ABBE, ERNST
(b. Jan. 23, 1840, Eisenach, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach--d.
Jan. 14, 1905, Jena, Ger.), physicist whose theoretical and technical innovations
in optical theory led to great improvements in microscope design (such
as the use of a condenser to provide strong, even illumination, introduced
in 1870) and clearer understanding of magnification limits. He discovered
the optical formula now called the Abbe
sine condition, one of the requirements that a lens must satisfy if
it is to form a sharp image, free from the blurring or distortion caused
by coma and spherical aberration.
In 1863 he joined the University of Jena, rising to professor of physics
and mathematics (1870) and director of the astronomical and meteorological
observatories (1878). In 1866 he became research director of the Zeiss
optical works. Two years later Abbe invented the apochromatic lens
system for microscopes, which eliminates both the primary and secondary
colour distortion of light.
In 1891 Abbe set up and endowed the Carl Zeiss Foundation for
research in science and social improvement. Five years later he reorganized
the Zeiss optical works into a cooperative, with management, workmen, and
the university sharing in the profits.
Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica