite behaved during strong heating it didn t attain a uniform color during warming rather there appeared parts with different colors during warming which were regularly ordered and yielded fine patterns of lines Soon thereafter he produced the surface oxidation by treatment with nitric acid instead of heat he investigated in this way a series of other iron meteorites from Mexico Elbogen now Loket Czech Republic Lenarto now in Slovakia and used such polished and etched slices to reproduce impressions of the Widmanstatten patterns directly by printing i e by applying ink to the etched slices Thereby it was proved that in many meteoric irons the nickel iron is not a homogeneous mass as it appears without closer investigation but that it formed from parts of varying susceptibility to oxidation The figures arising during etching were soon generally named after the discoverer Widmanstatten figures Marvin Ursula B 1996 Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni 1756 1827 and the origins of modern meteorite research Meteoritics amp Planetary Science 31 5 545 588 Bibcode 1996M amp PS 31 545M doi 10 1111 j 1945 5100 1996 tb02031 x S2CID 210038676 Goldstein J I Ogilvie R E 1965 The growth of the Widmanstatten pattern in metallic meteorites Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 29 8 893 920 Bibcode 1965GeCoA 29 893G doi 10 1016 0016 7037 65 90085 2 a b c John G Burke Cosmic Debris Meteorites in History University of California Press 1986 ISBN 0 520 05651 5 Thomson G 1804 Essai sur le fer malleable trouve en Siberie par le Prof Pallas Essay on malleable iron found in Siberia by Prof Pallas Biblioteque Britannique 27 135 154 209 229 in French a b Torrens Hugh S 2006 The geological work of Gregory Watt his travels with William Maclure in Italy 1801 1802 and Watt s proto geological map of Italy 1804 in Vai Gian Battista Caldwell W Glen E ed s The Origins of Geology in Italy Boulder Colorado The Geological Society of America 2006 ISBN 0 8137 2411 2 p 184 Paneth F A 1960 The discovery and earliest reproductions of the Widmanstatten figures Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 18 3 176 182 Bibcode 1960GeCoA 18 176P doi 10 1016 0016 7037 60 90085 5 O Richard Norton The Cambridge encyclopedia of meteorites Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2002 ISBN 0 521 62143 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alois von Beck Widmanstatten amp oldid 1166675606, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
