Adolf Eugen Fick

Adolf Fick
Adolf Eugen Fick (1829-1901)
Born	3 September 1829 Kassel
Died	21 August 1901(1901-08-21) (aged 71) Blankenberge, Flanders
Nationality	German
Fields	Physiologist and biophysicist
Institutions	University of Zurich University of Würzburg
Alma mater	University of Marburg
Doctoral advisor	Franz Ludwig Fick[1]
Doctoral students	Johann Jakob Müller[1]
Known for	Fick's law of diffusion Fick principle Direct Fick method
Influences	Carl Ludwig
Notes He is the brother of Franz Ludwig Fick. He is the uncle of Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick who invented the contact lens.[2]

Adolf Eugen Fick (3 September 1829, Kassel, Hesse-Kassel – 21 August 1901) was a German born Physician and physiologist. He began his work in the formal study of mathematics and physics and then realized an aptitude for medicine. He earned his doctorate in medicine at Marburg in 1851. As a newly minted Doctor he began his work as a Prosector of Anatomy. ^[3]

In 1855 he introduced Fick's law of diffusion, which governs the diffusion of a gas across a fluid membrane. In 1870 he was the first to measure cardiac output, 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.

Fick also invented the tonometer, work that influenced his nephew Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick who invented the contact lens.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Adolf Eugen Fick, Mathematics Genealogy Project, accessed 20 April 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} The "Kontaktbrille" of Adolf Eugen Fick (1887), accessed 20 April 2010
3. ^ The Virtual Laboratory: Fick, Adolf Eugen, accessed 5 February 2006

External links

• 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)