Emilius Lenz (1804–1865)

Abstract

Emilius Lenz is a famous Russian physicist of German origin, academician, professor at St. Petersburg University, and later its rector, doctor of philology, privy councilor … He took part in Kotzebue’s trip around the world on the sailing sloop Enterprise. Lenz is known for his fundamental work on electromagnetism and the study of the thermal effect of electric current.The author of the law stating the direction of induced current (Lenz’s law) and co-author of the law on the thermal effect of electric current (Joule–Lenz law). He carried out several significant studies on the effect of current on dissimilar conductors, developed methods for calculating electromagnets for building electrical machines.Legends circulated about his wonderful lectures on physics and physical geography, they were remarkable for their amazing clarity and systematicity.Throughout his life, Lenz was engaged in research in the field of physics. Lenz’s contribution to science can hardly be overestimated. Emilius Lenz was an exceptionally versatile scientist. He was the author of textbooks on physics for high school, worked on the galvanic gilding of the domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, on the problem of lighting Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. Lenz was a physicist in the broadest sense of the word. He never closed himself on «pure theoretical science», always tried to apply the results of his discoveries in practice.