Jozef Maximilián Petzval
Jozef Maximilián Petzval (* 6th January 1807, Spišská Belá – † 19th September 1891, Vienna) was Slovak mathematician, physician and inventor.
Education
He attended a primary school in Kezmarok. His secondary school was in Podolinec and then in Levoca. He finished his secondary education at seminary in Kosice. In 1826 he started to study at University in Budapest. After graduating Institutum geometricum he applied for University’s faculty of philosophy in 1828. He was nominated as an adjunct in department of physics in 1831. In 1832 he was given a doctorate of philosophy and he became the second teacher of mathematics, mechanics and practical geometry at University of Budapest.
Biography
He is one of the most important scientists of 19th century in Europe. He was the first who exactly calculated the construction of a photographical portrait and landscape objective, he invented law by which optics is ruled until today. In addition, important was his mathematical calculation for a correction of opticals systems.
He was born in a family of teacher with Moravians’ ancestors. In 1815 they moved from Spisska Bela to Kezmarok, then after a few years to Levoca. He inheritted technical and also artistic talent.. His father Jan Fridrich was a teacher and organist player. He could also fix organ and many other musical instruments. In Levoca he worked as a town geodesist and it is known that he invented an original construction of a striker clocks and a type-writer. Two of his sons, Jozef Maximilian and two-year-younger Oto Baltazar became academical professors of mathematics. His daughters had a talent for music.
Except physics he was also intrested in optics, where are most important his calculations of photographical objectives. In acoustic he was intrested in oscillating of strings, diferencial equations of oscillation of strings and mathematical theory about musical instruments. He was also good at balistic and analytical mechanics. Due to his knowledge he has made projects about shipping canal round Budapest.
Professor of physics at the University of Wien, his colleague and close friend V. Ettinghausen made him know about problem of daguerreotyping – exposition of making portraits lasted 30 mins those days. He spoke to him to improve technic of photographic apparatuses. In coma prism to other scientists, who were only doing experiments and using they experience, Petzval tried to solve this problem using mathematics. He made several difficult calculations and then made four–lens-portrait-object-glass in 1840. Exposition lasted only 30 sec. After this discovery portraits could have been done and photography started to become very famous. He improved camera obscura, which was used till that time, to modern photographic apparatus. Its qualities weren’t overcome for many years. Later he discovered a landscape-object-glass too. Both of these discoveries have importance all over the world. However, Petzval didn’t get a gain he deserved. He gave his ideas to construct to famous optic from Wien – F. Voigtländer. He started production and achieved a big success. However, Petzval didn’t get a gain, because he didn’t patent his object glass. His only rewards were 2000 gold coins which he got from Voigtländer for his calculations. However, Vigtländer had much bigger gain. Because of that they had an argument. Later Petzval improved his landscape-object-glass and tried to work with other optics but he never had a commercial gain from his object-glasses.
Photographical optics in its historical evolution has made a progress but Petzval’s objectives are in use until today in different optical instruments in astronomy, cinematographic, measuring technics and many others. He has calculated optics of many instruments himself: microscopes, telescopes, projectors, powerful reflectors and other. However, his biggest success was that he has made general theoretical foundations of constructing glass optical systems, where he also regarded with correction of many different mistakes with transformation. It’s an irretrievable pity that his multivolume work about optics has never been able for us to see it.
He accredited an extremely important statement to mathematics in scientific and technical researches. He was refusing „mathematics for mathematics“, programmaticly he tried for generality of ends. He tried to apply mathematics for issues about his speculations and even in such cases as a sword play or walking of a horse. It’s known that he was an excellent sword player and not less good in horse riding. This extraordinary and ever-place struggle for mathematicalation examined problematics has led him to a revolutionary improving of photographical objective and other meaningful results in optics, or in other localities.
As a mathematician he exceled in solving linear and diferencial equations and in theory of algebrical and higher equations. His main mathematical work was german written, enormous monography about diferencial equations. Although it was one of the most komplex views of this problematic in those times and it brought many previous results, it stayed practically unmarked by mathematical scientific society, which could have been made by author’s personal conflicts.
He could remove his scientific results into his lecture work. He was challenging – on himself but also on his colleges – he strictly wanted visual results, he was rejecting those who were just „going with crowd“. He himself was one of those who were copious and cretive scientists. It seems that his a little bit conflict and sarcastic personality may slow down general approval of his scientific results especially in mathematics. For his personal conflicts he was, for example, charged from plagiatorism.
For sure he with his work falls into people, who are part of the world history of science and technics. As an inventor of a new way how to make photographical objectives, he was given many honours from several scientific companies, even meanwhile his life.
He lived in Vienna, alone in a building of lonely monastery at Kahlenberg, which he rent after his arrival to Vienna. In 1859 unknown thieves broke in his home and destroyed his handwritings and results of many-years optical researches, which dissapointed author, for big shame of science, could never fix again.
He died in Vienna, where is also his grave at Main graveyard.
Activity
1828 – 35 engineer in services of town, making mostly water-building projects and his knowledge was worthy while floodings were threating the city,
1832 adjunct at University, Budapest
1835 – 37 real professor of higher mathematics, Budapest
1837 – 77 professor at department of mathematics, Vienna
The most meaningful works
In 1847 integration linear diferencial equations with constant or flexible coefficient.
Well-earned approvals, honours His enormous addition in world history of photographical technics and optics is generaly established. His results in optics and long podagogical work is suggested by tablet in arcades of honorary square at Vienna University, built in 1901 by Vienna’s photographical company.
His memory is suggested by tablets and memorials at many different places, for example his birth-place Spisska Bela, where in 1964 was built the museum of photographical and cinematographic technics.
One of the Moon’s craters is named by him and a small planet discovered in 1980 by czech astronomer Antonin Mrkos.
Petzval’s memorials are also found in every camera, because a little piece of his work is hidden even in the newest digital camera today.
1846 half-member of Vienna’s academy of science
1849 member of Vienna’s academy of science
1881 honourable member of Vienna’s academy of science
Honourable member of Association of Czech mathematicians in Prague and also many others world universities have nominated him as their honourable member
To honours, which an inventor of a modern photographical optics hasn’t experienced belongs also calling several streets in European cities by his name.
Memory medal of J. M. Petzval is traditionally given for deserts of photography in Slovakia. Memory silver coin of value 200 Slovak crowns (6.638 euro) Jozef Maximilian Petzval was made on his 200th anniversary of birth by NBS in 2007.