Philipp Lenard Biography

Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard was a renowned German physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his research on cathode rays. He applied the discovery that cathode rays pass through thin leaves of metal to construct a cathode-ray tube with an aluminum window through which the rays could go into the open air. Lenard was always interested in phosphorescence and luminescence. He expanded on Heirich Hertz’s work on the photoelectric effect and showed that when ultraviolet light falls on metal electrons, their speed can be increased and reduced by an electric field or their paths can be blocked by a magnetic field. This theory was not proven till Sir Albert Einstein produced his theory of quanta of photons, which was based on Lenard’s body of work. Lenard never forgave Einstein for associating his own name with this discovery. Philipp Lenard was also responsible for the invention of the first model of the ‘3-electrode lamp’ used in the radioelectric devices. He received many awards and honorary doctorates but believed himself to be ignored, whic explains his attacks on other physicists. He was also a member of Hitler’s National Socialist Party and an important role model for the ‘Deutsche Physik’ movement during the Nazi period.