Adolf Eugen Fick (3 September 1829 – 21 August 1901) was a German-born physician and physiologist.
Adolf Fick | |
|---|---|
 Adolf Fick (1829–1901) | |
| Born | 3 September 1829 |
| Died | 21 August 1901 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Marburg |
| Known for | Fick's laws of diffusion Fick principle Imbert–Fick law |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physiology Biophysics |
| Institutions | University of Zurich University of Würzburg |
| Thesis | Tractatur de errore optico quodam asymetria bulbi oculi effecto (1851) |
| Doctoral advisor | Franz Ludwig Fick[1] |
| Doctoral students | Johann Jakob Müller[1] |
| Notes | |
He is the brother of Franz Ludwig Fick. He is the uncle of Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick who invented the contact lens.[2] | |
Early life and education
editFick began his work in the formal study of mathematics and physics before realising an aptitude for medicine. He then earned his doctorate in medicine from the University of Marburg in 1851. As a fresh medical graduate, he began his work as a prosector.[3] He died in Flanders at age 71.
Career
editIn 1855, he introduced Fick's laws of diffusion, which govern the diffusion of a gas across a fluid membrane. In 1870, he was the first to measure cardiac output, using what is now called the Fick principle.
Fick managed to double-publish his law of diffusion, as it applied equally to physiology and physics. His work led to the development of the direct Fick method for measuring cardiac output.
Anecdotal
editFick's nephew, Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick, invented the contact lens.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Adolf Eugen Fick at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ^ a b The "Kontaktbrille" of Adolf Eugen Fick (1887) Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 20 April 2010
- ^ The Virtual Laboratory: Fick, Adolf Eugen, accessed 5 February 2006
External links
edit- Short biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
- Science Quotes by Adolf Eugen Fick (todayinsci.com)