Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (August 31, 1821 – September 8, 1894) was a German physician and physicist. In the words of the 1911 Britannica, "his life from first to last was one of devotion to science, and he must be accounted, on intellectual grounds, one of the foremost men of the 19th century".

Sensory physiology

The sensory physiology of Helmholtz was the basis of the work of Wilhelm Wundt, a student of Helmholtz, who is considered one of the founders of experimental psychology. He, more explicitly than Helmholtz, described his research as a form of empirical philosophy and as a study of the mind as something separate. Helmholtz had in his early refutal of the speculative early nineteenth century tradition of Naturphilosophie stressed the importance of materialism, and was focusing more on the unity of "mind" and body.

Related Topics:
Wilhelm Wundt - Psychology - Materialism

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Ophthalmic optics

In 1851, Helmholtz revolutioned the field of ophthalmology with the invention the ophthalmoscope; an instrument used to examine the inside of the human eye. Helmholtz's interests at that time were increasingly focused on the physiology of the senses. His main publication, entitled Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik (Handbook of Physiological Optics), provided empirical theories on spatial vision, color vision, and motion perception, and became the fundamental reference work in his field during the second half of the nineteenth century. His theory of accommodation went unchallenged until the final decade of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
1851 - Ophthalmoscope - Color vision - Motion perception - Accommodation

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Helmholtz continued to work for several decades on several editions of the handbook, frequently updating his work because of his dispute with Ewald Hering who held opposite views on spatial and color vision. This dispute divided the discipline of physiology during the second half of the 1800's.

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Acoustics and aesthetics

In 1863 Helmholtz published a book called On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music, once again demonstrating his interest in the physics of perception. This book influenced musicologists into the twentieth century. Helmholtz invented the Helmholtz resonator to show the height of the various tones.

Related Topics:
1863 - Helmholtz resonator

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