Ludwig Prandtl German scientist one of the founders of aerodynamics, creator of the scientific school of applied hydro-aeromechanics Date of Birth: 04.02.1875 Country: Germany

Biography of Ludwig Prandtl

Ludwig Prandtl, a German scientist and one of the founders of aerodynamics, was born in 1875 in Freising, a town near Munich. His mother was frequently ill, so he spent much of his childhood with his father, who was a professor of engineering. His father taught him to observe nature and encouraged him to think critically about his observations.

Prandtl enrolled at the Munich Technical University in 1894, where he earned his doctorate in hydrodynamics. During this time, he began working on improvements and new devices. In 1901, he was offered a professorship at the Technical School in Hannover, now known as the Technical University Hannover. It was at this institution that Prandtl wrote his most important works.

In 1904, Prandtl published his most significant work, "Fluid Flow in Very Little Friction," where he explained the phenomenon of stall in aviation. This work was highly influential, and he was soon offered the position of department head at the University of Göttingen. Over the next decade, Prandtl established a renowned aerodynamics research institute, which later became the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Flow Research and is now known as the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization.

Collaborating with British engineer Frederick Lanchester, German physicist Albert Betz, and aviation engineer Max Munk, Prandtl contributed to the development of the "Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory." In 1908, he and his student Theodor Meyer developed the theory of supersonic shock waves. They built the world's first supersonic wind tunnel at the University of Göttingen. In 1929, Prandtl and Adolf Busemann designed the supersonic nozzle, which is still used in engineering today.

In 1922, Prandtl, along with Austrian mathematician Richard von Mises, founded the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics. Until 1945, Prandtl worked for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Aviation Ministry) of Germany. He remained at the University of Göttingen until his death, and he is often referred to as the "father of modern aerodynamics."

Prandtl passed away on August 15, 1953. He is honored with the naming of the Prandtl crater on the Moon, and the German Aerospace Society established the Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring award to recognize outstanding contributions in aviation and aerospace technology.

In a charming anecdote from his personal life, Prandtl approached his former professor, August Föppl, at the University of Munich, to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. However, he forgot to specify which daughter, and Föppl assumed he meant his eldest. The marriage turned out to be long and happy.