Victor goldschmidt biography
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Victor Moritz Goldschmidt: Father Of Modern Geochemistry
(Originally published in Elements, Volume 13 Number 4, August , pp )
The begrepp "geochemistry" had existed for years when Victor Goldschmidt built upon technical developments of the time, as well as advances in physics and chemistry, to revolutionize the field bygd adding a theoretical underpinning to it, turning it into a mature science. Grossman () expressed Goldschmidt's importance thus: "It fryst vatten astonishing, even to experienced geochemists, just how many of the important concepts in this field originated with Goldschmidt". Goldschmidt's was an interdisciplinary approach: "The field of geochemistry," Goldschmidt wrote, "ranges widely over the broad ground of modern science, from astrophysics and nuclear and atomic physics to geology, oceanography, and biology" (Goldschmidt ). We take a brief look at the life of this seminal figure.
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt was born in in Zurich (Switzerland) to a family of scientists of Jew
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Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (–)
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (January 27 - March 20 ) was a Norwegian geologist, mineralogist and geochemist, considered the “Father of Geochemistry” (Mason ). His first major study was initiated already by , and eventually ended up in the classical doctoral thesis from - on contact metamorphism in the Oslo Graben. The thesis describes different types of hornfelses and shows how their mineralogy is controlled by the initial composition of the sedimentary rock and the pressure and temperature during metamorphism. Among the lasting scientific achievements by Goldschmidt here is his Mineralogical Phase Rule, stating that in any rock the number of minerals will not exceed the number of components, and his applications to geothermobarometry.
Already in , after a year in Munich studying crystallography, Goldschmidt was appointed docent (assistant professor) in mineralogy and petrology. Moreover, in , at the age of 26, he was elected a me
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Victor Mordechai Goldschmidt
German mineralogist, natural philosopher and art collector (–)
Not to be confused with Victor Moritz Goldschmidt.
For other uses, see Victor Goldschmidt (disambiguation).
Victor Mordechai Goldschmidt (10 February – 8 May ) was a German mineralogist, natural philosopher and art collector. He produced a nine-volume atlas of crystal forms (Atlas der Krystallformen) from to which was influential in establishing the field of crystallography. He introduced what are now called Goldschmidt symbols Φ and ρ (borrowed from astronomy) for the gnomonic angles of crystals. In , he was dismissed from his position at the University of Heidelberg due to his Jewish origins and he died shortly afterwards while in exile in Salzburg. His wife Leontine committed suicide when faced with deportation to a concentration camp.
Life and work
[edit]Born in Mainz, Goldschmidt was the son of the merchant Salomon Benedikt from the wealthy Goldschmidt family and Josep