Lichtgedanken 04

S C HW E R P U N K T 28 The successful cooperation between science and industry is not just shaping the global reputation of the City of Light Jena in the 21st century; it is also the basis upon which this reputation was founded. Two names played a vital role in optics research and industry in Jena: Carl Zeiß and Ernst Abbe. The former was born in Weimar in 1816 and opened his own workshop for fine mechanics and optics on 17 November 1846, fol- lowing his training with a court me­ chanic Friedrich Körner in Jena and his attendance of some lectures at the local university. Having been encouraged by Jena's botanist Matthias Schleiden, he soon added microscopes to his range of services. Schleiden was the first to prove that plant components are made up of cells; he co-founded cellular biology and thus underlined the need to develop bet- ter microscopes for science. Zeiß’ instru- ments were soon in great demand, even beyond the borders of the Grand Duchy tandem recorded their first success: they made the manufacturing process more effective through a specialized division of labour. The scientist Abbe then de- veloped test methods and measuring equipment to simplify the calculation within the optics. Continuous research eventually led to the theory of image formation in the microscope, which Abbe and Zeiß jointly put into practice. Thus, the researcher and businessman revolutionized the manufacturing of microscopes, justified the global repu- tation of their company—Abbe became a business partner—, and established optics research at the University of Jena. Glass manufacturer Otto Schott also played his part in the success. The chemist was born in the Ruhr area and was a doctoral candidate at the Univer- sity of Jena. In 1884, he opened a glass technology laboratory in Jena, which developed, and later produced modern, high-quality optical lenses for the Carl Zeiss company. With their work, the three pioneers did not just lay the foundation for the op- tics research having been developed in Jena since the end of the 19th century. The new possibilities created within the world of microscopy also opened up new worlds to other disciplines, for example, biology, as Schleiden had sug- gested. The instruments from the Zeiss com- pany were also valued by the natural scientists Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Furthermore, the collabora- tion also forged the way for many other new innovations. August Köhler and Henry Siedentopf, for instance, who both worked at the Zeiss company and were professors at the University of Jena, developed the fluorescent micro- scope. This was the foundation for new findings and methods in the field of bio- chemistry and medical diagnostics. Jena’s journey to a City of Light BY SEBASTIAN HOLLSTEIN of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The business relations saw both the company and the demand for the devices grow. Zeiß no longer wanted to find the correct com- bination of lenses for a microscope optic through testing, he wanted to use calcu- lations. A 24-year-old physicist helped him to turn this idea into a reality. His name was Ernst Abbe. Revolutionizing the manufacture of microscopes leads to optical re- search Born in Eisenach, Thuringia, Abbe stu­ died physics, astronomy, and philo- sophy at University of Jena where he also received his doctorate. From 1863 onwards, Abbe taught as a private teacher. He became a professor in 1870. Four years before accepting the profess- orial position, Zeiß and Abbe decided to collaborate. Within a few years, the The development of microscopy opened the door to the microcosm. Scientists from almost all disciplines now use a multitude of microscopic methods. The key foundations for these were laid in Jena. Carl Zeiß, Ernst Abbe, and Otto Schott have been considered the pioneers of microscopy to the present day. Ernst Abbe memorial in Jena, featuring the formula for the resolution limit of an optical microscope.