GC Open #66
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(Friedrich) Otto Schott (1851–1935) was a German chemist, glass technologist, and the inventor of borosilicate glass. Schott systematically investigated the relationship between the chemical composition of the glass and its properties. In this way, he solved fundamental problems in glass properties, identifying compositions with optical properties that approach the theoretical limit. Schott's findings were a major advance in the optics for microscopy and optical astronomy. His work has been described as "a watershed in the history of glass composition".
Early life and education
Schott was the son of a window glass maker, Simon Schott. His mother was Karoline Schott. From 1870 to 1873 Schott studied chemical technology at the technical college in Aachen and at the University of Würzburg and at the University of Leipzig. He earned a doctorate in chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, specializing in glass science. His doctoral thesis was entitled “Contributions to the Theory and Practice of Glass Fabrication” (1875).
Scientific contributions
In 1879, Schott developed a new lithium-based glass that possessed novel optical properties. Schott shared this discovery with Ernst Abbe, a professor of physics at Jena University whose comments on glass had stimulated Schott's interest in the subject.
I recently produced a glass, in which a considerable amount of lithium was introduced, and the specific gravity of which was relatively low. I suspect that such a glass will exhibit excellent optical properties, and I therefore wanted to inquire whether you or one of your colleagues might be willing to test it for refractive index and dispersion to determine whether my above supposition is correct.— Translation of letter dated May 27, 1879.
Not long after Schott had completed his formal university training, he had become aware that Abbe had articulated the deficiencies in glass that was available at the time. The deficiencies were particularly acute in scientific instruments for which optical performance of the glass in lenses such as for telescopes and microscopes is paramount. Scientifically, as the magnification power of the lenses were increased, chromatic aberration became large. Chromatic aberration causes the optical quality of the visual image to become dependent on the color of the light, resulting in a significant limitation of the scientific instrument.
In response to Abbe's scientific provocation, Schott began a systematic investigation of the properties of glass as the properties varied with the chemical composition. Schott substituted one element for another, such as borate and phosphate for a portion of the silica in the glass and substituting fluoride for oxygen.
Schott's 1879 letter to Abbe was the beginning of a long collaboration between the two scientists. Abbe was already working with Carl Zeiss, an instrument-maker, on the making of glass for microscopes. Zeiss participated in the three-way collaboration by testing improved glass compositions that Schott and Abbe identified in actual optical instruments, such as telescopes. In 1882, Schott moved to Jena, where he could work more closely with Abbe and Zeiss.
They created types of glass and examined their properties using silica, soda, potash, lime, lead oxide and 28 other elements. Lacking a theoretical basis for the work, they relied on careful and systematic observation and measurement. The addition of elements that had no direct effect on optical properties might help to correct other properties of a glass such as the occurrence of surface staining when exposed to air.
By 1886, Schott had completed thorough investigations of structure-property relationships in glass compositions. Through these investigations, Schott discovered that the refractive index of a glass (important to its ability to function as a magnifying lens) could be disconnected from its chromatic aberration. In this way, Schott settled on a lithium-containing glass that could perform close to its theoretical limit in scientific instruments, which was a significant advance in optical instrumentation such as for microscopy and astronomy.
By mastering the process of small-scale melt-stirring, Schott was able to create a homogeneous product, whose refractive index and dispersion could be exactly measured and characterized. Through systematic experiment, he applied this to the creation of an array of different glass types. Based on his experiments, Schott worked with A. Winkelmann to develop the first composition-property model for the calculation of glass properties.
Personal life
In 1917, Otto Schott's eldest son, Rolf Schott, was killed in World War I. Shortly thereafter, Otto's son Erich Schott joined Schott & Gen. In 1926, Otto Schott retired from active work at Schott & Gen. Shortly thereafter, Erich Schott took over Otto Schott's responsibilities in managing the company.
Awards and legacy
In 1909, Schott received the Liebig Medal from the Association of German Chemists. Otto-Schott-Straße in Jena, Germany, the location of Schott's home, was renamed in Schott's honor. The Schott Glass Museum is on the same premises. Both can be visited. The Schott Glass Museum displays developments in glass science beginning with the innovations of Otto Schott.
Since 1991, the Otto Schott Research Award has been presented every two years to meritorious researchers in the field of glass science and ceramics science. The award is organized and funded by the Abbe Fund of the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
Source: Wikipedia
The rules of the letterbox have been simplified in recent years. You won't find an ink pad here, as that would dry out in the summer temperatures on Crete. There is, however, a stamp on the lid. If you bring your own ink pad, you can use it to stamp your personal stamp book. Or you can log in the logbook on site as usual.
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Many thanks to ivans for this nice idea :-)
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We generally have a well-coordinated maintenance team (good friends who help each other). But sometimes it is better to accept help from the geocaching community. This should prevent geo-garbage and also improve the overall experience & more fun for all geocachers. We have deliberately decided not to use this procedure for all of our caches. This cache is part of the GCRM / GCRL cooperative. For more information see here: https://gcrm.gocacher.com/