Arnold Sommerfeld

JUL 01, 1951

Physics Today

Arnold Sommerfeld, the doyen among the physicists in Germany, died in München on April 26, 1951, at the age of eighty‐two.

This article is only available in PDF format

Physics Today is looking for a Senior Editor. Apply Now.

Related content

Obituaries

Article

Peder Jan Estrup

(15 July 1931 – 18 September 2025) The world-renowned scientist in both chemistry and physics spent most of his career at Brown University.

December 16, 2025 12:18 PM

Obituaries

Article

Svetlen Tonchev

(24 August 1954 – 4 July 2025) The optical physicist was one of the world’s foremost experts in diffraction gratings.

December 10, 2025 09:57 AM

Obituaries

Article

Michael R. Moldover

(19 July 1940 – 8 August 2025) The NIST physicist revolutionized temperature measurements that led to a new definition of the kelvin.

September 03, 2025 03:20 PM

Obituaries

Article

Wolfgang Moritz

(24 September 1943 – 29 October 2024) The German physicist was a pioneer in quantitative surface structure determination, using mainly low-energy electron diffraction and surface x-ray diffraction.

August 25, 2025 07:00 PM

This Content Appeared In

Volume 4, Number 7

Get PT in your inbox

PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

One email per week

PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

One email per month

PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

1 to 2 emails per week